The Visible Church

The Parable of the Life-Saving Station

2011-01-18T12:42:00.000-05:00

The following story was sent to me by my friend, Ron Barker.

Why do we do what we do? Sometimes we lose our sense of purpose.

On a dangerous sea coast where shipwrecks often occur, there was once a crude little life-saving station. The building was just a hut and there was only one boat, but the few devoted members kept a constant watch over the sea and, with no thought for themselves, went out day and night tirelessly searching for the lost. Some of those who were saved and various others in the surrounding area wanted to become associated with the station and gave of their time and money and effort for the support of its work. New boats were bought and new crews trained. The little life-saving station grew.

Some of the members of the life-saving station were unhappy that the building was so crude and poorly equipped. They felt that a more comfortable place should be provided as the first refuge of those saved from the sea. They replaced the emergency cots with beds and put better furniture in the enlarged building. Now the life-saving station became a popular gathering place for its members and they decorated it beautifully because they used it as a sort of club. Fewer members were now interested in going to sea on life-saving missions, so they hired lifeboat crews to do this work. The life-saving motif still prevailed in the club's decorations and there was a liturgical life-boat in the room where the club's initiations were held.

About this time a large ship wrecked off the coast and the hired crews brought in boat loads of cold, wet and half-drowned people. They were dirty and sick. The beautiful new club was in chaos. So the property committee immediately had a shower house built outside the club where victims of shipwrecks could be cleaned up before coming inside.

At the next meeting, there was a split among the club membership. Most of the members wanted to stop the club's life-saving activities as being unpleasant and a hindrance to the normal social life of the club. Some members insisted upon life-saving as their primary purpose and pointed out that they were still called a life-saving station. But they were finally voted down and told that if they wanted to save lives of all the various kinds of people who were shipwrecked in those waters, they could begin their own life-saving station. So they did.

As the years went by, the new station experienced the same changes that had occurred in the old. It evolved into a club and yet another life-saving station was founded. History continued to repeat itself and if you visit that sea coast today, you will find a number of exclusive clubs along that shore. Shipwrecks are frequent in those waters, but most of the people drown.

He who has ears to hear, let him hear.

Mike. Out.

(Reprinted from Ideas books by Youth Specialities, Inc. 1224 Greenfield Drive, El Cajon, CA 92021. Used by permission.)

The Office of Deacon

2011-01-17T11:00:00.009-05:00

The nomination and election of deacons is a common practice in the local church. This process often occurs annually as one or more deacons serving may rotate off and newly elected deacons take office. The process itself may vary from congregation to congregation (including the number of deacons serving at any given time, etc.) based on the Bylaws and Constitution drafted and adopted by the congregation.

Let’s consider the following question: What is the office of deacon?

Now at this time while the disciples were increasing in number, a complaint arose on the part of the Hellenistic Jews against the nativeHebrews, because their widows were being overlooked in the daily serving of food. So the twelve summoned the congregation of the disciples and said, "It is not desirable for us to neglect the word of God in order to serve tables. Therefore, brethren, select from among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may put in charge of this task. But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word." The statement found approval with the whole congregation; and they chose Stephen, a manfull of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas and Nicolas, a proselyte from Antioch. And these they brought before the apostles; and after praying, they laid their hands on them.

Acts 6:1-6 (NASB)

“The origin of the deacon is not known for certain, but many scholars believe that the seven chosen in Acts 6 provide the prototype of the New Testament deacon,” says Benjamin Merkle, Professor of New Testament and Greek.[1] However, many scholars are hesitant to call the Seven the first “deacons” because only the verb form diakoneo (“to serve”) appears in the text (Acts 6:2). The noun form diakonos (“servant” or “messenger”) is not used in these verses. Nevertheless, the ministry of deacon described in Acts 6 seems to be consistent with the other diakonos references (cf. Romans 16:1; Philippians 1:1; and 1 Timothy 3:8, 12).

The term diakonos is used twenty-nine times in the New Testament, but only three or four of these occurrences refer to the specific office of deacon. So, what is the office of deacon?

Why were the seven chosen in the first place? This question seems to be a good starting point. The early church was experiencing rapid growth (cf. Acts 2:47b; 4:4). As the church grew, so did the number of spiritual and physical needs of the people (Acts 6:1-2). Ministry to new converts was being overlooked. Specifically, the Greek-speaking Jewish widows were being neglected. The Apostles understood that failing to address the growing problems would only cause division in the church. Something had to be done.

In addition to the growing number of needs within the congregation, the apostles also recognized the luring distraction of serving tables that would divert them from their primary calling of preaching the Word of God (v. 2). It is important to note that the apostles did not lack humility. They were not suggesting that they were “too good” to serve widows or to wait tables. Keep in mind that the apostles had learned servant leadership from the Master, Jesus Himself (Matthew 20:25-27). Jesus had washed their feet and taught them about the paradoxes of the Christian life.

To be first is to be last (Mark 9:35)
To be great is to be least (Luke 9:48)
To find your life is to lose it (Matthew 16:25)
To be rich is to be poor (Matthew 5:3)
To rule is to serve (John 12:26)
To live is to die (Galatians 2:20) * Apostle Paul

It seems best to say that the apostles desired to remain faithful to the calling and the gifts they had received from God. This principle applies for us today. God has called and gifted men and women to fulfill specific assignments within the local church. Ministry breakdown and human resource burnout occur when those called and gifted to serve in a specific area are negligent in carrying out their assignment. In these instances, others (who often lack the calling and giftedness) are compelled to take on the extra duties. Unfortunately, this is where we get the “80/20 Rule.” Simply stated, 20 percent of the people are carrying 80 percent of the workload. In some situations, even that would be too generous! It’s helpful to remember the metaphor of the body (1 Corinthians 12:12-31). Every believer is part of the Body of Christ and is given a specific function. For example, a hand is not called or gifted to the do the work of a foot.

How did the Apostles in Acts 6 respond to the growing number of needs within the church? They charged the disciples with the task of appointing seven men to oversee the daily distribution of food in order to free them up to pray and preach the Word (v. 4).

While the deacon nomination and election process is not being discussed, it is important to make one observation from the text. The members of the congregation were not to choose a "warm body." This was not a recruiting process where “anyone willing can serve.” The office of deacon is not a volunteer position equal to that of finding a bell-ringer to stand at the door at Wal-Mart at Christmastime. Deacons should be determined not by popular vote, but by personal character. All of the qualifications outlined in Scripture (1 Timothy 3:8-13) relate to personal character and integrity. Therefore, the nomination and election process should reflect that above all else.

Based on Acts 6:1-6 and the other passages related to the office of deacon, there are several duties that deacons might be responsible for in the local church today:

Facilities – maintenance and upkeep of the church building and grounds; serving to keep the grounds secure and safe at all times.
Benevolence – administering and distributing funds for the needy.
Finances – day-to-day operations of counting the offering, record keeping, and assisting with other budget-related needs.
Ushers – distributing bulletins, seating the congregation, collecting the offering, and assisting with the Lord’s Supper.
Logistics – serving with the elder(s) in carrying out the vision of the church.

Deacons are instrumental in carrying out the ministry of the local church. While they are not responsible to teach or lead the congregation (as is the office of elder), they are to be servant-leaders as they carry out the service-oriented functions of the church.

Brett

[1] Merkle, Benjamin. 40 Questions About Elders and Deacons. (Grand Rapids: Kregel, 2008). 227

The Warning to Laodicea

2011-01-14T12:02:00.003-05:00

The Letter to the Seventh Church (in my opinion) is the most difficult of the seven to understand. I want to draw your attention to three issues the interpreter has to work through: Are the recipients of the letter Christians, what does it mean to be lukewarm, and what does Revelation 3:20 mean?

Are the recipients of the letter Christians?

It seems to me that they must be Christians. The evidence for this position begins with the fact that Jesus Christ calls the people He writes to a CHURCH. This admittedly does not guarantee that every person who was connected to the Church in Laodicea was a true born-again Christian, but that does not change the foundational point Jesus is making to this group, as we will see below.

Secondly, and more complex, Daniel Wallace makes a good case for why these people are believers in the Church of Laodicea. He points out that the use of the Greek verb “phileo,” when used separately from “agapao,” carries the force of fellowship. Theologically then, for the Lord to tell these people He loves them with a fellowshipping kind of love, it would suggest that they are in fact part of His body.

Jesus uses some very harsh words against this Church. He calls them wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked. He tells them they are lukewarm. He tells them that they need pure gold, white garments, and eye salve. This sounds like they need salvation. I’ll suggest my reason for rejecting this position below.

What does it mean to be lukewarm?

Jesus tells them that He wishes they were either hot or cold. As it is right now, they are lukewarm and are in danger of being vomited out of Jesus’ mouth. I used to think that Jesus was decrying “fence-sitting” in this passage. That He wanted people to either be completely sold out for Him or completely against Him so that there is no question to anyone about whose side you are on. However, it seems inconceivable that Jesus would wish someone were completely against Him. And the issue of “fence-sitting” being confusing to Jesus is certainly no trouble to the Omniscient One.

Rather, the historical and geographical context of Laodicea probably clears up what Jesus is referring to here. There were two neighboring cities with springs of water around Laodicea. One had hot springs and the other had cold springs. But, the aqueduct system for Laodicea was not able to retain the properties of the two springs – they mingled together and brought lukewarm water into the city.

Hot water is useful, cold water is useful, but lukewarm water can’t do what either of the other two can do. Jesus seems to be saying, “I have called some of you to be hot, I have called some of you to be cold – and yet you all are just lukewarm. You are not being who I have called you to be.”

What does Revelation 3:20 mean?

Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him, and eat with him, and he with me.

Is this a summons to salvation? “Will you invite Jesus into your heart?” I do not think that is Jesus’ point. First, I just argued above that these people were already Christians. Second, and more importantly, look at the prepositions “in to” and “into.” (Again, see Daniel Wallace’s discussion on this.) These are different words in both English and Greek. The verse says Jesus will come “in to” the person. The force of the verse then is not – will you allow Jesus to indwell you? (Which is theologically problematic anyway seeing as the Holy Spirit is the Member of the Trinity who indwells believers.) Rather, the force of the verse is on whether or not you “hear” Jesus’ voice and open the door to Him.

Conclusion

So, how does this tie together? I take this whole passage as one of the warning passages of the New Testament. Jesus seems to be giving the same warning to the Church in Laodicea three different ways. You are neither hot nor cold, you are lukewarm. You are not rich; you are poor, blind, and naked. Will you hear My voice, or will you close off from Me and remain in the same condition you are currently in?

If you will not be what I created you to be, or buy from Me instead of from the world’s wares, or hear my voice and eat with Me, THEN I will spew you out of My mouth. You will have shown yourself to be a false believer. You will have shown yourself to be lost. BUT, if you will be what I created you to be through repentance and zeal; if you will get your gold and white garments and eye salve from Me instead of from the world; if you will hear my voice and open the door, then this warning will have done its job and you will have given evidences of grace in your life.

And if you will hear My voice and open the door and eat with me, then I will allow you to sit down with Me on My throne just as I sat down with My Father on His throne!

To read another pastor’s take on this conclusion, go here. It is worth your time.

New Year Reflections

2011-01-03T22:15:00.003-05:00

Another year has come and gone. Some goals have been achieved while others have fallen by the wayside. Many people are filled with a fleeting passion to accomplish more this year than they did last year. Why is that? Here are a few thoughts.

American culture is an interesting animal. The majority of Americans grow up being taught and believing that they can be whatever they want to be and do whatever they set their mind to doing. There is a rugged individualism that is implanted in us practically at birth that tells us in every situation the solution is to try harder. You can do it! There is a sense in which self-reliance can overpower one's way of thinking, even to the extent that it affects the way you view spiritual things.

However, the spiritual reality is quite different than the American sentiment. The unfortunate truth is that we can't do it. In fact, we can't do it so badly that Jesus Christ took the form of a man, lived a sinless life, died a substitutionary death, rose victoriously from the grave, and ascended into heaven, completing the work of redemption for all those who believe. When will we ever fully embrace this truth to the point that it transforms our thoughts, attitudes, and actions?

Don't make a New Year's resolution. Surrender to Jesus Christ, die to yourself, and get a new life. That's the only reality worth living for.

Mike. Out.

Prayer and the Sovereignty of God

2010-12-18T15:37:00.002-05:00

Tragedy comes at all times of the year. There is no moratorium during the holidays. A dear Christian sister, three weeks shy of her 95^th birthday, passed away this week. Her death comes as a shock to our church because she was a bastion of excellent health just four days ago. But when she did not come to Wednesday Night Prayer Meeting and Bible Study, her friends were worried. After church, they checked on her and found that she had fallen in her home. Then over the course of the next two days, she improved, and then worsened, and finally Jesus shepherded her into His Kingdom.

Wednesday night, I was informed of the accident after church and rushed to her home. After EMS took her to the hospital, I returned to my home and thought over the recent events. This led me to the title of this post. My tendency, especially during emergency situations, is to automatically rush into action to “see what I can do.” Yet, often in those situations, I fail to pray.

I have no medical training and other than making a few phone calls Wednesday evening, really didn’t do much to help the situation. I should have prayed. Now, I do not suppose that the outcome of the past few days would have been much different had I, and others, prayed more. We are not privileged to know what might have been. But in Scripture, prayer is placed at a much higher priority than it is on my list. Why might that be?

Perhaps it is because in times of emergency, my natural (sinful) reflex is to grasp for control instead of resting in the all-powerful King and Sustainer, Jesus Christ. And Jesus is not silent on this issue. His Word is clear. Ask, seek, knock (Matthew 7:7). Pray without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17). Approach the Throne of Grace with confidence (Hebrews 4:16). Pray for one another that you may be healed (James 5:16). And as an example in times of emergency – Nehemiah breathed a prayer to the Lord before answering his master in exile (Nehemiah 2:4-5).

Thankfully, my hope is not in my ability to pray well. My hope is in Jesus Christ and His work for me on the cross and in the resurrection. And He intercedes for us, even right now. Rest in the sovereignty of God. And pray.

Religious Entertainment

2010-12-06T14:40:00.010-05:00

Recently, I've been reading Tozer on the Almighty God, a compilation of daily devotional writings by A. W. Tozer. I was struck by one particular entry and felt compelled to share it. May the truth penetrate our hearts and remind us that we were created to worship.

--------------------

"Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God."

Colossians 3:16

"Religious entertainment has so corrupted the Church of Christ that millions don't know that it's a heresy...They don't know that it's as much a heresy as the counting of beads or the splashing of holy water or something else. To expose this, of course, raises a storm of angry protest among the people...

One man wrote an article as an expose' of me. He said that I claimed that religious entertainment was wrong and he said, "Don't you know that every time you sing a hymn, it's entertainment?" Every time you sing a hymn? I don't know how that fellow ever finds his way home at night. He ought to have a seeing eye dog and a man with a white cane to take him home!

When you raise your eyes to God and sing, "Break Thou the bread of life, dear Lord, to me," is that entertainment - or is it worship? Isn't there a difference between worship and entertainment? The church that can't worship must be entertained. And men who can't lead a church to worship must provide the entertainment. That is why we have the great evangelical heresy here today - the heresy of religious entertainment.

Lord, help me to be aware of the dangers of religious entertainment and fill me to overflowing with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to Your glory! Amen." (p. 321)

-------------------

Tozer wrote this over 50 years ago, yet, it's so appropriate for us in the church today as we face the "worship wars." As the people of God assemble for worship we find ourselves squabbling over musical styles - as if worship is even limited to music. Perhaps we just need to understand the difference between worship and religious entertainment. Which one do you think pleases the heart of God?

Where is the credible witness?

2010-12-01T15:33:00.006-05:00

So I was sitting in my office at the church this morning going through some email when I heard a conversation from down the hall. I couldn't make out the details or the subject of the conversation but the sheer volume of it made it impossible to ignore. Regardless of the subject matter, there was an apparent disagreement that was escalating, from one side of the dialogue at least. The exchange lasted for about two minutes and then it was over. Both participants went back to their corners...I mean...their offices. It was just then that the thought occurred to me: Am I in the right office? Did I accidentally drive to the wrong location this morning and stumble into a stereotypical secular office building? Clearly this is what has happened because I'm quite sure I wouldn't be hearing this type of banter in the office complex of a church.

Then the reality sank in. I was in the right office. I did hear an unpleasant, heated exchange between two people that serve with me...in the church. So what gives? Why did this happen? Why is it evidently so easy for those who claim to be disciples of Jesus to treat their brothers and sisters so poorly? Are they really disciples of Jesus? Has Jesus really done a work in their heart? Are they just having a bad day? Are they only human (and sinful)? Is that a sufficient reason for behaving so badly? What does the Bible have to say about such a situation?

These questions and others were flooding my mind. I was tempted to ask both parties to come sit in my office for a few minutes so we could pray and then talk about what had just happened. I felt the need to address the situation despite the fact that I was not directly involved in it. However, I did not. I just sat in my office sorting through the range of emotions that I was feeling at that moment...surprise, disappointment, personal conviction. And no, I was not feeling personal conviction about not having said something about it. I was feeling conviction about how many times that I have been the one who has engaged in the exact same behavior.

Two passages of Scripture came to mind as a result of this morning's events. Romans 1:28-32 and James 3:5b-12.

And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper, being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; they are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful; and although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them.

See how great a forest is set aflame by such a small fire! And the tongue is a fire, the very world of iniquity; the tongue is set among our members as that which defiles the entire body, and sets on fire the course of our life, and is set on fire by hell. For every species of beasts and birds, of reptiles and creatures of the sea, is tamed and has been tamed by the human race. But no one can tame the tongue; it is a restless evil and full of deadly poison. With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the likeness of God; from the same mouth come both blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be this way. Does a fountain send out from the same opening both fresh and bitter water? Can a fig tree, my brethren, produce olives, or a vine produce figs? Nor can salt water produce fresh.

Sometimes I wonder if we really believe what the Bible says. The reason I have this thought is simply because I observe my own behavior. I know intellectually that the Bible is true, but unfortunately I constantly fall short in obedience to it. Vance Havner said it this way. "What you live is what you really believe. Everything else is just a lot of religious talk."

Gracious Heavenly Father, grant that my deeds would reflect my creed to the glory of God.

Mike. Out.

Thanksgiving and Atheism

2010-11-23T23:06:00.017-05:00

The Sermon on the Mount is the greatest sermon ever preached. The Lord Jesus Christ preached it, which is reason enough for it to occupy first place. But moreover, the truth delivered is unapologetically confrontational. Of course, that’s the nature of the gospel! Spanning three chapters in the Gospel According to Matthew, the truth proclaimed by Jesus [the Word made flesh] is sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and spirit, and joints and marrow. Indeed, the truth is sufficient to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart (Heb. 4:12).

The Beatitudes of Matthew 5:1-12 deal with the condition of the heart - the attitude of the heart, which is why some scholars refer to them as the “attitudes of the kingdom.” They describe the character traits of someone who is a citizen of the kingdom of God. They [and only they] are the recipients of God’s blessing and approval. The truth causes us to examine the reality of our own sinful hearts. Are we truly believers of the Lord Jesus? Have we truly received God’s grace and forgiveness? Do we really understand what it means to be a follower of Christ? It’s not a matter of admitting, believing, confessing and praying a prayer; it’s a matter of receiving a new heart and becoming a new creation in Christ (2 Cor. 5:17-21). If our hearts have been transformed by the power of the gospel then our actions will reflect it. This is the point that Jesus is driving at.

The first four Beatitudes (vv. 3-7) deal with our vertical relationship with God (being poor in spirit, weeping/mourning over the reality of sin, being meek and gentle/humble, and being hungry and thirsty for righteousness). The second four Beatitudes (vv. 8-12) deal with our horizontal relationships with others (showing mercy/forgiveness, seeking purity, promoting peace in all things, and enduring persecution).

Contextually, we must note that Jesus surveys the character traits in verses 3-9 and then gives a big left hook in verses 10-12. It’s not subtly surprising it’s sensationally shocking! It causes us to pause, reflect and take a deep spiritual breath at what has just been said. Let’s not miss this. Jesus moves from talking about the condition of the heart to persecution and giving thanks. In essence, will we live for His glory even if it means persecution? Are we willing to endure persecution and give thanks for the sake of Christ? Are we willing to die for Him? Is our faith that valuable to us?

If the answer is “yes”, then we must also accept His two-fold assignment of being the salt of the earth and the light of the world (vv. 13-16). We must seek to influence and preserve the world for Christ and we must seek to dispel darkness with the truth of Christ – even in the midst of persecution and suffering. Does Jesus really mean that we can rejoice and be glad? Can we learn to give thanks in the midst of persecution? YES! We must realize that we are part of something bigger than ourselves.

Jesus follows the Beatitudes with the command to be salt and light. He reminds the disciples that they are part of the kingdom – they are part of a move of God! When we begin to understand that we are part of the kingdom of God then we will begin to live as though nothing else matters! Sickness, pain, illness, persecution and death - nothing can defeat us (1 Cor. 15:50-58). For this reason, we “rejoice and be glad for great is our reward in heaven” (Matt. 5:12). This was the attitude of the prophets of old, many of which gave their lives for their faith. This has been the case throughout the history of the church.

As we approach Thanksgiving, may we pause and give God thanks. Thank Him not just for what He has done, but for who He is. May we seek not His hand, but His face. Regardless of the circumstances of your life right now, there is much reason to praise the LORD and give thanks to Him with all your heart (Psalm 111:1). You are also not alone; you are part of the kingdom of God!

I recently read an article about outspoken atheist and well-known speaker and author, Christopher Hitchens. He was diagnosed with metastasized esophageal cancer in June. The latest doctors report indicates that he has a chance of remission, but the prognosis is not good.

Hitchens made the following statement:

“One of my occasionally silly thoughts is: I wish I was suffering in a good cause — a cause larger than myself. Or, larger than just the mere survival. If you're in pain and being tortured, and you felt it was helping the liberation of humanity, then you can bear it better, I think.” *

Can an atheist give thanks? To whom do they give thanks? Can they suffer for a good cause that is larger than themselves? Can they experience pain and torture for the purpose of helping the liberation of humanity?

Only salt and light can give thanks. Only salt and light can acknowledge that every good and perfect gift comes from their Father above (James 1:17). Only salt and light can suffer for a good cause that is bigger than themselves – the kingdom of the gospel. Only salt and light can suffer and be persecuted for the liberation of humanity. The gospel is the redemptive plan of God to liberate sinners from the shackles of sin. Jesus came to liberate humanity.

As Christians, we have every reason to be thankful. We also have every reason to pray for Christopher Hitchens [and the like]. May we pray that they come to experience the God of the Bible – this side of eternity.

May we have an attitude of gratitude as we give thanks to the LORD with all our heart!

Happy Thanksgiving!

* http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=130917506

Church and State

2010-11-04T11:43:00.002-04:00

There is wisdom here.

Read Dr. Mohler’s words in the context of Romans 13:1-7, 1 Timothy 2:1-4 and 1 Peter 2:13-17. The Church has specific responsibilities given to her by Christ regarding those in governing authority over us. And these responsibilities hold whether we agree with the authority's policies/ideologies or not.

Mohler’s conclusion:

“Evangelical Christians have moved through several phases of political engagement in recent decades. Coming out of the wilderness years of relative withdrawal from interest in politics, evangelicals joined the Religious Right with eagerness and great expectations. But, even as some important legislative and bureaucratic victories were won, the Religious Right never fulfilled its many promises. Now, a good many evangelicals, young and old, are rethinking the political equation once again.

Evangelicals tend to swing between extremes when it comes to politics and elections. We are too easily elated and too readily depressed. Make no mistake. The election results of 2010 will lead to big changes in Washington and far beyond. That in itself is good news. But all this must be put in a truly Christian context.

Christians are supposed to be the people who know the dangers of investing either too much, or too little, confidence in the political system. The election is over. Now is the time for Christians to pray for those who were elected and for the government they will serve. Things are going to get interesting fast.”

Local Church Discipline and Local Church Health

2010-10-22T17:22:00.003-04:00

The Bible teaches that we will not be completely freed from our sin until we are glorified in the New Heavens and the New Earth (see 1 John 1:8, 3:2, Revelation 21-22). Therefore, while still on earth in this age, the Church continually needs sanctification and the mortification of the flesh in believers. One of the main processes of sanctification in the local church is church discipline (see Matthew 18:15-20). Because of this, if a local church does not regularly practice church discipline as laid out by Jesus Christ it is not a sign of health in that church. Rather, the lack of the regular practice of church discipline can only be categorized as unfaithfulness to Jesus Christ and a lack of love for the members of that local church.

I am not suggesting that a local church must regularly practice the third level of discipline that Jesus gives us (bringing an unrepentant sinner before the church and then excommunicating him if he refuses to repent). Certainly if the situation requires this level, it must be practiced. But, the goal is that the first level (privately going to your brother to show him his guilt), or maybe the second level of church discipline (taking two or three witnesses if the first level did not bring repentance) would suffice to bring the sinner in question to repentance.

The upshot is this: our churches must practice church discipline if they are to be healthy churches. And the excuse that there is no reason to practice discipline in one's particular local church cannot be used. Sin is universally present in all of our lives (and all of our churches); therefore we all need regular church discipline. To fail to regularly practice local church discipline is to be unfaithful to Jesus Christ the King and Bridegroom of the Church.

For further reading on this topic see Mark Dever’s WHAT IS A HEALTHY CHURCH? and Dever’s NINE MARKS OF A HEALTHY CHURCH.

Review of ACCORDING TO PLAN

2010-09-24T21:45:00.006-04:00

Graeme Goldsworthy, ACCORDING TO PLAN: THE UNFOLDING REVELATION OF GOD IN THE BIBLE. Published by InterVarsity Press in 1991. ISBN# 0-8308-2696-3. 251 pages.

Goldsworthy’s book, ACCORDING TO PLAN, is still being presented as a watershed piece by those who know and teach Biblical Theology. My plan for this post and the next (and possibly the one after that) is to summarize and discuss some of the issues of Biblical Theology. I will be reviewing Goldsworthy’s book in this post. And next time, I will review Michael Lawrence’s brand new book on Biblical Theology.

First, Goldsworthy states on page 7 that he has attempted to do three things: “First, to introduce the reader to an integrated theology of the whole Bible. Second, to write this introduction fully accepting the full inspiration and authority of the Bible as the word of God. Third, to write for ordinary Christians at a level that avoids unnecessary technicalities.” The book is then broken into four parts. Part one asks the why question: Why do Biblical Theology? Part two: How do we do Biblical Theology? Part three: What is Biblical Theology? And Part four: Where do we do Biblical Theology? Also, at the outset, I would like to note that there are several charts, graphs, and visual aids in this book that are immensely helpful for the reader to make sure they understand everything that is being discussed in the book.

Summary of ACCORDING TO PLAN

Part one consists of one chapter. Here, Goldsworthy argues that individual texts of Scripture raise difficult interpretive questions and Biblical Theology helps the reader answer these questions. For examples, Goldsworthy picks various passages in Scripture and talks about the multiple ways these passages could be interpreted i.e. questions about the Sabbath. Biblical Theology is meant to give the Bible reader the tools to faithfully interpret individual scriptural texts.

Part two consists of six chapters. Here Goldsworthy establishes his foundational presuppositions regarding God’s self revelation to humanity. In so doing, the author points out the universality of theology. Theology is simply speaking words about God – and every human being does this all of the time. We may speak true or untrue words about God, but we all do theology. Goldsworthy helpfully points out in this section that Christ is the full revelation of God and we know Christ through the Scriptures. This leads us to one of the most important parts of the book, Christ and His redeeming work as summed up in the Gospel, informs how we interpret Scripture (see page 55). This issue will be discussed at more length below.

Goldsworthy continues his discussion by showing the reader how God has progressively revealed Himself in Scripture. The farther along the reader goes in the storyline of Scripture, the more we come to know about God and the plan of redemption.

Goldsworthy finishes this section by establishing that faithful interpretation of Scripture begins and ends with Christ. This includes taking into consideration the literature genre, historical context, and the actual revelatory content of any given passage that the reader is working with.

Part three is the longest section of the book at 18 chapters. Goldsworthy walks the reader through the storyline of the Bible and lays out the major themes of Biblical Theology. For a helpful visual aid, see the chart on page 80. In 154 pages, Goldsworthy spells out how the Gospel of Jesus Christ is central in all of Scripture and how all of Biblical Theology points us toward Him.

Goldsworthy’s conclusion is summed up in the chart on page 232 and this is the crux of his entire argument. God progressively reveals Himself to His people throughout the biblical storyline. This revelation can be divided into four categories: Kingdom, God, Mankind, and World. This issue will be discussed at more length below.

Part four concludes the book with two chapters. Here, Goldsworthy’s goal is to show the real life process of Biblical Theology in the context of the life of the Church. His two test cases are: “What is God’s will for my life?” and “Is there life after death?” These are admittedly brief statements, but Goldsworthy is aware of this and intentionally did not want to lengthen the book for his readers.

Strengths of ACCORDING TO PLAN

The strengths are many, so I am going to confine myself to three points. First, Goldsworthy’s statement on page 55 that Christ is the interpretive key to all of Scripture is immensely important. He lays out a “Christian approach to the Old Testament.” Goldsworthy writes:

As Christians, we must return to the principles of Old Testament interpretation dictated by the New Testament. When Jesus says that he gives the Old Testament its meaning, he is also saying that we need the Old Testament to understand what he says about himself. Jesus drives us back to the Old Testament to examine it through Christian eyes, teaching that it leads us back to him.

In doing biblical theology as Christians, we do not start at Genesis 1 and work our way forward until we discover where it is all leading. Rather we first come to Christ, and he directs us to study the Old Testament in the light of the gospel. The gospel will interpret the Old Testament by showing its goal and meaning. The Old Testament will increase our understanding of the gospel by showing us what Christ fulfills.

I believe it is hard to overestimate the importance of these two paragraphs for the Church. We must read the entire Bible as Christians. And this means we must approach the text with the expectation that it can only be rightly interpreted in view of the person and work of Jesus Christ. Think long and hard about this as you read passages like Luke 24 regarding Jesus’ teaching on the Emmaus Road.

The second strength to discuss is Goldsworthy’s conviction of how progressive revelation is centered on Jesus Christ. This is laid out in the chart on page 232, but the entire 18 chapters of part three drives the reader to this conclusion. The Old Testament points forward to Christ and the New Testament looks backward to Christ.

To summarize his conclusion: The Kingdom begins as the original creation (generation). God has revealed Himself as God, the Creator. Adam and Eve are Mankind and the World is Eden. This is where the “Kingdom pattern [is] established.” Then, after the Fall, the regeneration of the Kingdom is foreshadowed. God begins to progressively reveal Himself as God and then as LORD. The regeneration of mankind begins in God’s call and covenant with Abraham and his descendants first, and then in Israel, and then specifically in David’s line as king. The regenerated world is revealed as Canaan and then centers on the Temple in Jerusalem during the reign of the Davidic kings. So here the “Kingdom [is] revealed in Israel’s history.” After this comes the regeneration revealed in prophecy. God is still revealing Himself as the Covenant God whose name is the LORD. Mankind has been narrowed down to the faithful remnant of Israel. And the World is now prophetically identified in the New Temple and Jerusalem. So, the “Kingdom [is] revealed in prophetic eschatology.

It is at this point that Goldsworthy’s interpretive scheme really comes into focus. The stage is set for the “regeneration for us and in us and in the whole of creation” to begin. And it begins in Jesus Christ. So, God reveals Himself in His Son, Jesus Christ. Mankind is found in Jesus Christ – the faithful Man of God. And the World is found in Jesus Christ – as the firstborn of all creation, the first one to be fully glorified after resurrection and the one who begins to reverse the curse of sin. So, the “Kingdom [is] revealed in Jesus.” [Note that Goldsworthy’s theological usage of these words in no way suggests universalism, the idea that all people will be saved in the end. This summary would become unwieldy in length if I reproduced all of his argumentation. Suffice it to say that Goldsworthy explains his position fully and adequately in the chapters of ACCORDING TO PLAN.]

And at this point, the accomplishment of redemption is now applied to us. So, God has now revealed Himself as Trinity. Regenerated mankind is made up of those who are “in Christ.” And the regenerated world is where Christ is. His Kingdom is invading this present darkness. This marks a period of transition that will be consummated in the Age to Come. There, God still reveals Himself as Trinity. Mankind is at that point the people who are literally in the presence of God. And the world is the New Heaven’s and the New Earth.

All I have done here is taken the chart on page 232 and written it out in paragraph form. But, what you have here is the storyline of Scripture. What you have is the foundation for doing Biblical Theology.

The final strength I will discuss is Goldsworthy’s overall confidence in the Word of God. Scripture, when rightly interpreted, is sufficient because in the Bible the Church hears the voice of her Savior. So, the practical concerns of everyday life are spoken to in the Word of God. Our responsibility is to read and hear and see what the Lord says.

Weaknesses of ACCORDING TO PLAN

As far as weaknesses go, there were not many. One I will mention was a strange statement on page 221 about Jesus Christ being our “alter ego.” I think that is an unfortunate phrase because it suggests that Christ’s Spirit in us, conforming us to His image, might only be a figment of our imagination. I am sure this is not what the author intended to convey, but I wish he had worded the statement differently.

Further Thinking in view of ACCORDING TO PLAN

There is need for further thinking after reading this book. The obvious starting place is drawing out more details on practical theological issues by building on these principles. The Church needs a steady diet of Scripture rightly interpreted in order to be doers and hearers of the Word. Also, for preachers and teachers, we must take care to handle individual passages carefully while using these principles so that each sermon exposits the individual text and does not turn into the same sermon every week with a different starting point.

All in all, this is an excellent introduction to Biblical Theology. It is nearly 20 years old, but if you have not read it yet, buy a copy or get one at your library and read it soon. Your Bible study, preaching, and Christian life will be stronger for it. ACCORDING TO PLAN by Graeme Goldsworthy comes highly recommended for everyone.

Jason Sturkie

Seven Sins of Dying Churches

2010-09-20T02:47:00.009-04:00

Recently, I have been reading Essential Church? Reclaiming a Generation of Dropouts by authors, Thom S. Rainer and Sam Rainer III. It's a good read for pastors and other congregational leaders who are concerned about the rise in generational decline within local churches across America. The book compiles information gathered from studies that reveal a staggering fact: Over two-thirds of young churchgoing adults in America drop out of church between the ages of eighteen and twenty-two.

Here are the ten most common reasons the dechurched said they left the church between the ages of eighteen and twenty-two:

1. Simply wanted a break from church.
2. Church members seemed judgmental or hypocritical.
3. Moved to college and stopped attending church.
4. Work responsibilities prevented me from attending.
5. Moved too far away from the church to continue attending.
6. Became too busy though still wanted to attend.
7. Didn't feel connected to the people in my church.
8. Disagreed with the church's stance of political or social issues.
9. Chose to spend more time with friends outside the church.
10. Was only going to church to please others.

The study concluded that churchgoing students drop out of church because it is "not essential to their lives."

Essential Church? identifies seven sins of dying churches that serve as the driving factors behind losing the generational battle - the battle for every generation to see the significance of the church.

Sin 1: Doctrine Dilution
"Teaching anything less than the absolute truths in Scripture will make the younger generation feel betrayed when they learn that a large gap exists between what the Bible really says and what they were taught in church" (16).

Sin 2: Loss of Evangelistic Passion
"Dying churches have little evangelistic passion. It is the responsibility of the pastor and other key leaders to exhibit this evangelistic passion" (17).

Sin 3: Failure to be Relevant
"Churches that do not find ways to become relevant in their respective communities will eventually falter. Churches that keep their internal culture unchanged for fifty years while the world around them goes through continual periods of metamorphosis typically die with the old culture" (17).

Sin 4: Few Outwardly Focused Ministries
"As crucial as Bible studies and fellowship are, dying churches gorge themselves on closed study groups and churchwide fellowship events while neglecting outreach in the community. Dying churches heavily skew their ministries internally" (18).

Sin 5: Conflict over Personal Preferences
"People within the church can squabble over the most insignificant things (pews, seats, sofas, style of newsletters and bulletins, etc.). When the church focuses on trivial matters, the greater gospel message is left on the sidelines" (18).

Sin 6: The Priority of Comfort
"Dying churches are comfortable with their ministries. They do nothing outside the bounds of their comfort levels" (19). These churches are often plagued with the attitude, "That's the way we've always done it!"

Sin 7: Biblical Illiteracy
"We are to be diligent to present ourselves to God, workers not needing to be ashamed, correctly teaching the word of truth (2 Tim. 2:15). If a church member does not understand the basics of Scripture, then they are hampered in their witness" (19).

May we prayerfully join hands and hearts for our churches that we steer clear of committing these sins that lead to failure in reaching, retaining, and if necessary, reclaiming those who become church dropouts.

"This Church Had a Man Crisis"

2010-09-03T18:31:00.017-04:00

Church Planter and Pastor, Darrin Patrick talks openly as he addresses one of the greatest challenges facing the church today - the disintegration of male leadership. May we travail in prayer for men to rise up and assume their God-given role to "teach faithful men who will be able to teach others also" (cf. 2 Tim. 2:2).

Hear these words from Darrin...

Preaching as Worship

2010-08-31T13:40:00.004-04:00

The following is taken from a book I am currently reading entitled, "He is Not Silent: Preaching in a Postmodern World" by R. Albert Mohler.

"Music is one of God's most precious gifts to His people, and it is a language by which we may worship God in spirit and in truth. The hymns of the faith convey rich confessional and theological content, and many modern choruses recover a sense of doxology formerly lost in many evangelical churches. But music is not the central act of Christian worship - nor is evangelism, nor even the ordinances. The heart of Christian worship is the authentic preaching of the Word of God."

"This centrality of preaching is seen in both testaments of Scripture. It was the apostle Paul, for example, who told Timothy in no uncertain terms, 'I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at His appearing and his kingdom, Preach the Word!' In Nehemiah 8, as we will see in more detail in the next chapter, we find a remarkable portrait of expository preaching, when the people demand that Ezra the scribe bring the book of the law to the assembly. Ezra stands on a raised platform and reads from the book of the law, 'translating to give the sense so that they understood the reading' (Nehemiah 8:8 NASB). When he opens the book to read, the assembly rises to its feet in honor of the Word of God, and their response to the reading is to answer, 'Amen, Amen!'"

"This text is a sobering indictment of much contemporary Christianity. According to the text, a demand for biblical preaching erupted within the hearts of the poeple. They gathered as a congregation and summoned the preacher. This reflects an intense hunger and thirst for the preaching of the Word of God. Where is this desire evident among today's evangelicals? Moreover, where is the faithfulness of preachers to confront their people with the preached Word of God? There seems to be a sense that people will be more affected by the gospel if it is presented in a slickly produced multimedia production, or even if we dispense with preaching altogether in favor of a purely subjective and emotional worship 'experience.' Yet what was it that brought the Israelites to their God-honoring response of 'Amen, Amen!'? It was the exposition of the Word. Ezra did not stage an event or orchestrate a spectacle. He simply and carefully proclaimed the Word of God."

"In far too many churches, the Bible is nearly silent. The public reading of Scripture has been dropped from many services, and the sermon has been sidelined, reduced to a brief devotional appended to the music. Many preachers accept this as a necessary concession to the age of entertainment, and are thus left with the modest hope of including a brief message of encouragement or exhortation before the conclusion of the service."

"Michael Green pointedly put the problem like this: 'This is the age of the sermonette, and sermonettes make Christianettes.' The anemia of evangelical worship - all the music and energy aside - is directly attributable to the absence of genuine expository preaching. If we as pastors are truly serious about giving our people a true vision of God, showing them their own sinfulness, proclaiming to them the gospel of Jesus Christ, and encouraging them to obedient service in response to that gospel, then we will devote our lives to preaching the Word. That is our task and our calling - to confront our congregations with nothing less than the living and active Word of God, and to pray that the Holy Spirit will thereby open eyes, convict consciences, and apply that Word to human hearts."

pp. 36-38.

So...what do you say, Pastor? Are you up to the task?

I pray to God that He will give me the strength to preach the Word and nothing else.

Mike. Out.

The Goal of Preaching

2010-08-12T13:34:00.004-04:00

Here is an excerpt from a book I am currently reading entitled "The Supremacy of God in Preaching" by John Piper.

"Our parents fell for it, and in them we have all fallen for it. It's now part of our nature. We take the mirror of God's image, which was intended to reflect His glory in the world, and turn our backs to the light, and fall in love with the contours of our own dark shadow, trying desperately to convince ourselves (with technological advances or management skills or athletic prowess or academic achievements or sexual exploits or counterculture hair styles) that the dark shadow of the image on the ground in front of us is really glorious and satisfying. And in our proud love affair with ourselves, we pour contempt (whether we know it or not!) on the worth of God's glory.

And as our pride pours contempt upon God's glory, His righteousness obliges Him to pour wrath upon our pride.

'The haughty looks of man shall be brought low, and the lofty pride of men shall be humbled; and the LORD alone will be exalted in that day.' -Isaiah 2:11

'For how should My Name be profaned? My glory I will not give to another.' -Isaiah 48:11

'The eyes of the haughty are brought low...and the Holy God shows Himself holy in righteousness.' -Isaiah 5:15-16

'Destruction is decreed, overflowing with righteousness.' -Isaiah 10:22

The goal of preaching is the glory of God in the glad submission of His creation. and so there is an obstacle to this preaching in God, and there is an obstacle in man. The pride of man will not delight in God's glory. The righteousness of God will not suffer his glory to be scorned.

So where is there any hope that preaching might attain its goal--that God be glorified in those who are satisfied in Him? Can the righteousness of God ever relent in its opposition to sinners? Can the pride of man ever be broken of its own vanity and be satisfied in God's glory? Is there a basis for such hope? Is there a ground for valid and hopeful preaching?

There is. In the cross of Christ, God has undertaken to overcome both obstacles to preaching. It overcomes the objective, external obstacle of God's righteous opposition to human pride. And it overcomes the subjective, internal obstacle of our proud opposition to God's glory. In so doing the cross becomes the ground of the objective validity of preaching and the ground of the subjective humility of preaching.

pgs. 32-33

Missio Dei

2010-08-08T15:30:00.000-04:00

What is the mission of the church? What are God's people supposed to be doing until He returns? These are questions that are worth asking if you are a disciple of Christ. After all, if we don't understand what our mission is then we are all but destined to fail in accomplishing it.

I just recently returned from spending two weeks in the mountains of Peru. Several others from the church accompanied me and we went to South America with the goal of being on mission for God. Now I realize that many of us may have grown up being taught the meaning of being on mission for God. However, I believe that the general consensus among many churches today may be a bit off track when it comes to the mission of God.

Many times we are misled into thinking that the primary purpose of going on a mission trip is to find people that are poorer than we are so we can go and give them some stuff that they don't have. We often confuse social work and community projects for gospel proclamation. Unfortunately, it took me traveling to the mountains of Peru to figure this out for myself.

The people with whom we were working have very little in the way of material possessions. They have running water, but it is not clean nor is it warm. They have buildings and homes, but they are primitive at best. They have electricity, but it is often unreliable. Aside from that, they just don't have very much stuff. But here's the interesting thing. They don't appear to want stuff. They appear to be, for all practical purposes, content with what they have. They have not been tainted with this spirit of materialism and entitlement that courses through the veins of the American culture. Their children very rarely cry or pitch a fit. They don't scream because they don't have the latest game for their XBox or Wii. The people in this village did not rush up to us the moment we arrived because they figured the "Americans" had just come to offer them a hand out. They are content with what they have.

So here's the epiphany. How many times have church groups traveled all over the world only to give people "stuff" instead of giving them Jesus? How many mission fields have been forever jaded because of an American presence that has been equated with nothing more than free stuff? Thankfully, this was not the case among the people with whom we worked. No one had ever reached them before and there was no expectation that we had come just to give them stuff. This is when I realized what the true mission of the church is.

Jesus is not an add-on. Jesus is not something that we include if we have time. We don't go halfway around the world so we can do an American VBS for people who don't have the slightest idea what we're doing. We don't travel long distances just so we can give people some trinkets from Oriental Trading (no offense). Brothers and sisters: THE MESSAGE IS JESUS. Just give them Jesus. That is the mission of God. His name is Jesus.

There's nothing wrong with meeting physical needs for people that have them, but there is a lot more to it than that. The only reason that we go to meet peoples' physical needs is so we might earn the opportunity to show them who can meet their greatest spiritual need. The best mission trip in the world is one where you can share the love and the message of Jesus. If meeting physical needs is the pathway for that to happen, then so be it. But the trip is not about the physical needs. The trip is about the mission and the mission is all about Jesus Christ.

We don't have time to waste with a lack of intentionality. We're in a war and we have a job to do. The mission is clear. "If people all over the world are under condemnation for sin and cut off from eternal life, and if calling on Jesus is their only hope for eternal, joyful fellowship with God, then love demands missions." (Let the Nations be glad by John Piper) It's time to stop asking people to come to us. It's time to start declaring, "Send me, I'll go." Let's get to it, folks. Everyday. Everywhere. To everyone. Let's get to it.

Mike. Out.

Alcohol

2010-07-14T16:17:00.004-04:00

My goal in this post is not to give an exhaustive presentation of the biblical teaching on alcohol. Rather, this is meant to simply raise five points regarding the issue for the purpose of engaging in discussion. Comments are welcome, humility is encouraged.

Five Points:

1. Sin of Drunkenness

2. Good Gift of Wine

3. Not Causing Others to Sin

4. Not Sinning Against your Conscience

5. Need for Wisdom

The Sin of Drunkenness

The Bible uniformly condemns drunkenness as sinful. From the first mention of alcohol, we hear the Spirit of God telling us to beware of this sin. Noah’s wine is the first mention of alcohol in the Bible, and Noah got drunk off of it, leading to far-reaching family consequences. The sin of drunkenness is explicitly condemned by the Apostle Paul in Ephesians 5:18. Also, there are several passages in the Proverbs that link drunkenness with foolishness. This is not necessarily stating that drunkenness is a result of stupidity. Rather, the biblical definition of a fool is one who either states or acts in such a way as to declare that there is no God. So, when the fool is a drunkard, he is allowing alcohol to be his master, rather than the Lord. See Proverbs 20:1.

The Good Gift of Wine

This aspect of biblical teaching is often overlooked in the discussion about alcohol. Briefly, the Bible states in several places, in both Testaments, that wine is a good gift from God and He has given it to us for our joy.

· Psalm 104:14-15 You cause the grass to grow for the livestock and plants for man to cultivate, that he may bring forth food from the earth and wine to gladden the heart of man, oil to make his face shine and bread to strengthen man’s heart.

· Deuteronomy 14:22-26 "You shall tithe all the yield of your seed that comes from the field year by year. And before the LORD your God, in the place that he will choose, to make his name dwell there, you shall eat the tithe of your grain, of your wine, and of your oil, and the firstborn of your herd and flock, that you may learn to fear the LORD your God always. And if the way is too long for you, so that you are not able to carry the tithe, when the LORD your God blesses you, because the place is too far from you, which the LORD your God chooses, to set his name there, then you shall turn it into money and bind up the money in your hand and go to the place that the LORD your God chooses and spend the money for whatever you desire—oxen or sheep or wine or strong drink, whatever your appetite craves. And you shall eat there before the LORD your God and rejoice, you and your household.

· Isaiah 25:6-9 On this mountain the LORD of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wine, of rich food full of marrow, of aged wine well refined. And he will swallow up on this mountain the covering that is cast over all peoples, the veil that is spread over all nations. 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."

· John 2 – I will not quote this passage, but it is the wedding a Cana. Jesus turned the water into wine. It was good wine. The master of the feast said so.

· Matthew 26:29 I tell you I will not drink again of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom."

Lest we think that Jesus perhaps only used non-alcoholic wine, there are several things we need to remember. First, and least importantly, there is no evidence whatsoever that suggests anyone made or was able to make non-alcoholic wine in the first century. Second, and of middle importance, the master of the feast at the wedding of Cana suggested that the wine Jesus made was better than the wine that had been previously served. Now, I am no wine connoisseur, but I doubt he would have suggested that non-alcoholic grape juice was better wine than the previous wine. And third, and this is of highest importance, the Scriptures teach us that Jesus was called a glutton and a drunkard. No one gets the reputation for being a drunkard by being a tee-totaler. Rather, if we are to believe the Scriptures here, we are constrained to admit that Jesus must have drunk normal wine just like everyone else, and that wine must have been alcoholic, to at least present the possibility of legitimately accusing Jesus of being a drunkard.

The Weaker/Stronger Brother

Romans 14:20-23 Do not, for the sake of food, destroy the work of God. Everything is indeed clean, but it is wrong for anyone to make another stumble by what he eats. It is good not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything that causes your brother to stumble. The faith that you have, keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the one who has no reason to pass judgment on himself for what he approves. But whoever has doubts is condemned if he eats, because the eating is not from faith. For whatever does not proceed from faith is sin.

These verses are in the context of a long argument Paul is making regarding weaker and stronger Christians. The weakness and strength describes the Christian’s faith. The flow of the entire chapter begins with Paul establishing that the Master of every Christian should be the Lord. Each person should be convinced in his own mind and focus on the work of Jesus Christ and His gospel. God will be the one who holds us accountable for our actions. Therefore, Paul tells us not to put a stumbling block in the way of our brother. Rather, we are to walk in love.

So, Paul is telling the stronger brother, “if you exercise your freedom in such a way that it causes a weaker brother to stumble, then you have not only caused that weaker brother to sin, but you yourself have sinned because you are not walking in love.”

So, how do we do this in everyday life? I do not believe that Paul is calling us to live in a bubble or in our cellar and never come out in public lest we do something that someone else thinks is a sin. He covered that earlier in the chapter – the one who abstains must not pass judgment on the one who partakes and vice versa. Regarding alcohol, I understand Paul to say that the stronger brother may be able to exercise his faith in God by enjoying his freedom to partake of alcohol (obviously, without getting drunk). The weaker brother may believe that all consumption of alcohol is sinful. In this case, it would be a sin for the stronger brother to cause the weaker brother to stumble, by causing the weaker brother to partake in alcohol and therefore sin against his conscience.

I do not believe it is a sin for someone to drink alcohol (without getting drunk) in the presence of someone who thinks all consumption of alcohol is sinful because of their particular understanding of the biblical teaching on the issue. Paul, again, has already covered this. We are not to pass judgment on these issues because God will hold us accountable and judge us for our actions (see Romans 14:1-12).[1] The issue of stumbling is not about differing interpretations of Scripture. Rather, the issue is about someone actually causing someone else to act contrary to his conscience and perform an action that they are convinced is a sin. These are two different things.

To spell it out – Bill is a Christian who partakes of alcohol without getting drunk. George is another Christian who thinks all consumption of alcohol is sinful. If Bill causes George to drink alcohol, Bill has caused George to stumble into sin because George has just acted contrary to his conscience. And therefore, Bill has also sinned, because he did not walk in love.

To spell out another possible situation: Bill is a Christian who partakes of alcohol without getting drunk. George is a Christian who thinks all consumption of alcohol is sinful. Bill and George find out about the other’s differing interpretation of Scripture. Bill and George, in brotherly love (hopefully) discuss their varying interpretations of Scripture for the purpose of better understanding Scripture. Bill remains unchanged in his understanding. George remains unchanged in his understanding. George never consumes alcohol, despite Bill stating that he believes it is not a sin to do so. Neither Bill nor George has sinned. However, as I understand Paul, if either of them judges the other one as sinning, they are breaking the command of Scripture: i.e. If Bill judges George for not enjoying a good gift of God (the wine) or if George judges Bill for partaking of something that, if used to excess would be sinful, then Bill and/or George would be guilty of sin.

Now, it is important to also stress that Paul calls us to live at peace with one another. So, for the believer who thinks it is ok to drink without getting drunk – he should not understand his freedom to include flaunting alcohol in the face of different minded Christians. That would be contrary to peace. But that does not mean that this issue should never be discussed. There are ways to discuss the relevant Scriptural passages without breaking the command for peace and love. In fact, Romans 14:14 suggests, by Paul’s example, that those with weak consciences should have their consciences better informed by Scripture. Also, the strong brothers need to have their consciences checked by Scripture.

The Christian Conscience

This leads us to a brief discussion of the Christian’s conscience. Your conscience is not your Lord. Jesus is Lord. Therefore, we should strive as best we can to inform our consciences according to biblical teaching. But assuming you are diligently pursuing this goal, your conscience should be respected. The Lord has designed you this way and warns against searing the conscience. Therefore, if upon Scriptural study and reflection, you come to the conclusion that the Bible does in fact teach that alcoholic consumption is sinful, you should not consume alcohol. If you did, you would be sinning against your conscience which is directed by your understanding of Scripture. Again, this does not mean that further discussion and study on the topic is not prudent and useful – but for the time being, your mind is convinced. Do not sin against your conscience.

The Need for Wisdom

The final issue to remember is that we are called to use wisdom, regardless of which side of the issue we are on. It requires wisdom to know how to apply the diverse teachings of Scripture on this subject particularly. It takes wisdom to know how your culture will approach the subject. In other words, alcohol is not an issue that is as cut and dried as other issues. This is not because the Bible does not mention the issue. Rather, it is because the Bible mentions alcohol in many different contexts. Some contexts refer to sin – the sin of drunkenness. Some contexts refer to worship and rejoicing – Psalm 104. Therefore, as with all such subjects in Scripture, we are called to meditate upon the word day and night and seek the mind of Christ and ask the Spirit of God to conform us to the image of Christ.

There are many more things that could be said. And whichever side of the issue you are on, there are faithful Christians who disagree with you. Therefore, we should pray for humility and wisdom so that we can walk with one another in love.

**Update** - July 15, 2010

One issue I failed to mention: if you are constrained by a church covenant that calls its members to abstain from all alcohol, then you should abstain from all alcohol. To ignore the church covenant that you have submitted to by being a member of that church would be sin. Also, you may have voluntarily associated with a group of people or organization that stipulates they will abstain from alcohol. If that is the case, you should abstain from alcohol as a member of that group. Or, you should break your association as a member of that group. Example: Southern Seminary stipulates that all of its students abstain from alcohol while they are students of the school. Even if a student believes it is not sinful to drink alcohol, they should not drink alcohol while they are a student at Southern. To do so would be to sin, because, by voluntarily associating with the school, you agree to submit to the stipulations of the school. To break those stipulations would be to break your own word. If a stipulation were deemed unscriptural or unreasonable, you should break the voluntary association before breaking the stipulation. So, in our example, if a student at Southern thought drinking alcohol were more important than keeping the voluntary association with Southern, they should withdraw from the school before they partake of alcohol. If that is your decision, your prudence and priorities might be questioned, but at least you would have kept your word.

[1] Lest anyone think that this is license to commit any and all manner of sins – beware. We are not to sin so that grace may abound, or so that God will be seen righteous in judging us, or any other excuse we could come up with to commit sins. Rather, Paul’s command for us to refrain from passing judgment is on matters of conscience where there may be a legitimate disagreement over what the Bible teaches about a given subject. No one, on biblical grounds, can disagree with the statement “drunkenness is a sin.” Many people, on biblical grounds could disagree with the statement “all consumption of alcohol is sinful.”

Implications of the Gospel

2010-07-13T17:48:00.005-04:00

Last month I had the privilege of attending the 2010 Southern Baptist Convention in Orlando, Florida. While there I was able to hear several different people preach God's Word, which is always a blessing. One of the men who preached was David Platt, Pastor of The Church at Brook Hills in Birmingham, Alabama. David Platt is growing in notoriety as a young Pastor and, in my opinion, with good reason. In our last post, Adam masterfully laid out some reasons why Platt's new book, Radical, shouldn't sell a single copy. If you haven't read what Adam wrote, I would encourage you to do so. The teaching that David Platt brought to the Southern Baptist Convention was quite insightful and has impacted me on many levels. It is for this reason that I felt compelled to share a brief summary of the text, along with some personal reflections as they pertain to the Gospel.

If you have a Bible handy (and as a side note, we should probably always have a Bible handy) you can open it up to the New Testament book of Romans (6th book in). In chapter 10 of Romans, the Apostle Paul is talking about God's Word being a key component in the salvation equation. Beginning in verse 12, this is what God's Word says:

(12) For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding riches for all who call on Him; (13) for "WHOEVER WILL CALL ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED." (14) How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher? (15) How will they preach unless they are sent? Just as it is written, "HOW BEAUTIFUL ARE THE FEET OF THOSE WHO BRING GOOD NEWS OF GOOD THINGS!"

So, here was Platt's line of thought on this passage of Scripture beginning at the end and working backwards. Question 1: Is God still sending His servants? Of course He is. People are answering God's call every day to take the Gospel to the nations. Question 2: If God's servants preach, will people hear? Well, the obvious answer is yes. Unless you are preaching alone in a solitary place or preaching to people who are hearing-impaired, then they will hear when you preach. Question 3: When people hear, will they believe? The answer is yes. Now, allow me to clarify. Not EVERYONE who hears will believe, but the Bible says in Revelation 7:9-10 "After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could count, from every nation and all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, and palm branches were in their hands; and they cry out with a loud voice, saying, 'Salvation to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.'" This means that wherever you preach the Gospel, no matter what group of people you are addressing, someone is going to believe. We don't know how many, but we do know that there will be some.

Question 4: When they believe, will they call? Absolutely. When you believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that He is the only pathway to heaven, just as the Scriptures say, then you will most definitely call on Him for your salvation. Question 5: When they call, will they be saved? Absolutely. This is practically a direct quote from Romans 10:13 which tells us that "whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved."

So...did we miss anything? Oh yes. There is that small matter of actually preaching the Gospel. The Bible shows us so clearly in this passage what God's plan for the salvation of His people looks like. It goes something like this: God sends His servants. His servants preach the Gospel. People hear the Gospel. People believe in Jesus after hearing the Gospel. People call on Jesus for salvation. Everyone who calls on the Name of the Lord will be saved. Now that's a good plan. However, the one (and only) place where that plan can potentially break down is when God's servants are disobedient and fail to preach the Gospel. This was the main point of Platt's message to the Southern Baptist Convention. We MUST be obedient to the call of God and we MUST preach the Gospel at every opportunity.

In six days I will join a team of God's servants and travel to three villages in the Andes Mountains of Peru. I am going there for the express purpose of preaching the Gospel to people who may have never heard it before. I am filled with nervous excitement about what God has sent me to do. So here's the thing. I know that, according to God's Word, everyone on this planet stands guilty and condemned before God because of sin. I know that, according to God's Word, the only remedy for that sin is the blood of Jesus Christ that was shed on our behalf on the cross. I know that, according to God's Word, everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. Conversely, everyone who does not will be lost for eternity. Knowing all that to be true, why am I not filled with nervous excitement every day God allows me to wake up with breath in my lungs because I know I have another day's worth of opportunities to share the Gospel with everyone who crosses my path?

The dominant theme of my thoughts these past few days has been one of severe conviction. I have been extremely negligent in my burden for sharing the Gospel. Now I am not foolish enough to believe that God is not sovereign enough to save someone because I was disobedient and didn't share the Gospel when I had the opportunity. However, that is what it really boils down to: I am disobedient.

You see, God saved me for a purpose. My purpose is to glorify Him. One of the chief ways I can glorify Him is by pointing other people to Him. I am called and commissioned as an instrument in the hands of the Redeemer and I have a job to do. If I don't do my job, God will find someone else to do it for me. The result is that I will miss out on some really cool stuff that God is doing and He was willing to use me to do it. I don't want to fail Him. I don't want to waste my life. Jesus is too good to keep to myself. And if God has saved you, you're in the same boat. Don't miss it. Serve Him. Love Him. Obey Him. Tell others about Him. Time is not guaranteed. Do it now.

Mike. Out.

Why David Platt’s Book, "Radical," Shouldn't Sell A Single Copy

2010-05-17T18:10:00.004-04:00

by Adam Dorsey
Missionary, Church Planter, Pastor—New Life Fellowship & Ferryland Bible Fellowship
St. John’s, Newfoundland, Canada
May 17, 2010

Now come on…just hang with me for a moment. You don’t know what I am about to say!

In June, 2005, my wife and son and I moved to the campus of New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, where I was pursuing an MDiv., and training for Navy chaplaincy. That’s when I first met Dr. Platt. Dr. Platt? He was 24 years old then! He had just been named Dean of Chapel, and began preaching through the book of Acts. If any of you have ever heard David Platt preach, you understand that it is a life-altering, faith-rattling event. You do not leave one of his sermons the same as you came.

But why? What is so special about his preaching? Sure, his awesome recitation, by memory, of entire Psalms is a great way to kick off an exposition. But so is Joel Osteen’s bleached canine collection. Yeah, he preaches with the fire of John the Baptist. But so does Joyce Meyer. Why do we love his preaching so? Because he preaches the Word of God—not perfectly, but faithfully. Not effortlessly, but in season, and out of season. Let’s be honest. What it is that we all love about our favorite preachers is that they are faithful to the text. It is not so much what John Piper is saying that makes our hearts sing, it is Dr. Piper’s Spirit-filled proclamation of the Word of Christ. It was not Adrian Rogers’ voice that drove us to repentance, but the voice of the Good Shepherd (Jn 10:4-5, 27).

Multnomah recently released a new book written by David Platt, Radical: Taking Back Your Faith From the American Dream. Now, this is not intended to be a book review, as my copy of the book is still in the mail (don’t start me on getting mail to this island…). I read chapter one on Monergism’s site last week, and ever since then, I’ve been thinking. First, are you kidding me? It was awesome! It was every bit of David Platt, and more! He nailed it! He nailed me. Of course, true Christian discipleship is denying yourself, and taking up your instrument of torture daily! Yes!, we are hoarding all our money and possessions while billions die on the foreign mission field. No, you cannot just call yourself a Christian. Yes!, we have thrown a big bucket of water on what Jesus said it really costs to follow him. Amen! Amen! Amen!

And the more I thought about what it is that he is saying in this book, the more it dawned on me—this isn’t revolutionary. This isn’t new. This isn’t even David Platt. This is Jesus. This is “so first-century ago.” This is what Jesus told the crowds in Palestine. You can read about it in Luke 14. Jesus already preached this Sermon. It’s right there in Matthew 7:14-23. David Platt is not the first to defend his leadership in a mega church over his defense of Christ’s radical requirements for discipleship. Just check out the Corinthian correspondence (especially 1 Cor 6:9-10).

I absolutely love David Platt. Thank you, Jesus, for raising up this dear brother as an instrument of your grace and truth. I am anxious to get his book. I will read it, and I will give copies to others. But here’s the sad truth. This book should not have had to be written (I didn’t say it shouldn’t have been written; but that it shouldn’t have had to be written.) I am very “pro-book”. But these words are on scrolls that have been collecting dust in the Temple for years now—we just haven’t been reading them. Or, perhaps, preaching them. Or, perhaps, obeying them.

Understood biblically, the word “discipleship” doesn’t need an adjective like “radical.” Following Christ is most purely defined by Christ himself. But, as Dr. Platt points out, the American church has redefined what it means to follow Christ. Desperate times call for desperate terms. And Platt knows he has no claim to originality in this book, which is what makes it such a treasure. It’s just the voice of Christ—backatchya.

So, we should not be reacting to this book as if it were revolutionary, really. In our excitement over what we are being reminded of, and in the heated rush of admiration for a godly young leader, let us remember that it is the Word of Christ that is radically turning our lives and ministries upside-down. I can assure you, David Platt will not be offended.

And by the way, the ultimate compliment to any preacher is that his message is not revolutionary; that it is the same-old, same-old story that Jesus started telling way back when.

The Greatest Value

2010-03-25T22:17:00.032-04:00

I collect baseball cards. The most valuable baseball card in history is a 1909 Honus Wagner. Wagner was the 2B of the Pittsburgh Pirates. The card sold for a mere 2.35 million dollars in 2002! Interestingly, the card was originally produced and inserted into a package of cigarettes that sold for a whopping 30 cents! Of course, I’ve never owned a Honus Wagner card. You know how you can tell?

Our world places value on many different things from baseball cards to collector cars. It’s been said that Jay Leno has invested over 500 million dollars in collectibles in his Big Dog Garage in Southern California. Leno’s collection ranges from a Ferrari to a P-51D Mustang fighter plane. Items of excessive value have often been perplexing for me. How could a baseball card be worth more than the combined costs of 22 average-sized houses!

In Philippians 3:7-11, the Apostle Paul speaks of value. What is of greatest value in life? Paul’s response to that question is worthy of our consideration. Let’s take a walk through these verses.

“But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ.”7 The term counted is an accounting term. Paul has examined the general ledger of his life and he has calculated the profits and losses columns. All that was once considered gain in life as a Pharisee (3:4-6) is now considered a loss compared to knowing Christ Jesus. The term loss carries with it the idea of cargo being tossed overboard. In Acts 27 we read of Paul being sent to Rome. A violent storm occurs while sailing toward the island of Crete and to lighten the weight of the ship they began to toss the cargo overboard. Anything in life is equal to discarded cargo compared to knowing Christ.

Paul says that all things are not only counted as loss, but he counts “them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ.” The term rubbish refers to that which has no value (i.e. table scraps tossed into the garbage, dung or human excrement). Paul is contrasting the value found in the world with the value found in knowing Christ. Of course, there is no comparison. “I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.”8 The term surpassing can be understood as “beyond knowledge or comprehension.” Paul is saying that it is impossible to place a value on knowing Christ. It transcends all human comprehension that the omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent, all loving, all holy, all loving, all faithful God would choose to take on human flesh and go to a cross that sinful man might come to know Him personally.

Knowing Christ means forgiveness of sin. Knowing Christ means salvation. Knowing Christ means eternal life. How do you place a value on these realities? “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Cor. 5:21 NASB). How do you place a price tag on that verse? As a sinner, I was dead in my trespasses and sins. I was walking according to the course of this world. I was living in the lusts of the flesh and indulging in the desires of the flesh and mind. I was a child of wrath subject to eternal destruction by God and eternal separation from God. “But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ” (Eph. 2:4-5) NASB). In Christ, I have been co-crucified, co-buried, co-resurrected, co-ascended, co-seated, sealed by the Holy Spirit, and set free!

The term know used in verses 9 and 10 goes beyond intellectual knowledge. It refers to knowing something through personal experience. Paul says that he has come to know Christ personally and experientially. His experience with Christ is so real that it's somewhat difficult to describe. How do you find words to effectively communicate what God in Christ has done in your life?

Have you ever tried to retell a story or share a personal experience with someone when you finally come to realize that it’s just not working out? You get to a point in the story where you just say, “I guess you just had to be there!” As I ponder the teaching of these verses it seems that Paul might be saying something similar.

A number of years ago I took a trip to Disney World. I was so excited because of the popular roller coaster Space Mountain. I had heard for years that it was a roller coaster experience like no other. Of course, being a roller coaster enthusiast who had been on scores of coasters, I just had to try this one out! Sure enough, I got my chance. Now, I could try to describe my Space Mountain experience for you. I could tell you what it was like to be in total darkness. I could tell you about going up and down and being tossed from side to side. But, it wouldn’t take long to realize that my description just wouldn’t be too convincing. Nevertheless, I must say that Space Mountain is unlike any other roller coaster experience I've ever had!

As difficult as it is to describe a roller coaster experience, can you just imagine trying to describe the beauty of God? How about the love of God? How about the faithfulness of God? It’s as though Paul is saying, “Don’t take my word for it just experience Him personally for yourself!” For those who don’t know Christ, my prayer is that they experience a taste of His goodness. May they come to realize that nothing in the world compares to knowing Him. I can say with complete confidence that God is unlike any other god they've ever experienced.

Paul says that he has come to know Christ personally and experientially in three specific ways: through the power of His resurrection, through the fellowship of His sufferings, and through the likeness of His death (v. 10).

I. The Power of His Resurrection:

The term power refers to “ability in Christ.” Paul is saying that he has come to experience the ability of God in his life. How able is God?

In the Old Testament, we read that He is the Creator of the universe. He is the One who spoke all that is into existence. We read that He formed man from the dust of the earth. We read that He established a nation and desired to call for Himself a people. We read that He parted the waters of the Red Sea and the Jordan River. We read that He saved the lives of three Hebrew children from the fiery furnace. We read that He saved a young man from the mouths of hungry lions. We read that He took a shepherd boy and established a throne on which He Himself would one day occupy and rule and reign forever. How able is God?

In the New Testament, we read where in the fullness of time He came in the flesh. We read that He raised the dead. We read that He healed the sick by making the lame to walk, the deaf to hear, and the blind to see. We read that He went to the cross and died to atone for the sins of man. We read that He was placed in a tomb and three days later rose again. We read that He established His church so that people of all nations may come to know and worship Him. We read that He ascended back into heaven and is presently seated at the right hand of the Father. We read that He sent the Holy Spirit to comfort, guide, and convict people of sin. We read that one day He is coming again to reestablish His rule and reign upon the everlasting throne promised to David. We read that the day is coming when people from every tribe, tongue, people and nation will be gathered around this throne in worship. We read that He will one day establish the new heavens and the new earth. How able is God?

Ephesians 1:18-23 says,
I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all” (NASB)

Paul says that he has come to know the power of God in his life. This speaks of Christ living within him. Galatians 2:20 teaches that we no longer live, but it is Christ who lives in us. Christ living in us gives access to the unlimited and all-conquering power of God. By allowing Christ to live in us we have power to defeat the second greatest power in the world – SIN. The resurrection of Christ is a demonstration of God’s power over death, hell, and the grave. That’s why believers can sing the old hymn; “He breaks the power of canceled sin – He sets the prisoner free – His blood can make the foulest clean – His blood availed for me!” Paul says that he has come to know the power of His resurrection.

II. The Fellowship of His Sufferings:

Suffering is not something that we seek to experience. We don’t arise each morning and consciously prepare for our daily suffering. Nonetheless, suffering is a reality. “Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you; but to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing, so that also at the revelation of His glory you may rejoice with exultation” (1 Pet. 4:12-13 NASB). We should not consider suffering as something out of the ordinary. Christ suffered so shall His people.

With this phrase, Paul is speaking of his identification with Christ. He is saying that he wants to approach suffering in a way that would bring honor and glory to Christ. The Lord Jesus faced suffering with great joy because He knew the Father’s redemptive work was being accomplished (Heb. 12:1-2). Paul understood that there is a mystery in suffering. God is accomplishing His purpose in us and through us when we suffer. God is sovereign. Therefore, He not only allows suffering but He often ordains it. Suffering is a necessary component of sanctification. It is God’s sculpting process used to make us more like His Son.

Not long ago I was privileged to watch an ice sculptor. Taking a chainsaw the sculptor began to carve away at a shapeless and formless block of ice. Slowly, with each application of the chain to the ice a masterpiece of stunning beauty emerged. Such it is with the life of a shapeless and formless sinner saved by grace. God allows and often ordains suffering that we might be carved into the image of His Son. Wouldn’t it be of great encouragement to keep this in mind the next time we face adversity?

Suffering accomplishes a three-fold work in our lives:
1. Bringing us closer in our fellowship with God.
2. Removing that which hinders us from total submission to God.
3. Causing us to decrease and Jesus to increase and be more visible in our lives.

Suffering reminds us of what Jesus experienced on the cross. Nothing compares to knowing the One who suffered and died in our place. Paul says that he has come to know the fellowship of His sufferings.

III. The Likeness of His Death:

Obedience is a word that characterizes the Christian life. In the great Christological Hymn of Philippians 2:5-11, Paul speaks of the obedience of Christ. “Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross” (v. 8 NASB). Christ was sacrificially obedient to the Father, even to the point of giving His life. In Matthew 26 we see Christ in the Garden as He prays to the Father. What is the resolution? That the will of the Father be accomplished. How does our obedience to the will of the Father compare to that of Christ?

In verse 10 Paul uses the phrase “being conformed” to His death. The present tense speaks of continuous, on-going, and daily action. In Galatians he speaks of being “crucified with Christ” (2:20). These phrases together teach us that we must daily die to self and die to sin. As we choose to die to self and die to sin we are being conformed to the death of Christ. We cannot live for ourselves and live for Christ – only one of those pursuits can be accomplished. Paul lived for Christ because he had died to self!

How can we know Christ in the way Paul has described in verses 7-11? Paul says, “…and be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith” (v. 9). Faith is the key. Simply stated, faith believes and trusts in the person and work of Jesus Christ. Faith is personal. Do you believe?

Verse 11 speaks of the promise of the resurrection, which is the blessed hope for the believer (1 Cor. 15). Because Jesus was raised so shall His people be raised. Physical death is not the end - faith becomes sight! Paul lived in light of eternity, which is why he considered anything gained in this life to be counted as loss compared to knowing Jesus.

What is of greatest value in your life? Is it knowing Christ Jesus?

Discipleship vs. Selfishness

2010-03-06T20:11:00.001-05:00

What is the essence of discipleship? What did Jesus intend when He gave us the great commission? I have been feeling for some time now that the church at large has somehow gotten sidetracked from its original purpose. I suspect that there could have been a variety of reasons for this happening. However, among all of the potential causes for the church’s derailment, my gut instinct tells me that there was a chief culprit. It is no small coincidence that the prime suspect is also the root cause of most, if not all, sin. Selfishness. Somewhere along the way, a little bit at the time, the church has gradually become more and more selfish. Individuals in the body of Christ have gradually given in to the temptation of thinking more and more about themselves and less and less about others. This paradigm shift has many ramifications, but there is one aspect of it that seems to have become more prominent of late. That one aspect is the selfishness that breeds spiritual immaturity and retarded growth. The reason that this one aspect of selfishness has become more prominent, in my opinion, is because it affects many other aspects of the church. Let’s examine for a moment how this works itself out in real life.

Have you ever heard of any church having issues with music style? Why do you suppose that happens? I’m glad you asked. Every generation has a particular style of music that is contemporary to that particular generation. Many years ago, a church attempted to introduce an instrument into the church to aid in the music program. It was called an organ. This instrument was met with such opposition that after the organ was installed, a group of people sneaked into the church, dismantled the organ from its place in the sanctuary and dumped it into the river. This, by the way, is the same instrument that so many people over recent years have so vehemently fought to keep in its place in so many churches. The irony is unbelievably rich. With the passing of each generation, there is a shift in position. One generation tries to innovate and realize progress while the previous generation fights to keep things as they are. After a few years pass, the generation that was once innovative and progressive becomes the generation that fights against those very things. Why does this happen? Selfishness. People refuse to let go of things that don’t even belong to them because they would rather be comfortable than reach people with the gospel of Christ in new ways.

Have you ever heard of any church having issues with their Pastor and staff because they decide to make some changes in the way the church does certain things? Why do you suppose that happens? I’m glad you asked. Whether or not a church is intentional about it, every church is in danger of developing rituals or routines in the way they do things. The true danger here is that the longer something is done a certain way, the harder it becomes to evaluate objectively. When this happens, people get attached to the particular method of ministry instead of getting attached to the mission of making disciples of Jesus. This attachment becomes something of a security blanket of which many people simply refuse to let go. When changes are either proposed or implemented to an area to which they are personally attached, things suddenly become very heated very quickly. Selfishness, in this case, prohibits objectivity in evaluation. Therefore, people begin resorting to rumors, gossip, and personal attacks in an attempt to protect their “pet” ministry because they are simply too selfish to let go of something regardless of how ineffective or archaic it may have become. It is always unfortunate when leaders who have been called and ordained by God are painted as the “bad guys” simply because some people are too spiritually immature and selfish to see the big picture. On the flipside, however, it is also unfortunate that there have been many ungodly pastors over the years that have gone about change in the wrong way. They have not taken time to build relationships and love people. They have communicated poorly or not at all. The end result is that it is now sometimes difficult for God’s people to trust God’s shepherds.

These are just two examples, but let me go back to where I started. I began with two questions. What is the essence of discipleship? What did Jesus intend when He gave us the great commission? I believe that their answers are inextricably linked. The essence of what was intended by Jesus when He commissioned the church was exemplified with crystal clear clarity by the Savior Himself during His earthly ministry. He chose twelve men. In Lecrae’s song “After the Music Stops” he puts it this way: “The teaching is a process it’s not overnight, and it’s not a stage and a mic, it’s life on life. Christ walked with twelve, ate with twelve, taught the twelve, shaped the twelve, invested in them well, you could say that He made the twelve, who made many more, who made plenty more, now it’s on you and me if there’s any more.” You see, the great commission is not about making converts to Christianity. It’s about making disciples of Christ. That means that conversion is not the destination, it’s the origin.

Here are the fundamentals of the great commission. Jesus doesn’t command us to go anywhere. He presumes that His followers are already going to be on the move. This is why the word translated “go” is an aorist participle, which means “having gone.” The imperative command of the great commission is to make disciples of all nations. Once this is established, Jesus delineates how we are to go about fulfilling His command. We are to baptize those who have professed Christ as Lord in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We are then to teach them to observe all that He has commanded us. He then gives us the confidence we will need to carry out this task by reminding us that He is with us always, even to the end of the age. Having a clear understanding of the specific task given to the body of Christ, I should make a few closing conclusions.

First, the blame for the presence of baby Christians in the church must be laid squarely on the church itself. We have become so preoccupied with making converts that we have neglected to make disciples. Second, something can and must be done to intentionally reengage the disciple making process. Finally, the only solution for a problem of this magnitude is the power of the Word of God. I am reminded in Hebrews 4:12 that “the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” I am further told in Hebrews 5:13-14 that “everyone who partakes only of milk is not accustomed to the word of righteousness, for he is an infant. But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil.”

It is time for a change in menu in the church. It is time for believers to pray earnestly for the church that it would be actively engaged in fulfilling its divine purpose of disciple-making. Ultimately, it is time for people everywhere who claim the name of Jesus to start feasting on some solid food and grow up. One way for that to happen is if men of God will plant their feet, square their shoulders, and proclaim “thus says the LORD.” In other words, it is time for Pastors to teach the whole counsel of God without backing up or backing down.

I have decided. I will. Soli Deo Gloria.

JESUS IS A BETTER MESSIAH THAN...

2010-02-15T16:09:00.005-05:00

Jesus Christ is a better Messiah than Superman, Harry Potter, and Duncan McLeod the Highlander. That may seem like a strange claim, but it is true. So, I want us to think through some of the messiah figures who are presented as options in our culture and the literature that ensues. I am using literature here very loosely – it includes movies, television, internet blogs, and books.

So, before we begin, why I am I qualified to speak on such figures as Superman, Harry Potter, and Duncan McLeod of the clan McLeod? Currently, I am 6 episodes from the end of season 3 of Smallville, the story of Superman as a high school student. I have seen (at least parts of) every Superman movie. Though I am not well versed in the comic books, I am familiar with the different iterations of the storyline thanks to the great worldwide research network called Wikipedia. As far as Harry Potter goes, I have read all seven of the books. I have seen all of the movies to date, some multiple times. I have spent several hours in debate over the various subtleties (if there are any) in the storyline with some likeminded friends. And as for the Highlander, I have seen all of the movies, watched all of the TV episodes (I think) and have even read some of the fan fiction online. (I can hear my brother laughing at me right now.)

The goal of this essay is to understand how each of these fictional characters are presented as messiah figures in their various worlds for the purpose of providing solutions to universal human problems of sin, death, war, and general evil of every kind. DISCLAIMER!!! I will be discussing the ending of the Harry Potter series. If you do not want to know how that story ends, (if you are only a movie watcher) then don’t read this post.

Superman is the messiah figure in the world of Smallville and Metropolis. It is a reality that looks just like our reality. So, the fictional aspect of this storyline has to do with the existence of the characters only, everything else could very well be a description of real life. Clark Kent is actually an alien sent by his father from Krypton to Earth. Humanity is described as a flawed race. Kal-el (Superman, Clark Kent) is sent here to save us – as the Smallville theme song so ably declares. Superman is put forward as a moral example. Even though he does make some mistakes in judgment as a teenager, he is genuinely remorseful of his mistakes. And as an adult, Superman is presented as a moral exemplar. Some describe Superman as a god. He does have a weakness, but it is not from this world. Kryptonite is the only thing that can stop Superman. His purpose in life is to stop disasters, save people’s lives and generally promote peace.

Jesus is a better Messiah than Superman. Superman is not human. Jesus Christ is fully human. Superman is not divine. Jesus Christ is fully God. Why is this significant? If Jesus is to provide salvation for fallen human beings, He must be fully human Himself. If Jesus is to provide salvation for an innumerable multitude of fallen human beings, His sacrifice must be of infinite worth. Therefore, Jesus Christ must also be fully God. If Jesus is not fully God and fully Man, then we have no salvation in Christ. So, despite the most recent Superman Movie’s attempt to show Superman die while saving humanity from destruction and then have a kind of resurrection, any actual accomplishment of substitutionary atonement is impossible. Superman simply is not equipped to pay for the sins of the world. Only Jesus Christ is. Therefore, the Superman messiah figure reduces to a moral example form of salvation where humanity is asked to simply act like this “greater” person. And if we all succeed in that, the world will be a better place. It is a gross underestimation of the total depravity that comes from sin. Jesus is not simply our example; Jesus takes our place as the perfect Human Being and the Infinite God. Also, notice that Jesus does not come in the incarnation grasping for all the glory that is His as the Second Member of the Trinity. Jesus willingly humbles Himself as a servant even unto death on the cross. There is no spectacular show of power, at least, in the sense of flying or super strength. Jesus comes in meekness and displays His glory and power in His death on the cross.

Harry Potter is the messiah figure in his world of Hogwarts and England. Here, reality is presented as something different from the real world. If you know the way, you can find Diagon Ally and Hogwarts, and the Ministry of Magic. They are places veiled by magic and typically inaccessible to normal human beings. Well, Harry is not presented as a moral example in all aspects. He has some good qualities about him: loyalty, bravery, good work ethic, a desire to save life. But, he is not above breaking the rules to get by. Harry is filled with and shielded by a very old and strong magic (love) that allows him to survive the attempt on his life by Lord Voldemort (the bad guy). At the end of the story, Harry absorbs the full attack of Lord V and apparently dies. It is actually unclear in the text whether Harry dies or not. But, there is an apparent death and resurrection of Harry Potter. And then he is able to fight Lord V and ultimately destroy him. There is a very clear attempt in the storyline to present Harry as absorbing evil and overcoming it with a sacrificial death. Then of course, in the “resurrection” he is about to go back and fully put down the enemies of good.

Well, Jesus is a better Messiah than Harry Potter. Number one, Jesus is sinless. Harry was clearly presented as committing sins. Number two, Harry is only able to defeat evil that is “out there” in his supposed death and resurrection. The evil is in Lord V and his wicked followers. Jesus does not merely have enemies who are “out there.” Jesus must search out and kill all the sin that is within His own people. Jesus, who knew no sin, became sin upon the cross. The point of the Gospel is that your sin and my sin are nailed to the cross in Jesus Christ and, by grace through faith in Him, His righteousness is imputed to us as a result of our union with Him. So, Jesus is sinless, morally perfect, but does not simply fight against some external enemy of God – He fights and conquers the sin that dwells within us in accomplishing our salvation.

Duncan McLeod. Now, some of you might not see Mac as a messiah figure. But, I think he is. He is always fighting bad guys. He is always trying to protect the life of others in danger from the bad guys. And, he is immortal. In fact, on the TV show, McLeod actually is able to absorb evil from the wicked immortals he defeats and then has something called a dark quickening. This is where the evil within him overpowers him, and he turns into a bad guy. His victory only comes about when the good inside of him battles against the evil inside him and overcomes. Also, there is an eschatological aspect of Highlander. If an evil immortal wins in the end, then the world will be ushered into a reign of darkness. If McLeod (or presumably another good immortal) wins, then the world will be ushered into a reign of peace.

And so, Jesus is a better Messiah than Duncan McLeod. For starters, McLeod is clearly sinful. They don’t even try to hide that. Secondly, like Superman, McLeod is only able to serve as an example for other people. He is not actually able to transform anyone into a better person. As far as the eschatology goes, there may be a question as to who will win in the end in the world of Highlander, but there is no question in the real world. Jesus’ victory over the Kingdom of Darkness is not only assured, it is already in process. At His death and resurrection, Jesus defeated Satan, death, hell, sin, and the grave. We rightly now ask, “Death, where is your sting?” The culmination of the victory will be at the Second Coming of Christ. And the amazing news of the Gospel is that Jesus is not only going to finally defeat Satan, but He is going to bring us into the joy of that victory. That is why the Apostle Paul is able to tell believers that the God of all peace is going to crush Satan under your feet (Romans 16:20). And that brings us to our last point. McLeod is immortal, but he cannot grant eternal life to anyone. Jesus Christ, the Author of Life, promises eternal life to all who simply turn from their sins and trust Him for salvation in faith.

Now, what is the point of this mega-exciting post? Much of our beliefs are shaped by popular culture. There is a reason why people enjoy watching and reading about characters like these. For most, it is not because they want to learn how to block an avada kedavra curse, or understand the political inner-workings of the Kryptonian government. Rather, it is because these messiah figures, and the storylines they come with, attempt to answer a longing that every human being has. We all need to be saved. We all recognize, when we are honest, that there is an enemy that we cannot defeat and we need someone to fight for us. The danger with these counterfeit messiahs is that they cannot save, not only because they are not real, but because even if they were real they would not be able to offer true salvation. Jesus Christ alone offers the hope and life and salvation that we desperately need.

Now, is it a sin to read and watch these kinds of stories, or should we only read the True Story in our Bibles? Of course, if we are only watching and reading these fictional works with subpar messiahs in lieu of the True Story, then we had better pick up our Bibles and get to reading. But, apart from the neglect of the study of the Word of God, I do not believe reading and watching these things is necessarily sinful. Some individual episodes or portions of the story may be sinful – and you need to watch and read with wisdom and discernment. Also, it is possible to get sucked into a fictional world and neglect the real world where you have real responsibilities to family, work, and Church. But that applies to any number of things that we enjoy doing in our lives.

In conclusion, read and watch and listen to the fruit of our popular culture with discernment. An alternative salvation story is presented over and over again. If we do not have the discernment to recognize those alternative stories and the Scriptural chops to show ourselves and our friends how Jesus is superior, then we will find ourselves as confused as the lost world. The confusion arises because we are indoctrinated on how to respond to a messiah by the storylines that we are constantly exposed to. As Christians, we need to be aware of what our neighbors and family members are taking in so that we can discuss it and speak truth grounded in the Word of God and the Gospel of Jesus Christ, because it is only in Christ that we find a storyline that explains reality and proclaims a salvation that is more real than anything else.

Men: Made for TV?

2010-02-06T20:09:00.001-05:00

By: Adam Dorsey
Church Planter & Pastor, New Life Fellowship & Ferryland Bible Fellowship
St. John’s, Newfoundland, Canada

What is your goal in life? How do you set your goals and priorities? The reality is that we will set our personal goals based upon that which we most desire for ourselves. What is that for you? Admittedly, most of us set personal goals without even giving it much intentional thought--it flows directly out of our heart. And that's the troubling part.

There are tens of millions of Americans on anti-depressant medication today. There are millions each year who commit suicide. Scores of young high school and college students stare blankly into the future--clueless as to what their responsibilities are, and what they should do with their lives. And guessing from the soaring flat screen sales, it seems like men think they were made for TV. And all the while, long before any of our generation existed, Moses penned these words, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit:

"Then God said, 'Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth'" (Gen 1:26 ESV).

There is so much behind our being made in the image of God, but for now, I'd like to focus on how that should affect our goals in life. In short, to be made in the image of God (male or female) is to represent Him. God has created us to image Him in this world. That's why He gave us dominion over creation. That's why He stamped us with morality, and gave us creative abilities, and created us to be in relationship with one another. All these things represent Him. This is what it means to have as our purpose in life to glorify Him.

So many of us are depressed, confused, unfulfilled, and frustrated because we are trying to find our meaning and purpose in life without regard to our Creator, who created us with the purpose of imaging Him. Being created in the image of God means that the purpose of our existence is to represent Him--His plans, His purposes, His wisdom, His love, His revealed will. We are to turn to Him for all knowledge, all counsel, all direction. We are to seek to represent Him in what we do, where we work, who we marry, where we live, etc. We must stop trying to conceive of ourselves as independent from God, because we are not! We must stop seeking self-fulfillment and start seeking God-fulfillment. How does He want me to image Him at my job? At home? At church? In my marriage? To my lost co-workers?

This explains Jesus' earthly ministry as perfect man. He never spoke without first seeking to hear what His Father was saying, so He could say that (Jn 12:49-50--"For I have not spoken on my own authority, but the Father who sent me has himself given me a commandment--what to say and what to speak..."). He never did anything before first seeking to know what His Father was doing, so He could do that (Jn 5:19--"Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise.") In doing this, though, Jesus was not only showing us what true humanity is--what it really looks like to image God--but He is also winning our salvation for us. He is imaging God perfectly because as sinners we cannot image God perfectly. Likewise, when He dies on the cross, He does so as our substitute. In His perfect life and death and resurrection, Jesus of Nazareth has won our salvation for us!

If you are united to Christ by faith, you are a new creation (2 Cor 5:17). You are being renewed daily by the Holy Spirit into the image of Christ (Rom 8:28-30). God's divine power has granted to you all things that pertain to life and godliness, including being a more faithful representative (image) of God (2 Pet 1:3). Because Jesus was perfect man for us, we can now be made right with God, and we can now--through the sanctifying power involved in our union with Him--be more faithful imagers of God. And nothing can be more fulfilling in life than fulfilling the purpose for which we were created!

I'm pretty certain enslavement to pornography, alcohol, and King of the Hill is not what we were created for. If our goal in life is self-fulfillment, we can never be fulfilled. That's because we weren't created to fulfill our heart's desires. We were created to fulfill God's desires. And God's desires are spelled out for us in the Scriptures. This explains why Jesus says in Matthew 6:33, "But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you." If we had more time, we would examine exactly what God's desires are for men as it pertains to representing Him. I encourage you all to seek that out diligently, asking Him to reveal to you what it means to image God as male. I recommend Kevin DeYoung, Just Do Something, Stuart Scott, The Exemplary Husband, and C.J. Mahaney, Humility: True Greatness.

May the Lord Jesus Christ--perfect Man--bless each of us as men, and may we take what we have learned and teach it to our wives and children, in obedience to our Creator's command (Deut 6:4-25).

Faith and Works

2010-02-05T18:37:00.022-05:00

Do James and Paul agree on their teachings of faith and works?

This question has generated much scholarly debate. “Many commentators follow the tack taken by [Martin] Luther and insist that James directly sets himself in opposition to the view of justification taught by Paul,” (Moo, 121). Is this a theologically sound position?

When you begin reading the Pauline Epistles, especially Romans, you quickly discover that Paul unequivocally believes “faith alone justifies” (cf. Rom. 3:21-31). He goes on to say in Ephesians that salvation is a gift of God’s grace that cannot be earned (cf. Eph. 2:8-9). Paul clearly believes that man is justified by grace through faith. Yet, when we approach the writings of James, we read, “faith without works is dead” (cf. James 2:26). Do Paul and James agree or disagree on the doctrine of justification? Is it by grace alone through faith alone? If so, is it to the inclusion or exclusion of works?

To begin tackling this question, let’s first define the term justification. At the moment of conversion we are united by faith with Christ, and it is through our union with Him that we receive the benefits of the atonement (Keathley, 745). What does it mean to be justified? It means that God declares us righteous and in right “legal” standing before Him. How can the holy God of all creation, according to His standards, declare a sinner righteous? Rest assured it has nothing to do with anything we have done. Rather, it has everything to do with what God in Christ has done for us.

One who is justified has received the atoning work of Christ upon the cross as the wrath-exhausting, substitutionary sacrifice for sin. Christ not only satisfied God’s wrath over our sin, He exhausted the entirety of God’s wrath for our sin. He turned the cup of God’s wrath upside down and drank every last drop. The Righteous One [Christ] took our sin and bore God’s wrath in our place. “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (cf. 2 Cor. 5:21 NASB). Because of Christ we have been reconciled to God and declared righteous to stand in His holy presence (cf. Col. 1:19-22). One who has been justified has been acquitted of the penalty for sin; not on the basis of what they have done, but on the basis of what God in Christ Jesus has done.

Therefore, based on the teaching of Scripture, justification is completely the work of God’s grace. There is no merit one could offer God that would earn them the gift of salvation. God’s Word is consistent in this teaching. Therefore, since James and Paul were inspired by the Holy Spirit of God to pen the words of Scripture we can be confident that their writings contain no contradictions. This being true, how are we to reconcile their seemingly contradictory teachings? We now turn our attention to this question.

There are several basic hermeneutical principles that must be employed when attempting to rightly divide the word of truth. These principles include: historical and literary context (what is the flow of the argument being presented?), exegetical and lexical information (are there any grammatical and syntax clues?), and audience (who was James and Paul addressing in their letters?). Careful analysis of these sources of information will lead one to recognize that Paul and James were writing in different settings and addressing different issues within the church. We cannot discuss all of this in the space given, but let’s gain a brief overview.

Encouraging believers to hold firmly to the gospel is a common theme of Paul's letters. For example, Paul encouraged Timothy to guard the treasure of the gospel from false teachers (cf. 2 Tim. 1:8-14). Paul encouraged churches in the region of Ephesus that the gospel breaks down walls of division between Jews and Gentiles, and all have now been reconciled in “one body to God through the cross” (cf. Eph. 2:14-16). Paul wrote to remind the church in Rome that all (Jews and Gentiles) are guilty of sin before a holy God (cf. Rom. 3). Justification is only possible by faith in Jesus Christ (cf. Rom. 3:21-30, 5:1).

Paul also wrote to combat false teachings and misunderstandings in the Jewish community. For example, he addressed the idea of ethnic justification. Not all of Israel descended from Israel and not all descendants of Abraham are children of promise (cf. Rom. 9:1-7). The point here is that justification is not based on family heritage or Israelite descent, nor is it based on someone else's faith. All must personally respond in belief to the truth claims of the gospel. Faith is non-transferable. The faith of a mother or father cannot be transferred to a son or a daughter.

Paul was also dealing with those who were religious in keeping the Law. He used a lot of ink in Galatians and Romans to address their religiosity. “Justification takes place apart from law works of any kind” (Morris, 187). Paul makes crystal clear the fact that justification (being declared righteous before God) has nothing to do with works. He goes on to affirm this in Ephesians 2 when he says that all by nature are “children of wrath…BUT God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved)…for by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast” (cf. Eph. 2:1-10 NASB). What did we do to earn our justification? Nothing. We were dead when God demonstrated His love toward us (cf. Rom. 5:8). Dead people can do nothing. The gracious and merciful truth: had God not intervened on our behalf to provide atonement for our sin we would be subject to eternal destruction.

James wrote to address believers who were trying to divorce faith and righteous living. If a person has faith does it matter how they live? Of course, you don’t have to look far to see this kind of disease plaguing the lives of those who claim to be followers of Christ. Evangelical culture is cluttered with those who profess Christ, and yet, live as though they have never heard His name. There is a difference between being religious and being gospel-centered. People go and worship on Sunday and then return to the dregs of the world on Monday. James responds to this by saying (and I paraphrase) “that kind of faith doesn’t save.” If a person has faith it will be evident in how they live. Could a person claim to be saved and yet never truly be regenerate? According to James, “Yes.” That’s why he goes on to say, “faith without works is dead” (cf. James 2:26). Faith that has no expression of works is really dead faith. If a person is a true follower of Jesus Christ, then it will be demonstrated in how they live. “You have faith and I have works; show me your faith without the works, and I will show you my faith by my works” (James 2:18 NASB).

Ultimately, James is highlighting the importance of serving Jesus Christ. Works are the spontaneous acts that come from the fruit of the Spirit that demonstrates faith. Where there are no works there is no faith. “He [James] has no idea of disparaging faith, which he everywhere assumes as present and which he highly values. His point is that faith and works are inseparable in any properly constituted Christian life, and he argues this clearly and effectively” (Ropes, 35). Saving faith is revealed by works and not attained by works. James strengthens his argument by giving practical examples of what true saving faith ‘looks’ like in the life of a Christian. Consider just a few examples: The works of our tongue (how we talk to others) will evidence true faith (3:1-12). The works of our wisdom and good behavior (how we treat others) will evidence true faith (3:13). The works of the attitude of our heart (free of bitterness, jealousy, and arrogance) will evidence true faith (3:14-18). The works of our financial resources (how we spend our money) will evidence true faith (5:1-6).

James and Paul agree whole-heartedly that justification is by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. Both agree that “works” is not the means of justification. Rather, true faith in the Lord Jesus Christ produces works. Faith precedes works. Works serve as health indicators of faith.

How healthy is your faith?

Raising Old Questions in View of New Disasters

2010-01-19T21:50:00.005-05:00

In the wake of the massive crisis in Haiti, we have seen some true horrors and some true evidence of grace. Also, we have seen some people take an opportunity to use the earthquake and the death of many to raise some questions about the nature of God. I am specifically referring to David Bain, a philosophy lecturer at the University of Glasgow; however, many have raised these same questions many different times in history. Bain quotes David Hume, 18th century philosopher, to frame the issue: “Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then He is impotent. Is He able, but not willing? Then he is malevolent. Is he both able and willing? Whence then is evil?” In other words, if the God of the Bible exists, the One revealed as omnibenevolent (all-good) and omnipotent (all-powerful), then why does evil exist? Many have used this very question as a foundation to deny the very existence of God.

Bain distinguishes between two different kinds of evil. One: “the awful things people do, such as murder,” and Two: “the awful things that just happen, such as earthquakes.” He then attempts to cite various theologians who suggest possible answers to the first point revolving around human free will, and then he cites other theologians who suggest possible answers to the second problem revolving around an “ends justifies the means” tactic called soul-making. To get a clear understanding of Bain's position, read his article. I will not take the space to summarize it here.

In coming to his conclusion, Bain quotes Immanuel Kant saying that we shouldn’t exploit people; “we mustn’t use them as mere means to our ends.” According to Bain, "[God] inflicts horrible deaths on innocent earthquake victims so that the rest of us can be morally benefitted.” Bain closes out his article stating that traditional believers in God, as revealed in Scripture, cannot answer these questions and, therefore, should question the existence of their God.

How do we respond to these issues? First, we must be very careful in the wake of tragedies like the earthquake in Haiti that we do not purport to speak for God when God has not specifically spoken. Scripture is the only written special revelation of God’s will. Therefore, when tragedies like this occur, we cannot claim to know details of God’s secret will. He simply has not told us the answer to these questions. Yet, that does not mean that God has not told us anything. Scripture does reveal to us many things that we can say regarding tragedies like these in general. And, more importantly, Scripture reveals to us the character of God through His Gospel.

Regarding specific evil that results from human actions, what does Scripture say about this? Genesis 3 presents to us a theological framework that shows all human beings are sinful by nature. Because of the choice of our first parents, humanity fell into sin. This is called original sin. We all are, therefore, born into sin. This means that, apart from any special work of grace by the Holy Spirit conforming us to the image of Christ, every action any human ever commits will be sinful. We act according to our natures, and our natures are sinful. This is why the Gospel proclaims that we need a new nature (described as a new heart, or being born again).

So, Bain asks, why couldn’t God create people who would only freely choose to do good? Before I respond, we can strengthen Bain’s question in one of two ways. One: why didn’t God only create people who would be saved by Christ and then completely sanctified such that they only choose to do morally good things? Two: why didn’t God create a world in which the Fall never occurred? Essentially, the result of both of these scenarios would be the same; the problem of human caused evil would be solved.

To respond, we need to look at Romans 9. In a very closely argued discussion regarding the sovereignty of God over the salvation or damnation of people, Paul comes to verses 21-24. “Has the potter no right over the clay to make out of the same lump one vessel for honored use and another for dishonorable use? What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory – even us who he has called, not from the Jews only but also from the Gentiles?” (Rom. 9:21-24 ESV) The Apostle Paul is saying something that should humble us and terrify us and cause us to rejoice greatly in the grace of God. God has the right to save some people and not save other people. And it has absolutely only to do with the exercise of His free mercy and grace by His own sovereign will. Some are vessels of wrath for the purpose of displaying God’s glory in His wrath. Some are vessels of mercy for the purpose of displaying God’s glory in His grace. For a full discussion of this passage, see John Piper’s The Justification of God.

The important thing to recognize in Paul’s discussion here is the radically God-centered reasoning that is presented. Ultimately, the salvation and judgment of mankind is for the purpose of displaying the glory of God. We will return to this idea below.

Regarding evil events that occur in nature, like earthquakes and tsunamis, how does Scripture call us to think about these things? Here, let us turn one chapter back in Romans to Romans 8. Paul is reveling in the implications of the truth of the Gospel: no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus (v 1), and how all believers are sons of God and heirs with Christ (vv 14-17). Then, in verse 18 Paul begins to discuss the present sufferings of this age. “For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now.” (Rom. 8:19-22 ESV) Here, Paul is specifically talking about things like earthquakes and tsunamis. This is natural evil, natural suffering, the suffering of creation itself. Where does this suffering come from? Creation has been groaning because it was subjected to decay under the curse of sin. When will creation stop groaning? Verse 23: And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.” We and creation itself are waiting for redemption in Christ.

Again, notice the radically God-centered argument here. The curse of sin subjects human beings and all creation to decay and death because the wages of sin is death. We have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. Sin is only defined in terms of falling short of God’s glory. Also, notice the remedy. It is redemption, salvation by grace, restoration and ultimately consummation of not only our human bodies, but all creation. And this is all done by God’s grace and for His glory.

This is quite different than the position Bain sets forth, and then quickly pulls down as insufficient: soul-making – allowing evil to happen so that people will be able to fully realize their potential to be morally good, or brave, or whatever. This is ultimately a man-centered approach to reality. It is no wonder that Bain rejects it quickly. One wonders though, why does Bain stop here and not move on to the more robust biblical position of a God-centered reality that exists for His glory?

Does the existence of evil require us to abandon our belief in God? Does the Bible fail to give a sufficient explanation for these things, even if the Lord does stop short of providing us every, or even most, details? I hope that this brief look at two passages in Romans will at least give us a starting point when these kinds of questions arise in our churches, families, and work places.

Yes, evil exists. And we weep in the face of such tragedies. But, that must never allow us to minimize sin. The Bible does not do this, and we must not either. However, this must not lead us to despair in the face of evil, for the Bible proclaims the Gospel of the grace of God in Jesus Christ as our only hope. Jesus died for our sins and rose again. By faith in Him, we are saved. And, Jesus has promised that He is going to make all things new. So, we are not only looking forward to the redemption of our bodies, we are looking forward to the redemption of the entire cosmos on the Day when Christ returns. And if we can learn anything from the Apostle Paul, it is that the glory of God in Christ Jesus is the ultimate goal of history and God will not fail to accomplish that goal. God is all-powerful and all-good. God has allowed evil to exist in His creation for a specific amount of time. And God has revealed to us in Scripture that His glory is the end goal of all things. Why should we believe all these things and not turn away from the faith handed down once and for all? We should believe because Jesus is alive, and the resurrection of Christ guarantees the accomplishment of salvation for all who believe and the redemption of the entire cosmos.

Jason

On Leading Worship: Four Observations from the Outside

2010-01-12T11:58:00.002-05:00

I am not a Worship Pastor. I have no formal training in worship leading, as it is typically defined today. I am not a Music Minister. However, I would like to offer some observations on worship leading. These are the things I like to see and hear in our church, and these are things I like to see and hear in other places as well.

The idea for this post came about as I was listening to the music CD from Together for the Gospel 2008. This was led by Bob Kauflin. I have listened to the music CD several times in the past week and was struck by the model he presented.

1. Congregational worship leading is not a concert. In listening to Kauflin lead the large congregation at Together for the Gospel, there is no hint whatsoever that he is performing for them or trying to cover the singing of the body with his own microphone enhanced voice. In other words, the focus is taken off of the individual leader and placed ultimately on God and penultimately upon the corporate worship of the body.

2. Congregational worship leading must be saturated in Scripture. By this I simply mean that Scripture should direct and inform each and every song that we sing. I do not advocate limiting the songs we sing to Scripture verses put to music. However, if the songs we sing are not directly informed by Scripture, then our worship is flawed. God has revealed Himself to us through the Word. In that revelation, we receive truth about who God is and how He is honored by His people. Therefore, to attempt to worship God with anything other than scripturally informed and scripturally directed singing would be the height of arrogance and probably tantamount to idolatry. A good worship leader is one who submits himself and the songs he leads to Scripture.

3. Congregational worship leaders need to know the songs they are leading. Now, by this I do not simply mean that the leader needs to know the words, the melody lines, and the rhythm of the song he is leading. Much more than that, he needs to know what the song means. He needs to know where the song is going. When he does, he will be able to guide the congregation through tempo changes and vocal inflection and simple volume changes to signal that something significant is coming. In other words, by the way the leader sings the song, the congregation should be able to gather clues that will help them to understand the meaning of the song. This will assist the congregation, who may or may not know the song and may or may not be musically inclined, to grasp and engage in the worship to the best of their ability.

4. Congregational worship leaders should be free to guide the congregation toward specific truths found in the songs being sung. Here I do not mean that the leader should feel the need to do a free style rap during the invitation and speak every line that the congregation just sang. You may have heard examples of pastors doing this during the invitation after a sermon. Instead, what I mean here is that the worship leader who knows the song well (see above) will be able to interject comments that will not distract from the singing but instead draw attention to important points of truth or serve to lead the congregation to know what they should sing next. If this cannot be done as an enhancement to the worship experience then the leader should refrain from doing it. But, if done well, it can be a great aid to the congregation who may not know what part of the song should be sung next. And, certainly, it will be an aid to the congregation who may be so absorbed in simply trying to sing the song correctly that they are not primarily hearing the truth and praise that is coming out of their own mouths. My own personal experience confirms this last point. There have been many times when I was trying to sing a song that I was unfamiliar with and at the end of the song had no idea of the truth I had just been singing.

A few final thoughts. Singing is not the only form of worship. We should strive to avoid putting a dichotomy between the singing portion of our service and the preaching portion of our service (or any other portion, for that matter). Both are acts of worship. Also, I am not suggesting that the “Worship Pastor” is the only pastor who leads in worship during the service. I’m just trying to use convenient nomenclature. There should be at least one Worship Pastor who reads this post, and he should feel free to interact, challenge, and correct me on these ideas.

Jason

Whatever happened to holiness?

2010-01-07T19:55:00.001-05:00

It has occurred to me lately that many churches and Christians in the world seem to embrace a Christianity that is void of any genuine, transformational life change. There are churches all over the state in which I live that are suffering from a lack of revival, a lack of evangelistic zeal, and a lack of believers that are bothered by either. People are content to attend church services on Sunday morning, Sunday night, and even Wednesday night. They are pleased to serve on this committee or that ministry team. They even (grudgingly, it seems) put some money in the offering plate as it passes them by. By their own self-imposed standards, they are doing their part to sustain the kingdom work of the church of the living God. The only problem is that their life on the other days of the week are apparently no different than they were before they allegedly came face to face with the Creator of the universe.

What can we learn from people who will gladly stand up and be counted when they are in the assembly of the righteous, but are content to fade into the crowd of carnality when going about their business in the public square? I believe that we can learn a great deal from this all too familiar phenomenon. In Matthew's gospel, the words of Christ are recorded for us all to read as He reminds us how to recognize a false prophet. "Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes nor figs from thistles, are they? So every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. So then, you will know them by their fruits. 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.'" (Matt. 7:15-23 NASB) It seems all too appropriate that this litmus test be applied to recognizing false Christians as well.

I am saddened to say that evidently the church has decided to choose comfort over commitment, moderation over maturity, and satisfaction over surrender. We have traded in the concept of holiness in favor of tolerance and acceptance. What we as the church have failed to realize is that there is a big difference between holiness and legalism. Legalism demands that we become more like men. Holiness demands that we become more like Jesus. Where are the men of God who are not afraid to plant their feet, square their shoulders, and declare, 'Thus saith the Lord?' Who will stand with boldness, taking up the mantle of the prophet of God, and call sin, sin, and righteousness, righteousness, leaving the consequences in the powerful and capable hands of the Lord Jesus Christ? We need men of God such as this if the church is to return to her proper state.

"Do this, knowing the time, that it is already the hour for you to awaken from sleep; for now salvation is nearer to us than when we believed. The night is almost gone, and the day is near. Therefore let us lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us behave properly as in the day, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual promiscuity and sensuality, not in strife and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts." (Romans 13:11-14 NASB) A.W. Tozer echoes the words of the Apostle Paul as he offers us some timely instructions in his book "We Travel an Appointed Way: "It is time for Bible-believing Christians to begin to cultivate the sober graces and to live among men like sons of God and heirs of the ages. And this will take more than a bit of doing, for the whole world and a large part of the church is set to prevent it. But if God be for us, who can be against us?"

Well.....what are we waiting for?

Mike. Out.

"As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance, 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 1:14-16 (NASB)

What does 1 Thessalonians 5:22 mean?

2010-01-06T23:45:00.001-05:00

Are we to abstain from all appearances of evil or all kinds of evil?

In our Wednesday Night Service at Donalds Baptist, we have just come back to our study of Thomas Brooks’ Precious Remedies Against Satan’s Devices. We had gone through the first six devices before the Christmas season and now we are back at Device #7. Brooks’ point was to avoid, abstain from, and flee all occasions for sin. It is an excellent admonition.

In thinking back through the discussion, a few questions come to mind. What does Paul mean when he tells us to abstain from every form of evil? I have always heard this verse quoted as abstaining from all appearances of evil. Is there a difference? I think so.

The Bible describes Jesus Christ’s ministry to the outcasts of society, the drunkards, tax collectors, and prostitutes, as one in which He was accused (wrongly so) of participating in their sins. See, for example, Matthew 11:19. In other words, Jesus did not mind appearing evil in that way. And certainly, Jesus and Paul are not at odds here. So, what is going on?

It seems the best translation of 1 Thessalonians 5:22 reads “Abstain from all forms of evil.” Now, this is a fairly clear-cut command from the Apostle. There is no such teaching in Scripture that says you can commit “small degree” sins but you must never commit “large degree” sins. Instead, Scripture uniformly condemns the practice of any and every sin. Jesus condemns hatred of your brother equally with murder of your brother. He condemns lust equally with adultery. So, no form of evil is allowed.

But back to the appearance of evil, what do we make of the way Jesus acted and the commands of Romans 14:13 for example? (Even asking the question this way shows that there is no contradiction here. God does not contradict Himself, ever.) The Apostle Paul is making a specific command in Romans 14:13. The pertinent clause is, “decide never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother.” Paul tells us that, in love for our brothers and sisters in Christ, we must be aware of who is around us and aware of what we are doing. To use Brooks’ language, we must never be the cause of someone else’s occasion for sinning.

Jesus never did that. Jesus ministered to all kinds of sinners. But He never participated in their sins with them. Hebrews 4:15 makes that clear. But Jesus absolutely was accused of appearing to be evil. Jesus offended the Pharisees by the way He ministered the Gospel, but He never caused them to sin. They did sin, to be sure, but not because Jesus led them to it. So, we are talking about two different things here.

When you are ministering to your brothers and sisters in Christ, and when they are ministering to you, the goal is to become more like Christ. A corollary to that goal is to abstain from all forms of evil. Yet, the way your ministry may play out could look to some people as evil. Your job is to make sure it is not evil. Are you breaking any explicit or implicit commands of Scripture? Are you sinning against your conscience? Are you causing your brother or sister to sin against his or her conscience? If the answer to those questions is no, then proceed to the glory of God. To your critics, your actions may appear to be evil, but your critics will be wrong. And the Bible does not command us to avoid that kind of appearance of evil.

So, how do you know when you are offending your critics with the free offer of the Gospel to all kinds of people struggling with all kinds of sins, versus when you are actually causing your critics to stumble? Here we need to understand the difference between offending someone and causing someone to stumble. Note well: the only offense that ever comes should be that of the offense of the Gospel. We should seek to never offend anyone in and of ourselves. Often, the style or manner in which someone presents and applies the Gospel will be contrary to the liking of someone else. That may offend them, but that is not the same as causing them to stumble into sin.

Here is an illustration I heard from my preaching professor in Seminary. He told us of a preacher a couple of decades ago who decided to grow a full beard in the course of his ministry at a particular church. It just so happened that the area that church was in, culturally, considered a beard as evidence of immaturity and radicalism. Nevertheless, he grew his beard and continued to preach. Finally, one Sunday, a lady came up to him after the service quite agitated. She said, “Preacher, your beard is causing me to stumble.” (Let it be understood here that she did not mean it was causing her to lust after him or anything like that, she was simply angry that he was wearing a beard despite the cultural milieu.) He said, “Ma’am, my beard is offensive to you, but it is not causing you to stumble. If it were, you would have grown one yourself.”

Therefore, expect to be criticized by people for the sake of the Gospel. The Gospel is offensive. But, strive to never cause someone to stumble into sin, for that itself is a form of evil from which we are to abstain by God's grace and for His glory.

Jason