This post was sent to me by Joe Morrison
In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
> John 16:33 >
> The massacre at Virginia Tech has millions around the globe asking the same question every human tragedy almost universally evokes: “Why?”
>
> Why. It seems there is a built in need for humans to understand the reasons why someone would coldly murder people they, the murderer, don’t even know. People also want to know why this killing wasn’t prevented in the first place.
>
> Even God, after witnessing the first murder recorded in Scripture, asked a question of the killer. In Genesis 4, The Lord asked Cain: “What have you done?”
>
> In the first verse I quoted, Jesus declared--promised--two things, the first: You WILL have trouble. From the day Adam first sinned, to the world’s first murder, and throughout all of our world’s turbulent history, this statement is proven self-evident.
>
> And this is where the world outside of a personal relationship with Jesus Christ gets hung up. Hopeless people see violence, brutality, tribulation, and trouble all around them and find themselves locked in the endless loop of W-H-Y.
>
> However, the second declaration in John 16:33 provides the answer, the freedom from endless doubt and worry: “But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
>
> Such simple yet powerful truths are contained in this tiny snippet of the Bible!
>
> In fact, I ended the Space Shuttle Columbia memorial video (http://www.interviewwithgod.com/columbia/) with this text. It is about the most comforting thing I can imagine--Jesus Christ Himself said that no matter what we are going through, even unto death itself, He has conquered every foe.
>
> "Where, O death, is your victory?
> Where, O death, is your sting?"
> 1 Corinthians 15:55 NIV
>
> The writer of Hebrews asks: “How shall we escape if we ignore such a great salvation?” There is no escape from the endless W-H-Y feedback cycle outside of Jesus Christ. None. We will see an endless media barrage probing into the background of Cho Seung-hui, the apparent Virginia Tech killer. But the world will not be able to provide real answers. How do I know this to be true? Because the next time a terrible human tragedy occurs, the question will remain the same.
>
> A time such as this is time to tell hurting people to, in the words of Jesus Christ, “take heart!” God loves people, and that is why Jesus has already “suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.” (Hebrews 2:9 NIV)
>
> Jesus Christ is the only savior who has experienced every pain, heartache, trial, and temptation you, I, or anyone else will ever endure.
>
> “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”
> Hebrews 4:15-16 NIV
>
> As we pray for the families and friends of the victims, and yes, those of the killer, we should ask and hope that the Good News of the Great Sufferer AND the Great
> Conqueror, Jesus Christ, will be shared with those who are hurting, and those who are asking…why.
>
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
Entanglement
Since . . . you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above . . . . Colossians 3:1
In quantum physics, the term entanglement describes the way subatomic particles with a common past may interact with one another regardless of how far apart they are.
According to the website Whatis.com, “Quantum entanglement allows qubits that are separated by incredible distances to interact with each other immediately, in a communication that is not limited to the speed of light. Entanglement is a real phenomenon (Einstein called it ‘spooky action at a distance’) which has been demonstrated through experimentation. The mechanism behind it cannot, as yet, be fully explained by any theory.”
All that is very complicated. But Paul sees Christians entangled in Christ. When Christ was raised, we were raised with him. When he died, we died. Our identity is entangled in his.
Paul says our life is now hidden with Christ in God. There’s a Greek myth about a deer that hunters and wolves could not kill because the life of the deer was hidden in the belly of a fish that swam the oceans of the world. To kill the deer would require catching the fish. Our life is hidden with Christ in God.
Finally, “when Christ, who is [our] life, appears, then [we] also will appear with him in glory.”
It’s a most blessed entanglement.
PRAYER
Lord Jesus, because you claim us as your very own, we would set our affections on the things that please you. Renew us in your image as our Creator and Savior, we pray. Amen.
In quantum physics, the term entanglement describes the way subatomic particles with a common past may interact with one another regardless of how far apart they are.
According to the website Whatis.com, “Quantum entanglement allows qubits that are separated by incredible distances to interact with each other immediately, in a communication that is not limited to the speed of light. Entanglement is a real phenomenon (Einstein called it ‘spooky action at a distance’) which has been demonstrated through experimentation. The mechanism behind it cannot, as yet, be fully explained by any theory.”
All that is very complicated. But Paul sees Christians entangled in Christ. When Christ was raised, we were raised with him. When he died, we died. Our identity is entangled in his.
Paul says our life is now hidden with Christ in God. There’s a Greek myth about a deer that hunters and wolves could not kill because the life of the deer was hidden in the belly of a fish that swam the oceans of the world. To kill the deer would require catching the fish. Our life is hidden with Christ in God.
Finally, “when Christ, who is [our] life, appears, then [we] also will appear with him in glory.”
It’s a most blessed entanglement.
PRAYER
Lord Jesus, because you claim us as your very own, we would set our affections on the things that please you. Renew us in your image as our Creator and Savior, we pray. Amen.
LOVING GOD'S IMAGE IN OUR NEIGHBORS By Phil Johnson
When some Pharisees put Jesus to the test concerning the greatest of all God’s commandments, He answered with a quotation from Deuteronomy 6:5: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.”
“This is the first and great commandment,” He told them. “And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself’” (Matthew 22:38-39).
What did He mean when He said the two commandments are alike? Well, obviously, they both deal with love. The first calls for wholehearted love toward God—a love that consumes every human faculty. The second calls for charitable love toward one’s neighbor—a humble, sacrificial, serving love. Jesus said all the law and the prophets hang on those two commandments, so the whole law is summed up in the principle of love. “Love is the fulfillment of the law” (Romans 13:10). Both commandments make that point.
But there’s another sense in which the second great commandment is just like the first. Loving one’s neighbor is simply the natural and necessary extension of true, wholehearted love for God, because your neighbor is made in the image of God.
Made in the image of God
God’s image in every person is the moral and ethical foundation for every commandment that governs how we ought to treat our fellow humans. Scripture repeatedly makes this clear. Why is murder deemed such an especially heinous sin? Because killing a fellow human being is the ultimate desecration of God’s image (Genesis 9:6).
In the New Testament, James points to the image of God in men and women as an argument for allowing even our speech to be seasoned with grace and kindness. It is utterly irrational, he says, to bless God while cursing people who are made in God’s own likeness (James 3:9-12).
That same principle is an effective argument against every kind of disrespect or unkindness one person might show to another. For example, to ignore the needs of suffering people is to treat the image of God in them with outright contempt. Proverbs 17:5 says, “He who mocks the poor reproaches his Maker.” Neglecting the needs of a person who is “hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison” is tantamount to scorning the Lord Himself. That’s exactly what Jesus said in Matthew 25:44-45: “Inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.”
Neighbor? Who’s that?
Who is our neighbor? That’s the question a lawyer asked Jesus when He affirmed the priority of the first and second commandments (Luke 10:29). In response, Jesus told the parable of the Good Samaritan, poignantly making the point that anyone and everyone who crosses our path is our neighbor—and truly loving them as ourselves means seeking to meet whatever needs they might have.
One of Jesus’ main points in that parable was this: we’re not to love our own brethren and fellow believers to the exclusion of strangers and unbelievers. God’s image was placed in humanity at creation, not redemption. Although the image of God was seriously marred by Adam’s fall, it was not utterly obliterated. The divine likeness is still part of fallen humanity; in fact, it is essential to the very definition of humanity. Therefore every human being, whether a derelict in the gutter or a deacon in the church, ought to be treated with dignity and compassionate love, out of respect for the image of God in him.
The image restored
The restoration of God’s image in fallen humanity is one of the ultimate goals of redemption, of course. God’s paramount purpose for every Christian involves perfect Christlikeness (Romans 8:29; 1 John 3:2). That will consummate the complete restoration and utter perfection of God’s image in all believers, because Christ himself is the supreme flesh-and-blood image of God (Colossians 1:15).
But if you’re a believer, your conformation to Christ’s likeness is gradually being accomplished even now by the process of your sanctification (2 Corinthians 3:18). In the meantime, Jesus taught that one of the best ways to be like God is to love even your enemies. Not only do they bear God’s image, but (more to Jesus’ point), loving them is the best way for us to be like God, because God Himself loves even those who hate Him.
Loving even our enemies
Of course, the prevailing rabbinical tradition in Jesus’ day claimed that “enemies” are not really “neighbors.” In effect, that nullified the second great commandment. It was like saying you don’t really have to love anyone whom you hate. All kinds of disrespect and unkindness became impervious to the law’s correction.
Jesus confronted the error head on:
You have heard that it was said, “You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.” But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.
Your enemy is made in God’s image and therefore deserving of your respect and kindness. More important, Jesus said, if you want to be more like God—if you want the image of God to shine more visibly in your life and behavior—here’s the way to do it: love even your enemies.
Remember, “God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him” (1 John 4:16). Such love—expressed even toward our enemies—is the mark of the true Christian, because it is the most vivid expression of God’s image in His own people. “As He is, so are we in this world” (v. 17).
Monday, April 16, 2007
A TIME TO ACT LIKE MEN...... JOHN MACARTHUR
The conference this morning is being held in the chapel/gymnasium at The Master’s College. Approximately 700 men from our church have gathered to be challenged and encouraged by the theme of this year’s conference: Time to Act Like Men. It’s a joy to see the many men who have come. In a way, it feels like a scaled-down Shepherds’ Conference – with hundreds of men gathering for a common purpose: in this case, to grow in Christ specifically in the area of spiritual leadership and biblical masculinity.
The morning opened with a song, led by Bill Brandenstein, and a prayer by Bruce Blakey. Bruce introduced the first speaker this morning, John MacArthur. Pastor John is well-known to all of the men here, and Bruce thanked him for his faithfulness over his many years of ministry.
After another song, John MacArthur took the platform.
John began by giving a short endorsement for The Master’s College — discussing the college’s high athletic and academic standards; but emphasizing, more importantly, the college’s commitment to biblical authority. The college’s faculty and staff are resolved to stand firm for the truth. John also highlighted some of the ways that the college is expanding, both in terms of infrastructure and in terms of financial blessings. The Lord is helping the college do what He has called them to do.
Our attention is now turned to the biblical text.
Let’s turn to 1 Corinthians 16, so that we can lay the foundation for what it means to act like men. This starts in verse 13 of chapter 16, where Paul commands his readers to act like men, to be strong, to stand firm in the faith, etc. Just focusing on “act like men” we are really talking about courage. Biblically speaking, Men are not to be vacillating or weak, but as those who face life with courage and strength.
Paul does not give much explanation with this command. Yet this theme, to act like men, runs throughout the Old Testament.
In Deuteronomy 31:6, for example, Moses told the people of Israel to be strong and courageous. Then in verses 7–8, Moses told Joshua to similarly be strong and courageous. Those who have been involved in athletics are familiar with these kind of speeches. The Israelites under Joshua were about to embark on a major initiative in Canaan and this is the “pre-game” pep-talk. In verse 23 the command is again reiterated, to be strong and courageous. This is strength and courage that is based upon the power of God and the sovereignty of God. There is no fear to go forward in obeying the command of the Lord, because He will also enable and guarantee the results.
In 2 Samuel 10:12 we have a similar situation. David and his army have the same commitment to be courageous in the power of the Lord. David passes this charge on to Solomon (in 1 Kings 2:2-4), that Solomon would also be strong and courageous in his dependent obedience on the Lord. This same charge is echoed in 1 Chronicles 22:10–13.
In 2 Chronicles 32, Hezekiah took courage in the face of the invasion of Sennacherib, and called his soldiers to be courageous also. Why? Verse 8 explains: because “with us is the Lord our God to help us and to fight our battles.”
When Paul says, “Act like men, be strong” he is speaking from his own rich understanding of the Old Testament. So the phrase itself is loaded with theological significance.
Joshua 1 is a primary passage in understanding what it means to be courageous and strong. Verse 5 gives us the foundation and basis for our courage – it is the promise of the Lord that “I will be with you; I will not fail you or forsake you.” True courage comes from obedient dependence on the Lord.
These verses (vv. 2–9) comprise one of the most formidable “pep-talks” on the pages of Scripture. What is it to be manly? It is to stand firm in the principles and purposes of God, to go forward for the sake of the kingdom, knowing that God has given us the strength and promised us the victory.
When we study the Bible we begin by finding out what is there (cognition), but then it moves from knowing the information to embracing it as true (conviction). Then we move from conviction to affection, where it is not only something we know and believe, but something we love. And we love the Scripture because it is through the Scriptures that we learn about our Savior.
It is our affection for God and for His Word (in which He has revealed Himself to us) that undergirds our courage. True courage is not motivated just by knowledge or by principle. It is motivated by affection. Godly husbands would not defend their families merely out of knowledge or conviction, but out of love for their families. Godly pastors would not boldly protect their church merely out of knowledge or principle, but out of love for their sheep. As men, we must be motivated not just out of head knowledge or even moral obligation — but out of love for the Lord. That is where true courage begins, with affection for God.
It is important for people to understand that we must go from information to conviction that the information is true. But it must not stop there. It must go to affection. When we love the Lord and love His truth (in addition our love for the church, our wives, our families) it makes us courageous. True spirituality is really defined by the strength and courage that the Apostle Paul discusses in 1 Corinthians 16. It is strong. And that strength comes from loving God, and obeying His commands because of our love for Him (cf. Mark 12:30–31).
In many ways today, we are watching the emasculation of the church. We have a church without courage, without conviction, in which the Word of God is de-emphasized. What we need is men who love Christ, love the truth, and stand boldly for what they love.
In 1 Peter 1:13–16, Peter gives a similar call to his readers. Men are to be sober (with an eternal perspective), obedient and holy (not characterized by the lusts of our pre-Christian experience). This is how Christian men act.
In closing, John noted a book he had recently read entitled, A World Lit Only By Fire, about the dark ages. It was a very sad and spiritually dark time in medieval history. The catholic system was corrupt beyond comprehension. Where were the men? Where were the preachers who were standing for the truth? During that time, there was an utter absence of strength.
And as you read through that, you suddenly come to Martin Luther. Because he had so much conviction and affection for the truth, he was an utter anomaly. The catholic church didn’t know what to do with Luther, because he had so much passion for the Word of God. In fact, he had been so captured by the truth, that he refused to let go until he brought down the whole corrupt system and launched the Reformation.
Another book, Masters of the Air, highlighted the Eighth Wing of the US Air Force during World War II. They went over to Europe to fly high altitude bombers over Germany, trying to put an end to Hitler’s advances. In this engagement, some 26,000 flyers died. And they were mostly 17 to 20-year-old kids. One of the statistics was that, somewhere between 65 and 75 percent of these guys did not survive. And yet they kept coming, signing up, and going.
We don’t live in a world like that any more. We don’t live in a culture that breeds that kind of fortitude. We live in a soft culture. Just go to the mall and see what today’s 17 and 18-year-olds are like.
And this soft attitude is creeping into the church. As men, we have to stand firm in both the church and in our homes. We need to be men, informed by Scripture, who will act courageously out of their love for Christ. We need to be counter-cultural. We need to be strong and courageous.
The morning opened with a song, led by Bill Brandenstein, and a prayer by Bruce Blakey. Bruce introduced the first speaker this morning, John MacArthur. Pastor John is well-known to all of the men here, and Bruce thanked him for his faithfulness over his many years of ministry.
After another song, John MacArthur took the platform.
John began by giving a short endorsement for The Master’s College — discussing the college’s high athletic and academic standards; but emphasizing, more importantly, the college’s commitment to biblical authority. The college’s faculty and staff are resolved to stand firm for the truth. John also highlighted some of the ways that the college is expanding, both in terms of infrastructure and in terms of financial blessings. The Lord is helping the college do what He has called them to do.
Our attention is now turned to the biblical text.
Let’s turn to 1 Corinthians 16, so that we can lay the foundation for what it means to act like men. This starts in verse 13 of chapter 16, where Paul commands his readers to act like men, to be strong, to stand firm in the faith, etc. Just focusing on “act like men” we are really talking about courage. Biblically speaking, Men are not to be vacillating or weak, but as those who face life with courage and strength.
Paul does not give much explanation with this command. Yet this theme, to act like men, runs throughout the Old Testament.
In Deuteronomy 31:6, for example, Moses told the people of Israel to be strong and courageous. Then in verses 7–8, Moses told Joshua to similarly be strong and courageous. Those who have been involved in athletics are familiar with these kind of speeches. The Israelites under Joshua were about to embark on a major initiative in Canaan and this is the “pre-game” pep-talk. In verse 23 the command is again reiterated, to be strong and courageous. This is strength and courage that is based upon the power of God and the sovereignty of God. There is no fear to go forward in obeying the command of the Lord, because He will also enable and guarantee the results.
In 2 Samuel 10:12 we have a similar situation. David and his army have the same commitment to be courageous in the power of the Lord. David passes this charge on to Solomon (in 1 Kings 2:2-4), that Solomon would also be strong and courageous in his dependent obedience on the Lord. This same charge is echoed in 1 Chronicles 22:10–13.
In 2 Chronicles 32, Hezekiah took courage in the face of the invasion of Sennacherib, and called his soldiers to be courageous also. Why? Verse 8 explains: because “with us is the Lord our God to help us and to fight our battles.”
When Paul says, “Act like men, be strong” he is speaking from his own rich understanding of the Old Testament. So the phrase itself is loaded with theological significance.
Joshua 1 is a primary passage in understanding what it means to be courageous and strong. Verse 5 gives us the foundation and basis for our courage – it is the promise of the Lord that “I will be with you; I will not fail you or forsake you.” True courage comes from obedient dependence on the Lord.
These verses (vv. 2–9) comprise one of the most formidable “pep-talks” on the pages of Scripture. What is it to be manly? It is to stand firm in the principles and purposes of God, to go forward for the sake of the kingdom, knowing that God has given us the strength and promised us the victory.
When we study the Bible we begin by finding out what is there (cognition), but then it moves from knowing the information to embracing it as true (conviction). Then we move from conviction to affection, where it is not only something we know and believe, but something we love. And we love the Scripture because it is through the Scriptures that we learn about our Savior.
It is our affection for God and for His Word (in which He has revealed Himself to us) that undergirds our courage. True courage is not motivated just by knowledge or by principle. It is motivated by affection. Godly husbands would not defend their families merely out of knowledge or conviction, but out of love for their families. Godly pastors would not boldly protect their church merely out of knowledge or principle, but out of love for their sheep. As men, we must be motivated not just out of head knowledge or even moral obligation — but out of love for the Lord. That is where true courage begins, with affection for God.
It is important for people to understand that we must go from information to conviction that the information is true. But it must not stop there. It must go to affection. When we love the Lord and love His truth (in addition our love for the church, our wives, our families) it makes us courageous. True spirituality is really defined by the strength and courage that the Apostle Paul discusses in 1 Corinthians 16. It is strong. And that strength comes from loving God, and obeying His commands because of our love for Him (cf. Mark 12:30–31).
In many ways today, we are watching the emasculation of the church. We have a church without courage, without conviction, in which the Word of God is de-emphasized. What we need is men who love Christ, love the truth, and stand boldly for what they love.
In 1 Peter 1:13–16, Peter gives a similar call to his readers. Men are to be sober (with an eternal perspective), obedient and holy (not characterized by the lusts of our pre-Christian experience). This is how Christian men act.
In closing, John noted a book he had recently read entitled, A World Lit Only By Fire, about the dark ages. It was a very sad and spiritually dark time in medieval history. The catholic system was corrupt beyond comprehension. Where were the men? Where were the preachers who were standing for the truth? During that time, there was an utter absence of strength.
And as you read through that, you suddenly come to Martin Luther. Because he had so much conviction and affection for the truth, he was an utter anomaly. The catholic church didn’t know what to do with Luther, because he had so much passion for the Word of God. In fact, he had been so captured by the truth, that he refused to let go until he brought down the whole corrupt system and launched the Reformation.
Another book, Masters of the Air, highlighted the Eighth Wing of the US Air Force during World War II. They went over to Europe to fly high altitude bombers over Germany, trying to put an end to Hitler’s advances. In this engagement, some 26,000 flyers died. And they were mostly 17 to 20-year-old kids. One of the statistics was that, somewhere between 65 and 75 percent of these guys did not survive. And yet they kept coming, signing up, and going.
We don’t live in a world like that any more. We don’t live in a culture that breeds that kind of fortitude. We live in a soft culture. Just go to the mall and see what today’s 17 and 18-year-olds are like.
And this soft attitude is creeping into the church. As men, we have to stand firm in both the church and in our homes. We need to be men, informed by Scripture, who will act courageously out of their love for Christ. We need to be counter-cultural. We need to be strong and courageous.
PAYING YOUR TAXES..... By Dr John Macarthur
What follows comes from a sermon preached by John on Romans 13:6-7.
Romans 13:6-7 is the setting for our message: “For, for this cause, pay ye tribute also; for they are God’s ministers, attending continually upon this very thing. Render, therefore, to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute is due, custom to whom custom, fear to whom fear, honor to whom honor.”
It is a basic reality of human behavior that no one likes to pay taxes. Poor people don’t like to pay taxes because they start out with so little money. When they have to pay taxes, they end up with even less. Rich people don’t like to pay taxes because the more they have, the more tax they have to pay. Most everyone is negative about taxes. The United States was originally founded as a protest against taxation. It was born out of a revolution built on taxation without representation.
We live in a society that doesn’t like to pay taxes. It does everything it can to avoid paying them, both legally and illegally. What should the Christian’s attitude be toward paying taxes, especially if we disagree with the government’s usage of our tax money? What should we do if we disagree with its policies? If I send them my money, I’m allowing the government to use it in ways I might not agree with. We might also think that the present tax structure is unfair. Perhaps you think the escalating tax percentage based on income should be reduced to a common percent for everyone, no matter how much they make. If we believe that the graduated tax program has the ultimate effect of penalizing the poor and stifling incentive in those who are more enterprising, shouldn’t we have the right not to pay?
Even with all those criticisms, the Bible is explicit. Without equivocation it tells us to pay our taxes. It doesn’t even qualify that statement. It doesn’t say to pay them if you agree with what they’re used for; it just says to pay your taxes. If we can come up with criticisms of our present tax structure, the people in the time of Paul could as well. Actually, their government was worse than ours in many ways. But that is never the issue. It wasn’t the issue in the time of the Lord, and it isn’t the issue today. The simple statement of Scripture is to pay your taxes.
We need to take a good look at what the Christian is to be responsible for in the matter of taxation. As we look at Romans 13:6-7, I want you to notice three things: the principle, the purpose, and then the particulars.
To read the rest of this message, click here.
It is a basic reality of human behavior that no one likes to pay taxes. Poor people don’t like to pay taxes because they start out with so little money. When they have to pay taxes, they end up with even less. Rich people don’t like to pay taxes because the more they have, the more tax they have to pay. Most everyone is negative about taxes. The United States was originally founded as a protest against taxation. It was born out of a revolution built on taxation without representation.
We live in a society that doesn’t like to pay taxes. It does everything it can to avoid paying them, both legally and illegally. What should the Christian’s attitude be toward paying taxes, especially if we disagree with the government’s usage of our tax money? What should we do if we disagree with its policies? If I send them my money, I’m allowing the government to use it in ways I might not agree with. We might also think that the present tax structure is unfair. Perhaps you think the escalating tax percentage based on income should be reduced to a common percent for everyone, no matter how much they make. If we believe that the graduated tax program has the ultimate effect of penalizing the poor and stifling incentive in those who are more enterprising, shouldn’t we have the right not to pay?
Even with all those criticisms, the Bible is explicit. Without equivocation it tells us to pay our taxes. It doesn’t even qualify that statement. It doesn’t say to pay them if you agree with what they’re used for; it just says to pay your taxes. If we can come up with criticisms of our present tax structure, the people in the time of Paul could as well. Actually, their government was worse than ours in many ways. But that is never the issue. It wasn’t the issue in the time of the Lord, and it isn’t the issue today. The simple statement of Scripture is to pay your taxes.
We need to take a good look at what the Christian is to be responsible for in the matter of taxation. As we look at Romans 13:6-7, I want you to notice three things: the principle, the purpose, and then the particulars.
To read the rest of this message, click here.
Plans of the Diligent
Proverbs 21:5The plans of the diligent lead surely to abundance,but everyone who is hasty comes only to poverty.
This is a practical proverb to guide you today. It could make the difference between an action that leads to long-term blessing or long-term regret. Like a beautiful house built on poor land, many options look appealing but hide disastrous consequences. Many ideas seemed good "at the time," but proved to be foolish as time went on. Remember verse 2: "Every way of a man is right in his own eyes." All the more reason then to prayerfully study, seek counsel, and plan.
Many couples who come to me with troubled marriages are those who hastily married. Their passion at the time made marriage seem right and easy. How many people have switched jobs on impulse or moved to another town because at the moment they felt restless, only to become even more miserable?Impulse is not necessarily bad and can provide a healthy spice in our routine. There are times when "the Spirit moves" and we should act.
But when acting on impulse becomes the routine way of making decisions, then we are setting ourselves up for disaster. We will make bad decisions, and we will earn a reputation of not being trustworthy. There are persons who master diligent planning in the workplace, but let their emotions lead them in their personal lives. It is a mistake to treat family and friends as workplace projects for diligent planning; but it is a greater mistake to "wing it" in choosing a life-long mate, keeping a marriage vibrant, and raising a family.When we think about it, we reveal how important anything is to us by the careful thought we give to it. Whatever grabs our interest is what we will plan to get, keep, and nurture. What has your interest now?
This is a practical proverb to guide you today. It could make the difference between an action that leads to long-term blessing or long-term regret. Like a beautiful house built on poor land, many options look appealing but hide disastrous consequences. Many ideas seemed good "at the time," but proved to be foolish as time went on. Remember verse 2: "Every way of a man is right in his own eyes." All the more reason then to prayerfully study, seek counsel, and plan.
Many couples who come to me with troubled marriages are those who hastily married. Their passion at the time made marriage seem right and easy. How many people have switched jobs on impulse or moved to another town because at the moment they felt restless, only to become even more miserable?Impulse is not necessarily bad and can provide a healthy spice in our routine. There are times when "the Spirit moves" and we should act.
But when acting on impulse becomes the routine way of making decisions, then we are setting ourselves up for disaster. We will make bad decisions, and we will earn a reputation of not being trustworthy. There are persons who master diligent planning in the workplace, but let their emotions lead them in their personal lives. It is a mistake to treat family and friends as workplace projects for diligent planning; but it is a greater mistake to "wing it" in choosing a life-long mate, keeping a marriage vibrant, and raising a family.When we think about it, we reveal how important anything is to us by the careful thought we give to it. Whatever grabs our interest is what we will plan to get, keep, and nurture. What has your interest now?
ACTING LIKE MEN IN THE CHURCH........By Phil Johnson
There has been an enormous amount of activity in evangelicalism in recent years to address the gender gap in the church. If we look at evangelicalism today, it seems that evangelicalism today is committed to feminine truths. If men will embrace a feminine approach to relationships and spirituality then they are welcome in the church. Everything, even the tone of the preacher, is expected to be soft—more-suited to the sewing circle than anything else. Accuracy and plain speaking has been devalued, and replaced with a love affair for things like the seeker-sensitive movement.
Where does the “seeker-sensitive” movement fit into the biblical description of what the church should be? It doesn’t. It is an effeminate approach to Christianity and the biblical depiction of the church. And it is about to get worse with the emerging church — where truth is not held with courage and conviction. What we see today, instead of reflecting biblical Christianity, is a movement toward ear-tickling, truth-softening, and effeminization.
By every statistic that you could use to measure the evangelical church today, churches are becoming more and more dominated by feminine themes: personal relationships, emotional hurts, etc. As these trends have grown over the last two to three decades, real men are becoming less likely to become part of the church. Of course, the problem is far worse in liberal churches than in evangelical churches, but that should tell us what the end result of this trend will be. The problem is also worse in Europe. And this tells us where the American church is headed.
The involvement of men in the church is decreasing (within evangelical circles). Ministries like the Promise Keepers and books like Wild at Heart and The Five Love Languages, Men’s Edition do exist, but most of these (even in addressing manhood) are either effeminate or childish (promoting boyhood fantasies, not biblical masculinity).
Evangelical publishers are some of the worse culprits in keeping this trend going. Since women buy some 75% of the evangelical books published in America, publishers are primarily interested in publishing books that appeal to women. Thus the push to feminize everything in the church is a driving force in the Christian publishing industry.
At this point, Phil shared several anecdotes from his experiences in publishing to validate his point regarding evangelical publishers. He continued by noting that the problem is getting worse. In fact, it is so bad that publishers have recognized the problem and are beginning to publish books for men like Why Men Hate the Church.
It is clear that there is a problem, and it is primarily the church’s problem.
A few clarifications:
(1) This is not a rant against women, or against feminine values (in the sense of biblical femininity). The crisis in the church is not primarily the fault of women, who have somehow moved the focus of the church away from men. Rather, the fault lies at the feet of men who have turned the church over to women. The problem is with Christian men who are not manly enough to balance the equation.
(2) The solution to all of these problems cannot come from the top down – it needs to come from laymen. It is the duty of every Christian man to be fervent in his devotion to Christ. If this were to happen, the tide would change, and the trends would reverse. Moreover, there is a serious problem in the leadership of many evangelical churches – as seen recently when the leader of the largest coalition of evangelicals in our nation was caught in an adulterous homosexual relationship. So this has to be a movement that begins at the grass roots level.
(3) The problem we are talking about is not brand new. It is an age-old problem. But what we are seeing today is especially significant, and we’ve seen it coming. This movement has been in the works since soon after the end of the Puritan age. Since then, men have been more “refined” and “sophisticated” than the Scripture itself. So, instead of taking firm stands and preaching to one another about error, they had “dialogues” about truth – such that pulpits became soft and the truth watered-down.
Charles Spurgeon exemplified the convicting, manly approach to Christian living that is in keeping with biblical masculinity. Spurgeon was thought to be too harsh even in his own day. And yet, 150 years later, we are still reading Spurgeon. He still speaks to our generation. But all of the soft, wishy-washy, relativistic preachers of Spurgeon’s day have been forgotten.
Spurgeon urged the men in his congregation to pattern themselves after the perfect Man, Jesus Christ.
Biblically, when we are talking about manliness, we are talking about character. We are not talking about bravado, or boyishness. It’s not about style at all. Going out into the woods and getting in touch with nature has nothing to do with real, biblical manliness. Real manliness is defined by Christlike character.
In Ephesians 4:11–12, we find that when Christ ascended to heaven He gave gifts to His church. And the gifts that He gave are men. This passage is not just speaking of the offices, but of the specific individuals, the men, who fill those offices. It is clear from this text that Christ gave these men to the church. That is the point of the passage.
Verse 12 is saying that God gave these gifts to the church for the equipping of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the building up of the body of Christ. That is not three separate ideas (expressed in those results). Rather, it is the long progression of a single idea. The saints are equipped so that they can do the work of the ministry so that the church can be built up.
It is the saints, not the clergy, who are tasked with the edification of the church. It is not the job of the clergy to do all the work of the ministry. Their job is to equip lay-people who will then go forward and do the work of the ministry.
Notice in verse 13 the emphasis on the “perfect man.” Paul deliberately uses the word for “man” in this verse. He is talking about manhood here, in this case perfect manhood. And he describes perfect manhood in verse 14 and 15.
Verse 13 tells us what perfect manliness is.
Verse 14 tells us what perfect manliness does.
Verse 15 tells us how perfect manliness works.
Following these three points…
1. What perfect manliness is (v. 13).
Perfect manliness is summed up in Christ. The phrases in this verse are parallel and synonymous, meaning that they all reiterate the same thing in quick succession. Thus, Christ Himself is the incarnation of perfect manhood and masculinity. We as men need to be conformed to His likeness, which is what sanctification is all about.
We could spend hours, maybe weeks, unpacking Christ’s masculinity. Since we do not have time to do that, we can begin by noting that the effeminate, “meek and mild” picture of Jesus that is often portrayed by the modern church does not fit the picture presented in the four gospels. In Scripture, when Jesus speaks, He is deliberately provocative. When He speaks to those who oppose Him, He is always blunt, confrontational, and very bold. He attacks lies and insincerity without any kind of velvet gloves.
This is not to say He is not gracious. But He responds to hypocrites and deliberate sinners with clarity and zeal. He even cleansed the Temple on two separate occasions. He showed righteous indignation. The point is: no one who knew Jesus would have never confused Him for a wimp. He was not, of course, some type of ruffian. But His character was in perfect balance — both gracious and courageous.
This is what men in the church, meaning every man in the church, must be pursuing.
2. What perfect manliness does (v. 14).
In verse 14, Paul focuses in on one specific characteristic that he believes marks true manliness – being anchored in the truth. Those who are spiritually immature are tossed to and fro by every kind of doctrine. Spiritual men, on the other hand, stand firm in truth. They are doctrinally stable.
If we are going to be stable doctrinally, we need to be certain about what we believe. We have to be able to stand firm against the cunning trickery of every fad, and also against the wiles and snares of the devil. Satan may tempt us to put aside biblical and doctrinal clarity, but we must be able to make wise and careful evaluations of such things. We must be true men in the sense that counts the most—our grasp of the truth.
Many of the metaphors in Scriptures involve manly figures: warriors, athletes, farmers. These are intentionally manly figures, especially in Bible times when there were no female warriors or athletes. These picture the protection of the truth, and they illustrate the essence of true manliness.
We need to quit buying into little boyish fantasies (like thinking that masculinity is defined as a battle to fight, an adventure to go on, or a beauty to win). Instead we need to focus on true manliness: contending earnestly for the truth and exposing doctrinal error. Real men are steadfast and sure, confident in what they believe. Real men stand against popular opinion for the sake of the truth, and they do it whenever the need arises.
Real men understand the truth well and they are devoted to it. This does not happen to lazy people. It requires diligence to move out of adolescence into this type of mature manhood.
3. How perfect manliness works (v. 15).
Paul puts the stress in this verse on “speaking the truth in love.” In the pastoral epistles, Paul continually exhorts Timothy to be courageous and be a man. Timothy, apparently, had a proclivity not to be as courageous as he should be. But, even in his strong challenge to Timothy, Paul cautioned Timothy not to pick fights unnecessarily (cf. 2 Tim. 2:22ff).
We are to fight for the truth. But we are to do it, as much as possible, with humility and love. Always speak the truth in love. To be able to do this, even in the midst of contending boldly for the truth, is the pinnacle of perfect manliness. Yet, the emphasis on love is in perfect balance with the imperative “speak the truth.” There is nothing right or manly about stifling the truth (or toning it down), even though we are to speak the truth in love.
When we do this faithfully, even in a loving way, we will encounter opposition. Those whom we confront will sometimes respond with anger and hatred. But that’s okay, the world hated Jesus too.
To be bold for the truth, in the pattern of Christ Himself, that is the measure of true masculinity.
Where does the “seeker-sensitive” movement fit into the biblical description of what the church should be? It doesn’t. It is an effeminate approach to Christianity and the biblical depiction of the church. And it is about to get worse with the emerging church — where truth is not held with courage and conviction. What we see today, instead of reflecting biblical Christianity, is a movement toward ear-tickling, truth-softening, and effeminization.
By every statistic that you could use to measure the evangelical church today, churches are becoming more and more dominated by feminine themes: personal relationships, emotional hurts, etc. As these trends have grown over the last two to three decades, real men are becoming less likely to become part of the church. Of course, the problem is far worse in liberal churches than in evangelical churches, but that should tell us what the end result of this trend will be. The problem is also worse in Europe. And this tells us where the American church is headed.
The involvement of men in the church is decreasing (within evangelical circles). Ministries like the Promise Keepers and books like Wild at Heart and The Five Love Languages, Men’s Edition do exist, but most of these (even in addressing manhood) are either effeminate or childish (promoting boyhood fantasies, not biblical masculinity).
Evangelical publishers are some of the worse culprits in keeping this trend going. Since women buy some 75% of the evangelical books published in America, publishers are primarily interested in publishing books that appeal to women. Thus the push to feminize everything in the church is a driving force in the Christian publishing industry.
At this point, Phil shared several anecdotes from his experiences in publishing to validate his point regarding evangelical publishers. He continued by noting that the problem is getting worse. In fact, it is so bad that publishers have recognized the problem and are beginning to publish books for men like Why Men Hate the Church.
It is clear that there is a problem, and it is primarily the church’s problem.
A few clarifications:
(1) This is not a rant against women, or against feminine values (in the sense of biblical femininity). The crisis in the church is not primarily the fault of women, who have somehow moved the focus of the church away from men. Rather, the fault lies at the feet of men who have turned the church over to women. The problem is with Christian men who are not manly enough to balance the equation.
(2) The solution to all of these problems cannot come from the top down – it needs to come from laymen. It is the duty of every Christian man to be fervent in his devotion to Christ. If this were to happen, the tide would change, and the trends would reverse. Moreover, there is a serious problem in the leadership of many evangelical churches – as seen recently when the leader of the largest coalition of evangelicals in our nation was caught in an adulterous homosexual relationship. So this has to be a movement that begins at the grass roots level.
(3) The problem we are talking about is not brand new. It is an age-old problem. But what we are seeing today is especially significant, and we’ve seen it coming. This movement has been in the works since soon after the end of the Puritan age. Since then, men have been more “refined” and “sophisticated” than the Scripture itself. So, instead of taking firm stands and preaching to one another about error, they had “dialogues” about truth – such that pulpits became soft and the truth watered-down.
Charles Spurgeon exemplified the convicting, manly approach to Christian living that is in keeping with biblical masculinity. Spurgeon was thought to be too harsh even in his own day. And yet, 150 years later, we are still reading Spurgeon. He still speaks to our generation. But all of the soft, wishy-washy, relativistic preachers of Spurgeon’s day have been forgotten.
Spurgeon urged the men in his congregation to pattern themselves after the perfect Man, Jesus Christ.
Biblically, when we are talking about manliness, we are talking about character. We are not talking about bravado, or boyishness. It’s not about style at all. Going out into the woods and getting in touch with nature has nothing to do with real, biblical manliness. Real manliness is defined by Christlike character.
In Ephesians 4:11–12, we find that when Christ ascended to heaven He gave gifts to His church. And the gifts that He gave are men. This passage is not just speaking of the offices, but of the specific individuals, the men, who fill those offices. It is clear from this text that Christ gave these men to the church. That is the point of the passage.
Verse 12 is saying that God gave these gifts to the church for the equipping of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the building up of the body of Christ. That is not three separate ideas (expressed in those results). Rather, it is the long progression of a single idea. The saints are equipped so that they can do the work of the ministry so that the church can be built up.
It is the saints, not the clergy, who are tasked with the edification of the church. It is not the job of the clergy to do all the work of the ministry. Their job is to equip lay-people who will then go forward and do the work of the ministry.
Notice in verse 13 the emphasis on the “perfect man.” Paul deliberately uses the word for “man” in this verse. He is talking about manhood here, in this case perfect manhood. And he describes perfect manhood in verse 14 and 15.
Verse 13 tells us what perfect manliness is.
Verse 14 tells us what perfect manliness does.
Verse 15 tells us how perfect manliness works.
Following these three points…
1. What perfect manliness is (v. 13).
Perfect manliness is summed up in Christ. The phrases in this verse are parallel and synonymous, meaning that they all reiterate the same thing in quick succession. Thus, Christ Himself is the incarnation of perfect manhood and masculinity. We as men need to be conformed to His likeness, which is what sanctification is all about.
We could spend hours, maybe weeks, unpacking Christ’s masculinity. Since we do not have time to do that, we can begin by noting that the effeminate, “meek and mild” picture of Jesus that is often portrayed by the modern church does not fit the picture presented in the four gospels. In Scripture, when Jesus speaks, He is deliberately provocative. When He speaks to those who oppose Him, He is always blunt, confrontational, and very bold. He attacks lies and insincerity without any kind of velvet gloves.
This is not to say He is not gracious. But He responds to hypocrites and deliberate sinners with clarity and zeal. He even cleansed the Temple on two separate occasions. He showed righteous indignation. The point is: no one who knew Jesus would have never confused Him for a wimp. He was not, of course, some type of ruffian. But His character was in perfect balance — both gracious and courageous.
This is what men in the church, meaning every man in the church, must be pursuing.
2. What perfect manliness does (v. 14).
In verse 14, Paul focuses in on one specific characteristic that he believes marks true manliness – being anchored in the truth. Those who are spiritually immature are tossed to and fro by every kind of doctrine. Spiritual men, on the other hand, stand firm in truth. They are doctrinally stable.
If we are going to be stable doctrinally, we need to be certain about what we believe. We have to be able to stand firm against the cunning trickery of every fad, and also against the wiles and snares of the devil. Satan may tempt us to put aside biblical and doctrinal clarity, but we must be able to make wise and careful evaluations of such things. We must be true men in the sense that counts the most—our grasp of the truth.
Many of the metaphors in Scriptures involve manly figures: warriors, athletes, farmers. These are intentionally manly figures, especially in Bible times when there were no female warriors or athletes. These picture the protection of the truth, and they illustrate the essence of true manliness.
We need to quit buying into little boyish fantasies (like thinking that masculinity is defined as a battle to fight, an adventure to go on, or a beauty to win). Instead we need to focus on true manliness: contending earnestly for the truth and exposing doctrinal error. Real men are steadfast and sure, confident in what they believe. Real men stand against popular opinion for the sake of the truth, and they do it whenever the need arises.
Real men understand the truth well and they are devoted to it. This does not happen to lazy people. It requires diligence to move out of adolescence into this type of mature manhood.
3. How perfect manliness works (v. 15).
Paul puts the stress in this verse on “speaking the truth in love.” In the pastoral epistles, Paul continually exhorts Timothy to be courageous and be a man. Timothy, apparently, had a proclivity not to be as courageous as he should be. But, even in his strong challenge to Timothy, Paul cautioned Timothy not to pick fights unnecessarily (cf. 2 Tim. 2:22ff).
We are to fight for the truth. But we are to do it, as much as possible, with humility and love. Always speak the truth in love. To be able to do this, even in the midst of contending boldly for the truth, is the pinnacle of perfect manliness. Yet, the emphasis on love is in perfect balance with the imperative “speak the truth.” There is nothing right or manly about stifling the truth (or toning it down), even though we are to speak the truth in love.
When we do this faithfully, even in a loving way, we will encounter opposition. Those whom we confront will sometimes respond with anger and hatred. But that’s okay, the world hated Jesus too.
To be bold for the truth, in the pattern of Christ Himself, that is the measure of true masculinity.
Sunday, April 15, 2007
To What End?
To this end I labor, struggling with all his energy, which so powerfully works in me. Colossians 1:29
Do we, like Paul, know to what end we labor?
There’s an old illustration of a man climbing a ladder propped up against a high wall. The climb is steep, and the progress is slow and difficult, but the man is persistent, and he finally reaches the top of the wall, only to discover that the ladder is propped up against the wrong wall. There’s nothing on the other side!
To what end do we labor?
Paul is clearly not laboring for a retirement package that will allow him to live out his old age in a cottage on the Aegean Sea. Simply put, Paul labors to exalt Christ.
There’s a statement that is sometimes used at funerals: “Death is only a horizon. And a horizon is nothing—save the limit of our sight.”
Paul has seen over that horizon; he’s looked over the wall—and he’s seen Christ, high and lifted up, with every knee bowed and every tongue confessing that Jesus Christ is Lord (Philippians 2:10-11). Paul knows that only what’s done for Christ will last—and that all else is wasted life.
Paul labors, he says, to fill up what’s still lacking in Christ’s suffering. This means, I think, that as Christ suffered to give eternal life, so Paul suffers to bring that eternal life to fruition in others. With Paul, we labor in the power of the Spirit to enable all to exalt Christ.
PRAYER
Lord Jesus, may all that we do today, whether in word or deed, be done in your name, giving thanks to God the Father through you. In your name we pray. Amen.
Do we, like Paul, know to what end we labor?
There’s an old illustration of a man climbing a ladder propped up against a high wall. The climb is steep, and the progress is slow and difficult, but the man is persistent, and he finally reaches the top of the wall, only to discover that the ladder is propped up against the wrong wall. There’s nothing on the other side!
To what end do we labor?
Paul is clearly not laboring for a retirement package that will allow him to live out his old age in a cottage on the Aegean Sea. Simply put, Paul labors to exalt Christ.
There’s a statement that is sometimes used at funerals: “Death is only a horizon. And a horizon is nothing—save the limit of our sight.”
Paul has seen over that horizon; he’s looked over the wall—and he’s seen Christ, high and lifted up, with every knee bowed and every tongue confessing that Jesus Christ is Lord (Philippians 2:10-11). Paul knows that only what’s done for Christ will last—and that all else is wasted life.
Paul labors, he says, to fill up what’s still lacking in Christ’s suffering. This means, I think, that as Christ suffered to give eternal life, so Paul suffers to bring that eternal life to fruition in others. With Paul, we labor in the power of the Spirit to enable all to exalt Christ.
PRAYER
Lord Jesus, may all that we do today, whether in word or deed, be done in your name, giving thanks to God the Father through you. In your name we pray. Amen.
Saturday, April 14, 2007
Calling True Christian Men to the Line. Men what is your RESPONSIBILLITY and why is this not being done?
(Notes by Nathan Busenitz)
Dr. Mike Fabarez is the founding pastor of Compass Bible Church in Aliso Viejo, California. He will be speaking on the man’s responsibility in the home.
He began by noting that this kind of conference is one of the most important conferences we can have in our society today. We need to be speaking to issues of gender, particularly the issue of gender of men in our culture, our churches, and our families. Our culture today is much like the culture in Isaiah’s day where everything was turned upside down, spiritually mixed-up. Isaiah had the task of calling people back to the Word, even though they didn’t want to hear it.
In Ephesians 5 we see a passage that defines biblical masculinity in the home. If our families would get back to the template presented here, our families and our churches would be transformed. It is time for us to get back to the template God has given us. Sin occurs when we fall short of the template, and we do not want to sin.
Beginning in verse 22, Paul lays out the template for our responsibility as men in the home. We are called to be the head of our homes. What does it mean to be the head? It means that, as men, we are the leaders of the family. The question is not if we are leaders. We are. The question is whether we are good leaders or poor leaders in our home.
Clearly, the Bible gives husband and wife equal worth, but very different roles within the home. Men are the heads of their families, meaning that they are the leaders.
In Genesis 2, we find that the roles for men and women in the home are rooted in creation (cf. vv. 7, 15, 18). God began by creating a man and giving him the responsibility to tend the garden. God knew that it was not good for the man to be alone, so He created a helper for him, a woman (cf. vv. 20–23). From the very beginning, men were called to be the leaders of their family. Yet, this is something that our churches don’t talk about often.
Women are to be helpers to their husband. Of course, there is nothing demeaning or less important about being the helper. In fact, God Himself is referred to by this same word (”helper”). So men and women are equal in worth, though they have different roles. Men are leaders, women are helpers.
Our culture is out to demean our role as men in the home and in the church. This is seen on the television, in the hallmark store, in advertising, everywhere. Men are constantly depicted as childish and cowardly. Culture is subtly attempting to push men away from their God-given role.
As men, we have a responsibility to lead. One day, we will stand before our King and we will have to give an account for how well we led our families. It has nothing to do with our intelligence-level or giftedness. It is our God-given role, and we must not abandon that responsibility.
Our role, as men, is to provide clear leadership to our families. It is one thing to recognize the responsibility, it’s another thing to actually exercise assertive leadership within the home.
How can we do this? Here are several ways:
(a) We need to lead as related to unity (Eph. 5:23, 28–31). The analogy of the head and body fits well here — as the head really wants to stay united to its body. It is our responsibility, as men, to lead in our marriages in such a way that we are united with our wives. Along these lines, divorce is not an option. And we must take the lead in emphasizing that reality (cf. Malachi 2:13–16). In marriage, we made a covenant before God, which we must not break. For that matter, marriage is not really about you being happy as a spouse. It is, instead, about your marriage being a picture of the gospel. God wants the church of Jesus Christ to demonstrate through our marriages that we’re faithful to that covenant.
(b) We need to lead as related to purity (Eph. 5:26). We are responsible to be the gatekeepers for the purity of what we allow into our homes. It is our responsibility to make sure that what comes into our homes (through music, media, and other influences) does not harm the spiritual growth of those in our families.
Along those lines, we are to be actively teaching our spouses (1 Cor. 14:35), such that we can take the content of a sermon and answer the questions that our wives have. We are to direct the interests of our family to pursue things that our righteous. We are not to abdicate our God given roles and responsibilities to our wives.
(c) We need to lead as related to ministry (cf. Acts 18 – Priscilla and Aquilla worked together in ministry as a team). When we take time off from work, it’s not just about vacations, it is about spending time together in ministry.
(d) We need to lead as related to provision. This includes taking charge of the bills and budgeting. Our wives should not have to bear the responsibility of budgeting, saving, and expenditures in our home. We need to remove the temptation from our wives to be anxious about bills and the finances. If we take this responsibility, we will find our wives blossoming under that leadership.
There is a recurring word that guards us and governs us in our leadership. The word is “love.” We are not called to be tyrants or dictators. We are, instead, to be those who are loving and kind. Colossians 3:19 is a parallel passage that gives us greater clarity on this – we are not to be embittered (meaning harsh) toward our wives. We can set the direction within the home in a kind, gracious, and gentle fashion. It is unacceptable for husbands to physically abuse their spouses (cf. Romans 13 and cross reference with the California Penal Code 273.5); never cause physical harm to your wife (cf. Prov. 23:11).
Are we to be strong, bold, and confident leaders? Yes. But not with violence and sinful anger. Here are some things hot-tempered husbands should think through in overcoming their temper.
(1) 1 John 3:15 – Men who beat up on their wives probably need a new heart. In other words, they are probably not saved. Chronic violence is evidence of an unsaved heart.
(2) Proverbs 27:17 – Men who struggle with violence need accountability; the church is a spiritual clinic.
(3) 1 Peter 3:7 – We need to remember that people are image bearers of God Himself. We need to have respect for those who are fellow-heirs of the grace of life. We need to respect the fact that they are someone created in the image of God.
(4) 1 Peter 3:7 – We need to fear God (Prov. 23:11; Psalm 12:5). Peter mentions that our prayers will be hindered if we do not live with our wives in an understanding way.
It is good to get excited about leadership. But we need to have a correct understanding of leadership – and that means that we understand true leadership as that which is loving and kind. And love covers a multitude of sins. Love begins with a decision, emotions follow. And some of us men may need to learn to love our spouses all over again.
In Ephesians 6, Paul addresses the man’s role with his children. Fathers are specifically commanded not to provoke children, but are to bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.
(e) We need to lead in correcting and directing our children (Eph. 6:2). This includes loving correction (through inflicting pain and punishment). Hebrews 12 should be our guide with regard to loving correction. Dads are to be the primary disciplinarians in the home, correcting our children when they transgress God’s law. If we don’t correct our kids, they will go into the world rebellious, where they will be corrected by God. And God’s paddle (and the repercussions of sowing and reaping) is a lot bigger and more serious than dad’s. Along those lines, if we, as men, cannot manage our own households, then we are not worthy to be in leadership in the church (cf. Titus 1:6).
We should also direct (through instruction) our children. We need to give them a track to run on. We are called to help them walk a path of faithfulness. It is the ultimate test of our spirituality if we train our children to do what is right. We cannot save them (that is God’s role), but we can bring them to the place where they recognize the difference between wickedness and righteousness, and recognize their need for a savior.
We are called to fear the Lord and serve Him in sincerity. As Joshua proclaimed to the Israelites, “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”
Dr. Mike Fabarez is the founding pastor of Compass Bible Church in Aliso Viejo, California. He will be speaking on the man’s responsibility in the home.
He began by noting that this kind of conference is one of the most important conferences we can have in our society today. We need to be speaking to issues of gender, particularly the issue of gender of men in our culture, our churches, and our families. Our culture today is much like the culture in Isaiah’s day where everything was turned upside down, spiritually mixed-up. Isaiah had the task of calling people back to the Word, even though they didn’t want to hear it.
In Ephesians 5 we see a passage that defines biblical masculinity in the home. If our families would get back to the template presented here, our families and our churches would be transformed. It is time for us to get back to the template God has given us. Sin occurs when we fall short of the template, and we do not want to sin.
Beginning in verse 22, Paul lays out the template for our responsibility as men in the home. We are called to be the head of our homes. What does it mean to be the head? It means that, as men, we are the leaders of the family. The question is not if we are leaders. We are. The question is whether we are good leaders or poor leaders in our home.
Clearly, the Bible gives husband and wife equal worth, but very different roles within the home. Men are the heads of their families, meaning that they are the leaders.
In Genesis 2, we find that the roles for men and women in the home are rooted in creation (cf. vv. 7, 15, 18). God began by creating a man and giving him the responsibility to tend the garden. God knew that it was not good for the man to be alone, so He created a helper for him, a woman (cf. vv. 20–23). From the very beginning, men were called to be the leaders of their family. Yet, this is something that our churches don’t talk about often.
Women are to be helpers to their husband. Of course, there is nothing demeaning or less important about being the helper. In fact, God Himself is referred to by this same word (”helper”). So men and women are equal in worth, though they have different roles. Men are leaders, women are helpers.
Our culture is out to demean our role as men in the home and in the church. This is seen on the television, in the hallmark store, in advertising, everywhere. Men are constantly depicted as childish and cowardly. Culture is subtly attempting to push men away from their God-given role.
As men, we have a responsibility to lead. One day, we will stand before our King and we will have to give an account for how well we led our families. It has nothing to do with our intelligence-level or giftedness. It is our God-given role, and we must not abandon that responsibility.
Our role, as men, is to provide clear leadership to our families. It is one thing to recognize the responsibility, it’s another thing to actually exercise assertive leadership within the home.
How can we do this? Here are several ways:
(a) We need to lead as related to unity (Eph. 5:23, 28–31). The analogy of the head and body fits well here — as the head really wants to stay united to its body. It is our responsibility, as men, to lead in our marriages in such a way that we are united with our wives. Along these lines, divorce is not an option. And we must take the lead in emphasizing that reality (cf. Malachi 2:13–16). In marriage, we made a covenant before God, which we must not break. For that matter, marriage is not really about you being happy as a spouse. It is, instead, about your marriage being a picture of the gospel. God wants the church of Jesus Christ to demonstrate through our marriages that we’re faithful to that covenant.
(b) We need to lead as related to purity (Eph. 5:26). We are responsible to be the gatekeepers for the purity of what we allow into our homes. It is our responsibility to make sure that what comes into our homes (through music, media, and other influences) does not harm the spiritual growth of those in our families.
Along those lines, we are to be actively teaching our spouses (1 Cor. 14:35), such that we can take the content of a sermon and answer the questions that our wives have. We are to direct the interests of our family to pursue things that our righteous. We are not to abdicate our God given roles and responsibilities to our wives.
(c) We need to lead as related to ministry (cf. Acts 18 – Priscilla and Aquilla worked together in ministry as a team). When we take time off from work, it’s not just about vacations, it is about spending time together in ministry.
(d) We need to lead as related to provision. This includes taking charge of the bills and budgeting. Our wives should not have to bear the responsibility of budgeting, saving, and expenditures in our home. We need to remove the temptation from our wives to be anxious about bills and the finances. If we take this responsibility, we will find our wives blossoming under that leadership.
There is a recurring word that guards us and governs us in our leadership. The word is “love.” We are not called to be tyrants or dictators. We are, instead, to be those who are loving and kind. Colossians 3:19 is a parallel passage that gives us greater clarity on this – we are not to be embittered (meaning harsh) toward our wives. We can set the direction within the home in a kind, gracious, and gentle fashion. It is unacceptable for husbands to physically abuse their spouses (cf. Romans 13 and cross reference with the California Penal Code 273.5); never cause physical harm to your wife (cf. Prov. 23:11).
Are we to be strong, bold, and confident leaders? Yes. But not with violence and sinful anger. Here are some things hot-tempered husbands should think through in overcoming their temper.
(1) 1 John 3:15 – Men who beat up on their wives probably need a new heart. In other words, they are probably not saved. Chronic violence is evidence of an unsaved heart.
(2) Proverbs 27:17 – Men who struggle with violence need accountability; the church is a spiritual clinic.
(3) 1 Peter 3:7 – We need to remember that people are image bearers of God Himself. We need to have respect for those who are fellow-heirs of the grace of life. We need to respect the fact that they are someone created in the image of God.
(4) 1 Peter 3:7 – We need to fear God (Prov. 23:11; Psalm 12:5). Peter mentions that our prayers will be hindered if we do not live with our wives in an understanding way.
It is good to get excited about leadership. But we need to have a correct understanding of leadership – and that means that we understand true leadership as that which is loving and kind. And love covers a multitude of sins. Love begins with a decision, emotions follow. And some of us men may need to learn to love our spouses all over again.
In Ephesians 6, Paul addresses the man’s role with his children. Fathers are specifically commanded not to provoke children, but are to bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.
(e) We need to lead in correcting and directing our children (Eph. 6:2). This includes loving correction (through inflicting pain and punishment). Hebrews 12 should be our guide with regard to loving correction. Dads are to be the primary disciplinarians in the home, correcting our children when they transgress God’s law. If we don’t correct our kids, they will go into the world rebellious, where they will be corrected by God. And God’s paddle (and the repercussions of sowing and reaping) is a lot bigger and more serious than dad’s. Along those lines, if we, as men, cannot manage our own households, then we are not worthy to be in leadership in the church (cf. Titus 1:6).
We should also direct (through instruction) our children. We need to give them a track to run on. We are called to help them walk a path of faithfulness. It is the ultimate test of our spirituality if we train our children to do what is right. We cannot save them (that is God’s role), but we can bring them to the place where they recognize the difference between wickedness and righteousness, and recognize their need for a savior.
We are called to fear the Lord and serve Him in sincerity. As Joshua proclaimed to the Israelites, “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”
AGAINST COMPROMISE
It was Martin Luther who said:
“The world at the present time is sagaciously discussing how to quell the controversy and strife over doctrine and faith, and how to effect a compromise between the Church and the Papacy. Let the learned, the wise, it is said, bishops, emperor and princes, arbitrate. Each side can easily yield something, and it is better to concede some things which can be construed according to individual interpretation, than that so much persecution, bloodshed, war, and terrible, endless dissension and destruction be permitted.
“Here is lack of understanding, for understanding proves by the Word that such patchwork is not according to God’s will, but that doctrine, faith and worship must be preserved pure and unadulterated; there must be no mingling with human nonsense, human opinions or wisdom.
“The world at the present time is sagaciously discussing how to quell the controversy and strife over doctrine and faith, and how to effect a compromise between the Church and the Papacy. Let the learned, the wise, it is said, bishops, emperor and princes, arbitrate. Each side can easily yield something, and it is better to concede some things which can be construed according to individual interpretation, than that so much persecution, bloodshed, war, and terrible, endless dissension and destruction be permitted.
“Here is lack of understanding, for understanding proves by the Word that such patchwork is not according to God’s will, but that doctrine, faith and worship must be preserved pure and unadulterated; there must be no mingling with human nonsense, human opinions or wisdom.
“The Scriptures give us this rule: ‘We must obey God rather than men’ (Acts 5:29).”
It is interesting to speculate what the church would be like today if Martin Luther had been prone to compromise. The pressure was heavy on him to tone down his teaching, soften his message, stop poking his finger in the eye of the papacy. Even many of his friends and supporters urged Luther to come to terms with Rome for the sake of harmony in the church.
It is interesting to speculate what the church would be like today if Martin Luther had been prone to compromise. The pressure was heavy on him to tone down his teaching, soften his message, stop poking his finger in the eye of the papacy. Even many of his friends and supporters urged Luther to come to terms with Rome for the sake of harmony in the church.
Luther himself prayed earnestly that the effect of his teaching would not be divisive.
When he nailed his 95 Theses to the door, the last thing he wanted to do was split the church.
Yet sometimes division is fitting, even healthy, for the church. Especially in times like Luther’s—and like ours—when the visible church seems full of counterfeit Christians, it is right for the true people of God to declare themselves. Compromise is sometimes a worse evil than division. Second Corinthians 6:14-17 isn’t speaking only of marriage when it says,
Do not be bound together with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness? Or what harmony has Christ with Belial, or what has a believer in common with an unbeliever? Or what agreement has the temple of God with idols?
When he nailed his 95 Theses to the door, the last thing he wanted to do was split the church.
Yet sometimes division is fitting, even healthy, for the church. Especially in times like Luther’s—and like ours—when the visible church seems full of counterfeit Christians, it is right for the true people of God to declare themselves. Compromise is sometimes a worse evil than division. Second Corinthians 6:14-17 isn’t speaking only of marriage when it says,
Do not be bound together with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness? Or what harmony has Christ with Belial, or what has a believer in common with an unbeliever? Or what agreement has the temple of God with idols?
For we are the temple of the living God; just as God said, “I will dwell in them and walk among them; And I will be their God, and they shall be My people.
Therefore, come out from their midst and be separate,” says the Lord.
Therefore, come out from their midst and be separate,” says the Lord.
DO YOU PRAY?????????
The following is a timely reminder adapted from an essay by J.C. Ryle, on the vital importance of this oft-neglected spiritual discipline. To read the full essay, click here.
I have a question to offer you. It is contained in three words, DO YOU PRAY?
The question is one that none but you can answer. Whether you attend public worship or not, your minister knows. Whether you have family prayers in your house or not, your relations know. But whether you pray in private or not, is a matter between yourself and God.
I beseech you in all affection to attend to the subject I bring before you. Do not say that my question is too close. If your heart is right in the sight of God, there is nothing in it to make you afraid. Do not turn off my question by replying that you say your prayers. It is one thing to say your prayers and another to pray. Do not tell me that my question is unnecessary. Listen to me for a few minutes, and I will show you good reason for asking it.
I ask whether you pray, because a habit of prayer is one of the surest marks of a true Christian.
All the children of God on earth are alike in this respect. From the moment there is any life and reality about their religion, they pray. Just as the first sign of life in an infant when born into the world is the act of breathing, so the first act of men and women when they are born again is praying.
This is one of the common marks of all the elect of God, “They cry unto him day and night” (Luke 18:1). The Holy Spirit, who makes them new creatures, works in them the feeling of adoption, and makes them cry, “Abba, Father” (Rom. 8:15). The Lord Jesus, when he quickens them, gives them a voice and a tongue, and says to them, “Be dumb no more.” God has no dumb children. It is as much a part of their new nature to pray, as it is of a child to cry. They see their need of mercy and grace. They feel their emptiness and weakness. They can not do otherwise than they do. They must pray.
I have looked carefully over the lives of God’s saints in the Bible. I cannot find one of whose history much is told us, from Genesis to Revelation, who was not a man of prayer. I find it mentioned as a characteristic of the godly, that “they call on the Father” (I Peter 1:17), or “the name of the Lord Jesus Christ” (I Cor. 1:2). Recorded as a characteristic of the wicked is the fact that “they call not upon the Lord” (Ps. 14:4).
I have read the lives of many eminent Christians who have been on earth since the Bible days. Some of them, I see, were rich, and some poor. Some were learned, and some unlearned. Some were Calvinists, and some were Arminians. Some have loved to use a liturgy, and some to use none. But one thing, I see, they all had in common. They have all been men of prayer.
I study the reports of missionary societies in our own times. I see with joy that heathen men and women are receiving the gospel in various parts of the globe. There are conversions in Africa, in New Zealand, in Hindustan, in China. The people converted are naturally unlike one another in every respect. But one striking thing I observe at all the missionary stations: the converted people always pray.
I do not deny that a man may pray without heart and without sincerity. I do not for a moment pretend to say that the mere fact of a person’s praying proves is everything about his soul. As in every other part of religion, so also in this, there may be deception and hypocrisy.
But this I do say, that not praying is a clear proof that a man is not yet a true Christian. He cannot really feel his sins. He cannot love God. He cannot feel himself a debtor to Christ. He cannot long after holiness. He cannot desire heaven. He has yet to be born again. He has yet to be made a new creature. He may boast confidently of election, grace, faith, hope, and knowledge, and deceive ignorant people. But you may rest assured it is all vain talk if he does not pray.
And I say, furthermore, that of all the evidences of the real work of the Spirit, a habit of hearty private prayer is one of the most satisfactory that can be named. A man may preach from false motives. A man may write books and make fine speeches and seem diligent in good works, and yet be a Judas Iscariot. But a man seldom goes into his closet, and pours out his soul before God in secret, unless he is in earnest. The Lord himself has set his stamp on prayer as the best proof of a true conversion. When he sent Ananias to Saul in Damascus, he gave him no other evidence of his change of heart than this, “Behold, he prayeth” (Acts 9: 11).
Do you wish to find out whether you are a true Christian? Then rest assured that my question is of the very first importance — Do you pray?
The question is one that none but you can answer. Whether you attend public worship or not, your minister knows. Whether you have family prayers in your house or not, your relations know. But whether you pray in private or not, is a matter between yourself and God.
I beseech you in all affection to attend to the subject I bring before you. Do not say that my question is too close. If your heart is right in the sight of God, there is nothing in it to make you afraid. Do not turn off my question by replying that you say your prayers. It is one thing to say your prayers and another to pray. Do not tell me that my question is unnecessary. Listen to me for a few minutes, and I will show you good reason for asking it.
I ask whether you pray, because a habit of prayer is one of the surest marks of a true Christian.
All the children of God on earth are alike in this respect. From the moment there is any life and reality about their religion, they pray. Just as the first sign of life in an infant when born into the world is the act of breathing, so the first act of men and women when they are born again is praying.
This is one of the common marks of all the elect of God, “They cry unto him day and night” (Luke 18:1). The Holy Spirit, who makes them new creatures, works in them the feeling of adoption, and makes them cry, “Abba, Father” (Rom. 8:15). The Lord Jesus, when he quickens them, gives them a voice and a tongue, and says to them, “Be dumb no more.” God has no dumb children. It is as much a part of their new nature to pray, as it is of a child to cry. They see their need of mercy and grace. They feel their emptiness and weakness. They can not do otherwise than they do. They must pray.
I have looked carefully over the lives of God’s saints in the Bible. I cannot find one of whose history much is told us, from Genesis to Revelation, who was not a man of prayer. I find it mentioned as a characteristic of the godly, that “they call on the Father” (I Peter 1:17), or “the name of the Lord Jesus Christ” (I Cor. 1:2). Recorded as a characteristic of the wicked is the fact that “they call not upon the Lord” (Ps. 14:4).
I have read the lives of many eminent Christians who have been on earth since the Bible days. Some of them, I see, were rich, and some poor. Some were learned, and some unlearned. Some were Calvinists, and some were Arminians. Some have loved to use a liturgy, and some to use none. But one thing, I see, they all had in common. They have all been men of prayer.
I study the reports of missionary societies in our own times. I see with joy that heathen men and women are receiving the gospel in various parts of the globe. There are conversions in Africa, in New Zealand, in Hindustan, in China. The people converted are naturally unlike one another in every respect. But one striking thing I observe at all the missionary stations: the converted people always pray.
I do not deny that a man may pray without heart and without sincerity. I do not for a moment pretend to say that the mere fact of a person’s praying proves is everything about his soul. As in every other part of religion, so also in this, there may be deception and hypocrisy.
But this I do say, that not praying is a clear proof that a man is not yet a true Christian. He cannot really feel his sins. He cannot love God. He cannot feel himself a debtor to Christ. He cannot long after holiness. He cannot desire heaven. He has yet to be born again. He has yet to be made a new creature. He may boast confidently of election, grace, faith, hope, and knowledge, and deceive ignorant people. But you may rest assured it is all vain talk if he does not pray.
And I say, furthermore, that of all the evidences of the real work of the Spirit, a habit of hearty private prayer is one of the most satisfactory that can be named. A man may preach from false motives. A man may write books and make fine speeches and seem diligent in good works, and yet be a Judas Iscariot. But a man seldom goes into his closet, and pours out his soul before God in secret, unless he is in earnest. The Lord himself has set his stamp on prayer as the best proof of a true conversion. When he sent Ananias to Saul in Damascus, he gave him no other evidence of his change of heart than this, “Behold, he prayeth” (Acts 9: 11).
Do you wish to find out whether you are a true Christian? Then rest assured that my question is of the very first importance — Do you pray?
Friday, April 13, 2007
"Words of Delight . . . Words of Truth" By Michael Travers
How are we to understand and appreciate biblical poetry? So much of the Bible is composed in poetry or expressed in poetic language. In the Old Testament, we find poetry in the Pentateuchal hymns, the Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and sections of the prophets. In the New Testament, we have the nativity hymns in Luke’s gospel and the prologue to John’s gospel, the kenosis hymn in Phil 2:6-11, the Christological hymn of Col 1:15-20, and the doxologies and other poetic sections in Revelation. Add to these the poetic renderings in the Beatitudes and Christ’s “I AM’s,” along with the figurative language of many of the parables, and we begin to see that the writers of Scripture thought that poetry was an important way of communicating their message. Poetry appeals to the senses and emotions, as well as the intellect, of the readers and involves them actively in the reading process. Poetry is not a decoration added to the theological kernel in the text; rather, the form of the poem, along with its poetic devices, gives shape to the theology. Indeed, it could be argued that poetry appeals to the deepest need of every human heart—the longing for fulfillment that only Jesus Christ can satisfy. There are good reasons why the Holy Spirit inspired so much of the Bible in poetic form.
Consider an example of a Hebrew hymn, Psalm 96, which is a “royal psalm” of praise to God, or a hymn. As with most psalms of praise, this psalm is structured in three parts: verses 1-3 constitute an invitation to praise God, verses 4-9 provide the reasons why we should praise God, and verses 10-13 affirm the righteous reign of God. This structure first invites the reader to praise the Lord, then provides concrete reasons why he should do so, and concludes with the encouragement of all of creation praising God, along with an evangelistic invitation to the nations to join the chorus. There are smaller patterns of repetition in the poem which further encourage the reader to praise God. The psalm opens with a three-fold invitation to “sing to the Lord,” and balances the invitations with three commands—to “bless” God, “tell of his salvation,” and “declare his glory among all the peoples.” Invitation is buttressed by imperative. In the triple repetition of “Ascribe to the Lord” (vv. 7-8), the psalmist uses climactic parallelism to exhort the reader to praise God. “Ascribe to the Lord,” the psalmist begins. “Who?” we ask. “The families of the peoples,” we are told. “Ascribe to the Lord,” the psalmist says again. “What?” we ask. “Glory and strength.” “Ascribe to the Lord,” the psalmist says yet again. “What?” we ask again. “The glory due his name,” we are told. The intensifying effect of the psalmist’s words here builds to a crescendo of praise that is due to Yahweh alone. The reader not only learns a theology of praise in the psalm, but the repetitions help him to experience that praise for himself.
Psalm 96 contains many figures of speech, and they too are part of the psalm’s poetry and theology. While figures of speech are not limited to poetry in the Bible, biblical poems tend to use figurative language as their normal means of expression. In v. 6, the psalmist pictures God’s attributes as if they were attendants before his throne—splendor and majesty, strength and beauty—so that the reader “sees” God’s attributes in concrete form. The effect is to intensify the experience and make it immediate for the reader. In vv. 11-12, all of creation praises God. In a series of personifications, the heavens are “glad,” the earth “rejoices,” the sea “roars,” the fields “exult,” and finally the trees “sing for joy.” The concrete pictures of the natural creation praising God further encourage the readers to praise him for who he is and what he has done for them. Rather than simply learning theology in this poem, readers encounter God for themselves. The poem personalizes the theology. In fact, the theology is framed, limited, and contextualized by the poetry.
Consider a very different kind of Hebrew poem, Psalm 51—a lament psalm. In this psalm, David confesses his sin and asks God for forgiveness. We have 1 John 1:9, so why do we need a poetic version like the psalm? Again, there are good reasons for the poem. In Psalm 51 the reader encounters God personally in one of the realities of life in our fallen condition, namely our sin and sinfulness. Psalm 51 reminds us of the twin truths that only the undeserving need to repent and God is willing to forgive the repentant sinner. We need Psalm 51 because it provides a pattern of repentance and forgiveness in words that God has sanctioned. David begins the psalm with an appeal to God’s mercy and hesed love. It is in the light of God’s character, not primarily his own repentance, that David confesses his sin. In a series of tight poetic parallelisms, the psalm alternates between God and man, emphasizing the tension of God’s righteousness and our sinfulness. David is sinful, and God is just (v. 4); the balanced “beholds” of vv. 5 and 6 bring man’s sinfulness and God’s holiness into sharp juxtaposition, underscoring the fact that man cannot solve the problem for himself. The dilemma is heightened for the reader by the parallel structure of the poem. “What then? How shall we be forgiven?” we are encouraged to ask. God will forgive and cleanse us, David goes on to write, as the imagery of hyssop (v. 7) indicates. And what will be the results of forgiveness? They are joy (v. 8), the comfort of sins not only forgiven but removed from the record (v. 9), a clean heart (v. 10), a heart for the lost (v. 13), and an attitude of praise toward the Lord (v. 15). These benefits, listed in the poem in such an intense rapid-fire pattern, encourage the reader, save him from falling into an unhealthy introspection, and focus his attention healthily on the Lord. Psalm 51 walks us through the experience of repentance, confession, and forgiveness, all the while keeping the Lord and his righteousness and mercy (both of which are essential for forgiveness) before our eyes. What better words could there be for the repentant sinner?
It is easy to grant that the Psalms are poetry, but are there poetic sections in the New Testament as well? There are indeed poems and poetic sections in the New Testament. To choose one example, we could avoid some strange interpretations of the book of Revelation if we focused our reading of it on what is intended to be its focus—Jesus Christ—rather than on the events of the eschaton. John wants us to see the glorified Christ for who he is and what he has done for us, and he often shows him in poetic language. Examine for instance the first picture of Christ in the book where he is presented as a “loud voice like a trumpet” (1:10) and “one like the son of man” (v. 13). This picture of Christ is literally awe-inspiring: “clothed with a long robe” with a “golden sash,” whose hairs are “white like wool” and whose eyes are “like a flame of fire”; feet of “burnished bronze” and a voice “like the roar of many waters”; out of whose mouth is a “sharp two-edged sword” and whose face shines “like the sun shining in full strength” (vv. 13-16). In the similes and images of this picture at the beginning of the book, John presents what he wants the reader to understand as the focus of the apocalypse—the “unveiling” of the glorified Jesus Christ. Throughout the book John encourages the reader to keep his thoughts on Christ. The effect of the poetic image of Christ in chapter one is to overwhelm the reader with awe and worship, and the frequent doxologies throughout the book (e.g. 4:8, 11; 5:9-10, 12, 13; 15:3-6) provide constant reminders of where the reader’s attention is to be. Think too of the image of “the Lamb, standing as though it had been slain, with seven horns and with seven eyes” (5:6) on the throne of the universe, and then reflect on the symbol of the Old Testament sacrificial lambs and the New Testament Lamb of God. It is this one—the crucified and now-risen Son of God—who rules. The poetic symbol is full of theology. Sacrifice, substitution, holiness, and royal power are all rolled into the one symbol of the Lamb on the throne. Symbols and other figures of speech intensify the language of poetry in that they communicate a great deal of theology in a few words. They serve to synthesize the theology throughout the whole canon of Scripture.
Apart from poems like these which form a significant portion of the Bible, certain significant images and symbols recur multiple times throughout the Bible. These “strong” figures of speech, as they are called, frame our understanding of the theology they teach. The symbol of the lamb, for instance, originates in the sacrificial system of the Old Testament, appears again in the suffering servant songs (e.g. Isa 53:7), is voiced by God the Father at the beginning of Jesus’ earthly ministry when he is baptized in the Jordan River (John 1:29), and finally climaxes in the presence of the Lamb on the throne of the universe in the book of Revelation. Marriage is another symbol that recurs throughout the Old and New Testaments, providing an immediately-accessible understanding to the theology of the covenant relationship that the Lord has initiated with his people. Faithful Israel is often described as a wife to Yahweh, and faithless Israel as a harlot (Hos 1:2, etc.). In a word picture, God commands Hosea to marry the harlot, Gomer, and to pursue her again even when she betrays him—what grace! In the New Testament, the church is presented as the bride of Christ, for whom he died (Eph 5:22-32), and believers will celebrate their glorification in heaven in the Marriage Supper of the Lamb (Rev 19:6-19). The marriage symbol resonates throughout the Bible, and our understanding of it in any one instance is nuanced by its other uses in the canon of Scripture. Other images, like the church compared to a building (1 Pet 2:5) and to the body of Christ with its multiple parts / people / gifts (1 Cor 12:12-31), also enrich our understanding of theology. While these symbols and others like them appear in narrative and other prose sections of the Bible, they bring an element of poetry with them wherever they appear. There is no avoiding poetry and the poetic in the Bible; our only choice is whether we will read it well or poorly. And surely we want to read biblical poetry well.
What do we learn from these few examples of poetry and the poetic in the Bible? Let me suggest five lessons or ideas from this brief study of biblical poetry. First, poetry is concrete; that is, it presents tangible objects which we can apprehend by our senses (sight, hearing, touch, taste, smell) and utilizes them to make abstract theology accessible. Christ’s “I AM’s” are a case in point—bread, living water, good shepherd—each suggesting a certain theological idea. Think also of the concrete symbolism of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper to the church. Second, poetry is intense, packing a great deal of theology into a few words. David’s statement in Psalm 23, “The Lord is my shepherd,” introduces a complex theology of God’s care for his people which is developed by the images of trees, water, rest, and a feast in the rest of the psalm. Third, poetry represents an aesthetically-pleasing and orderly use of language that reflects the same qualities in the Lord. The patterns of the two psalms we looked at earlier, both the macrocosmic structures and microcosmic repetitions, reflect a God of beauty and order. God formed us to appreciate such beauty and order—and in turn to create it in poetry and the other arts—because he created us in his own image as a Creator-God. Fourth, poetry evokes the reader’s emotions and even his imagination (understood as the image-making faculty) and brings them alongside the intellect to enhance the theology and render it significant for the reader. The well-known image from Psalm 23 of walking through the valley of the shadow of death has sustained many believers emotionally and spiritually, not simply theologically. This is not to suggest a dichotomy between theology and emotion in biblical poetry; far from it. In fact, in biblical poetry, emotion and theology complement one another. Finally, biblical poetry reifies theology, making it a part of the reader’s experience. For example, we “taste and see” that the Lord is good, not just understand it (Ps 34:8); our love for the Lord is intense, as when “a deer pants for flowing streams, so pants [our] soul for you, God” (Ps 42:1); and we trust his protection in difficulties when we “run” to the Lord as a “strong tower” (Prov 18:10). These are all immediate and obvious lessons we learn when we read biblical poetry properly. There is, however, a deeper underlying lesson to be learned from biblical poetry as well.
In its use of figures of speech like similes, metaphors, personifications, anthropomorphisms, and other such poetic devices, biblical poetry points to a deep theological truth that all of Scripture teaches. Apart from God’s self-revelation to us, we could not know him at all. From general revelation we can know that there is a creator-God (Rom 1:19-20) and that we have failed morally (Rom 2:15), but we could not know God’s love, grace, or mercy, had he not revealed himself to us in Christ, the written Word of God, and the Holy Spirit. To use Calvin’s word, God “condescends” to us so that we can apprehend him. Since this is so, it could be argued that all language about God is necessarily figurative. That is, all the language we use to describe God is ultimately figurative or metaphorical in that it can only approximate him, not express completely and exactly who he is. Even the words of Scripture in which God reveals himself to us are often figurative—husband, lamb, lion, warrior, thick darkness. The many examples of anthropomorphism by which God reveals himself to us function figuratively as well. He “hears” our prayers, he “watches” over us, he holds us in his “hand,” and we are close to his “heart.” All such language is figurative and metaphorical—in short, poetic—and it is central to our understanding of the most profound points in our theology. Is it possible to think of redemption, for instance, in purely propositional terms, or is there a lingering substratum of figurative understanding all the time? By its very nature, metaphor unites what is disparate, just as God unites us to himself in Christ Jesus. It is no wonder that Jesus Christ is presented as the Logos; it is his nature to reconcile sinners to the Father. On the level of language, figures of speech provide the parallel to the theology, for they unite what is separated. Figurative language, then, parallels the deep desire of every human heart—the longing to be reunited with God.
This brief survey of some features of biblical poetry should alert us to two final truths. The style of a biblical text is inspired, just as is its theology. Literary form is important, for the Bible is written in multiple literary genres—such as poetry, narrative, prophetic oracles, gospel, and epistle—not in one flat manner. Poetry serves to create an intense experience in the reader, appealing to the senses and intensifying an appreciation of the theology in the poem. Finally, biblical poetry informs and frames the theology it expresses. We might say there is a “poetical theology” in certain parts of the Bible. If we sever the theology from its poetic form, we risk asking the wrong questions and getting the wrong answers. Why is there so much poetry in the Bible? Because it is the way the Holy Spirit chose to frame and inform the theology in these parts of the Bible. “Words of delight…words of truth,” the writer of Ecclesiastes puts it (12:10); form and content complement one another in biblical poetry, and we must understand both if we are to understand these texts.
Consider an example of a Hebrew hymn, Psalm 96, which is a “royal psalm” of praise to God, or a hymn. As with most psalms of praise, this psalm is structured in three parts: verses 1-3 constitute an invitation to praise God, verses 4-9 provide the reasons why we should praise God, and verses 10-13 affirm the righteous reign of God. This structure first invites the reader to praise the Lord, then provides concrete reasons why he should do so, and concludes with the encouragement of all of creation praising God, along with an evangelistic invitation to the nations to join the chorus. There are smaller patterns of repetition in the poem which further encourage the reader to praise God. The psalm opens with a three-fold invitation to “sing to the Lord,” and balances the invitations with three commands—to “bless” God, “tell of his salvation,” and “declare his glory among all the peoples.” Invitation is buttressed by imperative. In the triple repetition of “Ascribe to the Lord” (vv. 7-8), the psalmist uses climactic parallelism to exhort the reader to praise God. “Ascribe to the Lord,” the psalmist begins. “Who?” we ask. “The families of the peoples,” we are told. “Ascribe to the Lord,” the psalmist says again. “What?” we ask. “Glory and strength.” “Ascribe to the Lord,” the psalmist says yet again. “What?” we ask again. “The glory due his name,” we are told. The intensifying effect of the psalmist’s words here builds to a crescendo of praise that is due to Yahweh alone. The reader not only learns a theology of praise in the psalm, but the repetitions help him to experience that praise for himself.
Psalm 96 contains many figures of speech, and they too are part of the psalm’s poetry and theology. While figures of speech are not limited to poetry in the Bible, biblical poems tend to use figurative language as their normal means of expression. In v. 6, the psalmist pictures God’s attributes as if they were attendants before his throne—splendor and majesty, strength and beauty—so that the reader “sees” God’s attributes in concrete form. The effect is to intensify the experience and make it immediate for the reader. In vv. 11-12, all of creation praises God. In a series of personifications, the heavens are “glad,” the earth “rejoices,” the sea “roars,” the fields “exult,” and finally the trees “sing for joy.” The concrete pictures of the natural creation praising God further encourage the readers to praise him for who he is and what he has done for them. Rather than simply learning theology in this poem, readers encounter God for themselves. The poem personalizes the theology. In fact, the theology is framed, limited, and contextualized by the poetry.
Consider a very different kind of Hebrew poem, Psalm 51—a lament psalm. In this psalm, David confesses his sin and asks God for forgiveness. We have 1 John 1:9, so why do we need a poetic version like the psalm? Again, there are good reasons for the poem. In Psalm 51 the reader encounters God personally in one of the realities of life in our fallen condition, namely our sin and sinfulness. Psalm 51 reminds us of the twin truths that only the undeserving need to repent and God is willing to forgive the repentant sinner. We need Psalm 51 because it provides a pattern of repentance and forgiveness in words that God has sanctioned. David begins the psalm with an appeal to God’s mercy and hesed love. It is in the light of God’s character, not primarily his own repentance, that David confesses his sin. In a series of tight poetic parallelisms, the psalm alternates between God and man, emphasizing the tension of God’s righteousness and our sinfulness. David is sinful, and God is just (v. 4); the balanced “beholds” of vv. 5 and 6 bring man’s sinfulness and God’s holiness into sharp juxtaposition, underscoring the fact that man cannot solve the problem for himself. The dilemma is heightened for the reader by the parallel structure of the poem. “What then? How shall we be forgiven?” we are encouraged to ask. God will forgive and cleanse us, David goes on to write, as the imagery of hyssop (v. 7) indicates. And what will be the results of forgiveness? They are joy (v. 8), the comfort of sins not only forgiven but removed from the record (v. 9), a clean heart (v. 10), a heart for the lost (v. 13), and an attitude of praise toward the Lord (v. 15). These benefits, listed in the poem in such an intense rapid-fire pattern, encourage the reader, save him from falling into an unhealthy introspection, and focus his attention healthily on the Lord. Psalm 51 walks us through the experience of repentance, confession, and forgiveness, all the while keeping the Lord and his righteousness and mercy (both of which are essential for forgiveness) before our eyes. What better words could there be for the repentant sinner?
It is easy to grant that the Psalms are poetry, but are there poetic sections in the New Testament as well? There are indeed poems and poetic sections in the New Testament. To choose one example, we could avoid some strange interpretations of the book of Revelation if we focused our reading of it on what is intended to be its focus—Jesus Christ—rather than on the events of the eschaton. John wants us to see the glorified Christ for who he is and what he has done for us, and he often shows him in poetic language. Examine for instance the first picture of Christ in the book where he is presented as a “loud voice like a trumpet” (1:10) and “one like the son of man” (v. 13). This picture of Christ is literally awe-inspiring: “clothed with a long robe” with a “golden sash,” whose hairs are “white like wool” and whose eyes are “like a flame of fire”; feet of “burnished bronze” and a voice “like the roar of many waters”; out of whose mouth is a “sharp two-edged sword” and whose face shines “like the sun shining in full strength” (vv. 13-16). In the similes and images of this picture at the beginning of the book, John presents what he wants the reader to understand as the focus of the apocalypse—the “unveiling” of the glorified Jesus Christ. Throughout the book John encourages the reader to keep his thoughts on Christ. The effect of the poetic image of Christ in chapter one is to overwhelm the reader with awe and worship, and the frequent doxologies throughout the book (e.g. 4:8, 11; 5:9-10, 12, 13; 15:3-6) provide constant reminders of where the reader’s attention is to be. Think too of the image of “the Lamb, standing as though it had been slain, with seven horns and with seven eyes” (5:6) on the throne of the universe, and then reflect on the symbol of the Old Testament sacrificial lambs and the New Testament Lamb of God. It is this one—the crucified and now-risen Son of God—who rules. The poetic symbol is full of theology. Sacrifice, substitution, holiness, and royal power are all rolled into the one symbol of the Lamb on the throne. Symbols and other figures of speech intensify the language of poetry in that they communicate a great deal of theology in a few words. They serve to synthesize the theology throughout the whole canon of Scripture.
Apart from poems like these which form a significant portion of the Bible, certain significant images and symbols recur multiple times throughout the Bible. These “strong” figures of speech, as they are called, frame our understanding of the theology they teach. The symbol of the lamb, for instance, originates in the sacrificial system of the Old Testament, appears again in the suffering servant songs (e.g. Isa 53:7), is voiced by God the Father at the beginning of Jesus’ earthly ministry when he is baptized in the Jordan River (John 1:29), and finally climaxes in the presence of the Lamb on the throne of the universe in the book of Revelation. Marriage is another symbol that recurs throughout the Old and New Testaments, providing an immediately-accessible understanding to the theology of the covenant relationship that the Lord has initiated with his people. Faithful Israel is often described as a wife to Yahweh, and faithless Israel as a harlot (Hos 1:2, etc.). In a word picture, God commands Hosea to marry the harlot, Gomer, and to pursue her again even when she betrays him—what grace! In the New Testament, the church is presented as the bride of Christ, for whom he died (Eph 5:22-32), and believers will celebrate their glorification in heaven in the Marriage Supper of the Lamb (Rev 19:6-19). The marriage symbol resonates throughout the Bible, and our understanding of it in any one instance is nuanced by its other uses in the canon of Scripture. Other images, like the church compared to a building (1 Pet 2:5) and to the body of Christ with its multiple parts / people / gifts (1 Cor 12:12-31), also enrich our understanding of theology. While these symbols and others like them appear in narrative and other prose sections of the Bible, they bring an element of poetry with them wherever they appear. There is no avoiding poetry and the poetic in the Bible; our only choice is whether we will read it well or poorly. And surely we want to read biblical poetry well.
What do we learn from these few examples of poetry and the poetic in the Bible? Let me suggest five lessons or ideas from this brief study of biblical poetry. First, poetry is concrete; that is, it presents tangible objects which we can apprehend by our senses (sight, hearing, touch, taste, smell) and utilizes them to make abstract theology accessible. Christ’s “I AM’s” are a case in point—bread, living water, good shepherd—each suggesting a certain theological idea. Think also of the concrete symbolism of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper to the church. Second, poetry is intense, packing a great deal of theology into a few words. David’s statement in Psalm 23, “The Lord is my shepherd,” introduces a complex theology of God’s care for his people which is developed by the images of trees, water, rest, and a feast in the rest of the psalm. Third, poetry represents an aesthetically-pleasing and orderly use of language that reflects the same qualities in the Lord. The patterns of the two psalms we looked at earlier, both the macrocosmic structures and microcosmic repetitions, reflect a God of beauty and order. God formed us to appreciate such beauty and order—and in turn to create it in poetry and the other arts—because he created us in his own image as a Creator-God. Fourth, poetry evokes the reader’s emotions and even his imagination (understood as the image-making faculty) and brings them alongside the intellect to enhance the theology and render it significant for the reader. The well-known image from Psalm 23 of walking through the valley of the shadow of death has sustained many believers emotionally and spiritually, not simply theologically. This is not to suggest a dichotomy between theology and emotion in biblical poetry; far from it. In fact, in biblical poetry, emotion and theology complement one another. Finally, biblical poetry reifies theology, making it a part of the reader’s experience. For example, we “taste and see” that the Lord is good, not just understand it (Ps 34:8); our love for the Lord is intense, as when “a deer pants for flowing streams, so pants [our] soul for you, God” (Ps 42:1); and we trust his protection in difficulties when we “run” to the Lord as a “strong tower” (Prov 18:10). These are all immediate and obvious lessons we learn when we read biblical poetry properly. There is, however, a deeper underlying lesson to be learned from biblical poetry as well.
In its use of figures of speech like similes, metaphors, personifications, anthropomorphisms, and other such poetic devices, biblical poetry points to a deep theological truth that all of Scripture teaches. Apart from God’s self-revelation to us, we could not know him at all. From general revelation we can know that there is a creator-God (Rom 1:19-20) and that we have failed morally (Rom 2:15), but we could not know God’s love, grace, or mercy, had he not revealed himself to us in Christ, the written Word of God, and the Holy Spirit. To use Calvin’s word, God “condescends” to us so that we can apprehend him. Since this is so, it could be argued that all language about God is necessarily figurative. That is, all the language we use to describe God is ultimately figurative or metaphorical in that it can only approximate him, not express completely and exactly who he is. Even the words of Scripture in which God reveals himself to us are often figurative—husband, lamb, lion, warrior, thick darkness. The many examples of anthropomorphism by which God reveals himself to us function figuratively as well. He “hears” our prayers, he “watches” over us, he holds us in his “hand,” and we are close to his “heart.” All such language is figurative and metaphorical—in short, poetic—and it is central to our understanding of the most profound points in our theology. Is it possible to think of redemption, for instance, in purely propositional terms, or is there a lingering substratum of figurative understanding all the time? By its very nature, metaphor unites what is disparate, just as God unites us to himself in Christ Jesus. It is no wonder that Jesus Christ is presented as the Logos; it is his nature to reconcile sinners to the Father. On the level of language, figures of speech provide the parallel to the theology, for they unite what is separated. Figurative language, then, parallels the deep desire of every human heart—the longing to be reunited with God.
This brief survey of some features of biblical poetry should alert us to two final truths. The style of a biblical text is inspired, just as is its theology. Literary form is important, for the Bible is written in multiple literary genres—such as poetry, narrative, prophetic oracles, gospel, and epistle—not in one flat manner. Poetry serves to create an intense experience in the reader, appealing to the senses and intensifying an appreciation of the theology in the poem. Finally, biblical poetry informs and frames the theology it expresses. We might say there is a “poetical theology” in certain parts of the Bible. If we sever the theology from its poetic form, we risk asking the wrong questions and getting the wrong answers. Why is there so much poetry in the Bible? Because it is the way the Holy Spirit chose to frame and inform the theology in these parts of the Bible. “Words of delight…words of truth,” the writer of Ecclesiastes puts it (12:10); form and content complement one another in biblical poetry, and we must understand both if we are to understand these texts.
The Greatness of Christ
By him all things were created; things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible. . . . Colossians 1:16
It’s staggering that the one who was brutally murdered only about 30 years before Paul wrote this letter—that is, Jesus—is now described as “the image of the invisible God” by whom all things were created. What in the world happened?
The resurrection happened. People say that the events of September 11, 2001, changed the way we look at the world—and no doubt they did and will for years to come. But the events of Easter changed forever the way we look not only at Jesus and the world but also at life and death, God and eternity.
We now know that Jesus is very great, that by him all things were created. It’s too much to imagine. Someone has said that if you equated the distance from the earth to the sun, 93 million miles, to the thickness of one sheet of paper, then the distance to the next nearest star would be a stack of paper 70 feet high, and the width of our galaxy, the Milky Way, would be a stack 310 miles high. Our Lord Jesus created all this and so much more.
John’s gospel puts it famously: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. . . . Through him all things were made” (John 1:1-3). Then follows this shattering claim: “[This] Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us” (1:14)!
It is impossible to think too highly of Christ.
PRAYER
Lord Jesus, you are so much more than any of us can imagine. Glory and honor, praise and adoration, now and forevermore be yours! We pray in your matchless name. Amen.
It’s staggering that the one who was brutally murdered only about 30 years before Paul wrote this letter—that is, Jesus—is now described as “the image of the invisible God” by whom all things were created. What in the world happened?
The resurrection happened. People say that the events of September 11, 2001, changed the way we look at the world—and no doubt they did and will for years to come. But the events of Easter changed forever the way we look not only at Jesus and the world but also at life and death, God and eternity.
We now know that Jesus is very great, that by him all things were created. It’s too much to imagine. Someone has said that if you equated the distance from the earth to the sun, 93 million miles, to the thickness of one sheet of paper, then the distance to the next nearest star would be a stack of paper 70 feet high, and the width of our galaxy, the Milky Way, would be a stack 310 miles high. Our Lord Jesus created all this and so much more.
John’s gospel puts it famously: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. . . . Through him all things were made” (John 1:1-3). Then follows this shattering claim: “[This] Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us” (1:14)!
It is impossible to think too highly of Christ.
PRAYER
Lord Jesus, you are so much more than any of us can imagine. Glory and honor, praise and adoration, now and forevermore be yours! We pray in your matchless name. Amen.
Lamp of the Wicked
Proverbs 21:4Haughty eyes and a proud heart,the lamp of the wicked, are sin.
Scripture makes clear God's displeasure of pride which is the root sin of the wicked. They will not humble themselves before God. This is played out in various ways, most notably through the violence committed against others.The proverb reveals how pride mars their perspective on reality. Pride is the lamp by which the wicked see what is outside themselves. What do they see?
They see people to despise who don't measure up to their distorted standards. Conversely, the see others to admire who in reality model arrogance and wickedness. A notable author whose works are rife with licenscious sex visited a city noted for its licensciousness. Whereas most people would see the obvious vulgarity, broken lives, and despicable behavior, he saw it as the ideal city.
Compare this proverb to verse 2: "Every way of a man is right in his own eyes..." The proud wicked believe they are acting in accord to what is right in their own eyes which see by the lamp of haughtiness and pride.All the more then humble yourself before the Lord. The Christian, too, is guilty of pride when he views his neighbor with haughty eyes, like the Pharisee looked upon the publican. We are easily proud that we see what our unbelieving neighbors do not. We act with great surprise that they do not see what we do. Why can't they understand the gospel?
Why can't they know what is right from wrong? The answer is that they are no different from us. Without the work of the Holy Spirit in our hearts providing the lamp of God's truth, we would not "get it" either. And even with the Spirit within us, we still see to much with distortion out of our own pride. Indeed, we have less excuse than our unbelieving neighbor for our pride.
Scripture makes clear God's displeasure of pride which is the root sin of the wicked. They will not humble themselves before God. This is played out in various ways, most notably through the violence committed against others.The proverb reveals how pride mars their perspective on reality. Pride is the lamp by which the wicked see what is outside themselves. What do they see?
They see people to despise who don't measure up to their distorted standards. Conversely, the see others to admire who in reality model arrogance and wickedness. A notable author whose works are rife with licenscious sex visited a city noted for its licensciousness. Whereas most people would see the obvious vulgarity, broken lives, and despicable behavior, he saw it as the ideal city.
Compare this proverb to verse 2: "Every way of a man is right in his own eyes..." The proud wicked believe they are acting in accord to what is right in their own eyes which see by the lamp of haughtiness and pride.All the more then humble yourself before the Lord. The Christian, too, is guilty of pride when he views his neighbor with haughty eyes, like the Pharisee looked upon the publican. We are easily proud that we see what our unbelieving neighbors do not. We act with great surprise that they do not see what we do. Why can't they understand the gospel?
Why can't they know what is right from wrong? The answer is that they are no different from us. Without the work of the Holy Spirit in our hearts providing the lamp of God's truth, we would not "get it" either. And even with the Spirit within us, we still see to much with distortion out of our own pride. Indeed, we have less excuse than our unbelieving neighbor for our pride.
Thursday, April 12, 2007
True Repentance, in Four Parts By Dr Phil Ryken
Charles Spurgeon's sermon "Christ's First and Last Subject" is on repentance, which Christ preached both at the beginning (see Matthew 4:17) and at the end (see Luke 24:47) of his earthly ministry.Spurgeon's taxonomy of true and saving repentance is a good one -- something preachers can use and believers can emulate.
"True repentance," he says, "consists of illumination, humiliation, detestation, and transformation."
"True repentance," he says, "consists of illumination, humiliation, detestation, and transformation."
Velvet Theology By Dr Phil Ryken
In Velvet Elvis, Rob Bell writes:"And when Jesus died on the cross he died for everybody. Everybody.Everywhere.Every tribe, every nation, every tongue, every people group.Jesus said that when he was lifted up, he would draw all people to himself.All people. Everywhere.Everybody's sins on the cross with Jesus . . . forgiveness is true for everybody.And this reality extends beyond this life.Heaven is full of forgiven people.Hell is forgiven people. Heaven is full of forgiven people God loves, whom Jesus died for.Hell is full of forgiven people God loves, who Jesus died for.The difference is how we choose to live, which story we choose to live in, which version of reality we trust.Ours or God's."
I wonder, though, if all the people in hell are forgiven, why are they damned? Bell is promoting the love of God at the expense of his justice, giving us a God of unjust love rather than a God of crucified love and holy justice. This is velvet theology indeed: soft and cushy, and at the same time garish in its caricature of the character of God.
I wonder, though, if all the people in hell are forgiven, why are they damned? Bell is promoting the love of God at the expense of his justice, giving us a God of unjust love rather than a God of crucified love and holy justice. This is velvet theology indeed: soft and cushy, and at the same time garish in its caricature of the character of God.
Hope
We always thank God . . . [for] the faith and love that spring from . . . hope . . . . Colossians 1:3-5
It’s not the experience of hope but the object of hope that is stored up for us in heaven—and that gives rise to faith and love, says the apostle Paul. In Colossians 1:27, Paul talks about “the hope of glory,” meaning the final unveiling of our salvation, when “righteousness and peace kiss each other” (Psalm 85:10). Author and professor Debra Rienstra calls this “an existence so saturated with joy that all the terrible things of this world will seem like nothing in comparison.” John’s letter says of this hope that we shall be like Christ.
This grand hope does not mean we ignore this present life. Instead, this hope encourages love. In a sermon on this text, author John Piper says, “Only one thing satisfies the heart whose treasure is in heaven: doing the works of heaven. And heaven is a world of love.”
Piper adds, “It’s not the cords of heaven that bind the hands of love. It is the love of money and leisure and comfort that do that, and the power to sever those cords is Christian hope.”
To live in the utter certainty of the hope of glory frees us from greed and bitterness, from despair and laziness, from impatience and envy. Being captivated by this future that Paul says we’ve heard about in the gospel empowers us to live in faith and love and to become examples of God’s new creation.
PRAYER
Lord Jesus, you have gone to prepare a place for us. Prepare us now for that place. In the wonderful hope of glory, empower us to live in faith and love each day. Amen
It’s not the experience of hope but the object of hope that is stored up for us in heaven—and that gives rise to faith and love, says the apostle Paul. In Colossians 1:27, Paul talks about “the hope of glory,” meaning the final unveiling of our salvation, when “righteousness and peace kiss each other” (Psalm 85:10). Author and professor Debra Rienstra calls this “an existence so saturated with joy that all the terrible things of this world will seem like nothing in comparison.” John’s letter says of this hope that we shall be like Christ.
This grand hope does not mean we ignore this present life. Instead, this hope encourages love. In a sermon on this text, author John Piper says, “Only one thing satisfies the heart whose treasure is in heaven: doing the works of heaven. And heaven is a world of love.”
Piper adds, “It’s not the cords of heaven that bind the hands of love. It is the love of money and leisure and comfort that do that, and the power to sever those cords is Christian hope.”
To live in the utter certainty of the hope of glory frees us from greed and bitterness, from despair and laziness, from impatience and envy. Being captivated by this future that Paul says we’ve heard about in the gospel empowers us to live in faith and love and to become examples of God’s new creation.
PRAYER
Lord Jesus, you have gone to prepare a place for us. Prepare us now for that place. In the wonderful hope of glory, empower us to live in faith and love each day. Amen
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
Interview with Philip Ryken on Preaching
1. Can you provide us with a definition of biblical preaching?
Expository preaching means making God’s Word plain. In an expository sermon the preacher simply tries to explain what the Bible teaches. The main points of his sermon are the points made by a particular text in the Bible. The minister not only begins with Scripture, but also allows the Scripture to establish the context and content for his entire sermon. The way he decides what to say is by studying what the Bible has to say, so that the Scripture itself sets the agenda for his interpretation and application.
This kind of preaching is most helpfully done when a minister follows the logic of the Scriptures, systematically preaching chapter by chapter and verse by verse through entire books of the Bible. This helps ensure that a congregation hears what God wants them to hear, and not simply what their minister thinks they ought to hear.
But expository preaching is not so much a method as it is a mindset. A minister who sees himself as an expositor knows that he is not the master of the Word, but its servant. He has no other ambition than to preach what the Scriptures actually teach. His aim is to be faithful to God’s Word so that his people can hear God’s voice. He himself is only God’s mouthpiece, speaking God’s message into the ears of God’s people, and thus into their minds and hearts. To that end, he carefully works his way through the Scriptures, reading, explaining, and applying them to his congregation. On occasion he may find it necessary to address some pastoral concerns in a topical fashion, but even then his sermons come from his exposition of particular passages of Scripture. Rather than focusing on his own spiritual experience, or on current events, or on what he perceives as his congregation’s needs and interests, the minister gives his fullest attention to teaching what the Bible actually says.
2. In a few paragraphs, how did you discover your gifts in preaching?
By the grace of God, even as a small boy my heart was drawn to using my talents to the very best of my ability, and in a way that would bring glory to God. Pastoral ministry always seemed to be one way to be a faithful steward of whatever gifts the Lord had given me. I generally paid close attention to what various ministers were doing in the pulpit, and would sometimes imagine what it would be like to preach the gospel. As I envisioned it, this would be in a church where people were eager to listen and taking notes.
I can remember going out with my father for ice cream when I was in the eighth grade and talking about what I would do with my life. Pastoral ministry was one calling that we discussed, and I went in to speak with our pastor about what it was like to be a pastor, what books I ought to read, what was hard about the pastoral ministry, and so forth. It was not until college, though, that I became clear in my inward call. When Lisa and I began dating our freshman year it was already apparent to her that I was heading in that direction. In general, there was a growing sense that this and this only is what I was born to do: preach the Word.
3. Who has modeled biblical preaching for you?
The pastor in my home church growing up—Bob Harvey at Bethel Orthodox Presbyterian Church in Wheaton, Illinois—had an exceptional gift for connecting the Old Testament to the New Testament by way of Christ-centered biblical theology. At various times in my life I have had the privilege to sit under the regular preaching of R. Kent Hughes (College Church, Wheaton), William Still (Gilcomston South Church, Aberdeen), Dick Lucas (St. Helen’s Bishopgate), and James Boice (Tenth Presbyterian Church, Philadelphia). Each of these men had his own distinctive style, but they all had a passionate commitment to expository preaching, with a genuine enthusiasm for what God has said in his Word.
4. Do you have any thoughts on the current concern over ‘redemptive-historical’ preaching? How does preaching Christ from all the Scriptures govern the shape of your sermons?
I have been strongly influenced by Geerhardus Vos, Sidney Greidanus, Edmund Clowney, and other advocates of redemptive-historical preaching. What I take to be the main point of this emphasis is exactly right: that we are to preach Christ from all the Scriptures, as Jesus himself did (see Luke 24:25-27). This is especially important to remember in preaching from the Old Testament. Every sermon is a presentation of the gospel of the crucified and risen Christ. I have a concern, though, that what sometimes passes for redemptive-historical preaching today is less than fully biblical in that it downplays the need for practical application. Here we need to follow the example of the New Testament, which uses the Old Testament both to preach Christ and to make practical application from the Scriptures to daily Christian living. “Now these things took place as examples for us,” Paul writes, “that we might not desire evil as they did” (1 Cor. 10:6).
I’m not sure how preaching Christ from all the Scriptures governs the shape of my sermons, per se, but in all of my preaching—from whatever text in the Bible—I want the gospel content outlined in 1 Corinthians 15:1-5 to be made clear.
5. What books on preaching have you found most influential in your own preaching?
I find Bryan Chapell’s book on Christ-Centered Preaching to be the best how-to manual for beginning to learn how to preach. For capturing the flavor of what preaching is all about my favorite book is John Piper’s The Supremacy of God in Preaching.
6. What has been your practice in preaching as regards consecutive expository, textual or topical preaching?
My general practice is to preach expository sermons from consecutive passages in whole books of the Bible. On occasion I have preached a more topical series, but I have generally done this in expositional format. That is to say, I have preached expository sermons on a variety of passages that all related to a unified topic. For example, I preached a series of sermons on “The Message of Salvation” (now published by IVP in a book of the same name) from a wide variety of passages in the Old and New Testaments. Following the example of John Newton, I have preached through many of the texts in Messiah. Or to give yet another example, I have preached through the attributes of God listed in the first question of the Westminster Shorter Catechism by choosing a biblical narrative that illustrates each of these divine attributes (now published as Discovering God in Stories from the Bible).
7. Is there a sermon that you have heard, or a series of sermons, that continues to impress you?
I have had the rare privilege of hearing many wonderful sermons. Two individual sermons that stand out for me are the sermon that Eric Alexander preached at the memorial service for James Boice and the sermon Sinclair Ferguson preached on Romans 8:32 at the 2005 General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in America. I was deeply moved by the latter sermon – for me, it was the best sermon I have ever heard. I have also been helped greatly by the preaching that two of my predecessors (Donald Grey Barnhouse and James Montgomery Boice) did through the Book of Romans.
8. What concessions, if any, does the modern preacher have to make in order to speak to postmodernity?
I’m not sure that any preacher ever has to make any concessions to anything except the Word of God, to which he submits as his only ultimate authority. Of course it is true that any preacher needs to know the context in which he is preaching. What questions do people have in our culture? What aspects of the prevailing worldview most need to be confronted by biblical truth? What is hard for people to understand about God and his gospel because of their surrounding culture? These are important issues in communication and application. But we should recognize that the proclamation of the Gospel in spoken form is God’s permanent plan for the advance of his Kingdom.
9. What is the average length of your sermons? Has this changed over the years?
I try to tell myself that I am preaching for 30 minutes, but usually it is more like 35. The average length of my sermons has not changed. However, I find that I have to work harder to keep things to 30-35 minutes, which I believe to be about the right length for our congregation. Typically I edit out about 20% of my material, and the sermon is usually better for it.
10. Would you briefly describe the main elements of how you go about preparing a sermon?
I generally spend my mornings in study, prayer, writing, and preparation to preach. I try to do all of my main exegetical and commentary work on Mondays, with the goal of having an 8 to 10 page outline by the end of Monday morning, complete with main ideas, thoughts for an introduction and conclusion, lines of application, illustrations, etc. Then I take two hours or so every morning to write at least one section of the sermon, working from beginning to end. Typically I will go back through the entire sermon for one major revision on Saturday or else early Sunday morning.
Hearts Weighed
Proverbs 21:2Every way of a man is right in his own eyes,but the Lord weighs the heart.
Note two insights in this proverb in relation to a Christian. First, a Christian will defend his behavior either through using scripture for justification or by appealing to conscience. I've listened to a husband defend being critical of his wife by appealing to Ephesians 5:25-27 which refers to Christ has sanctifying the church.
Likewise, Christians have defended rude behavior as being bold for Christ and zealous for truth. In every case, the person believes he is doing what is right. In his own eyes, he is being faithful to God.Second, the Lord weighs the heart. He weighs the heart, not the action. He weighs the true motive of the Christian, not what the Christian thinks is his motive. The mistake of the Christian is to believe that he looks within his own heart with clear sight.
That is precisely what we are weakest at doing. We cannot weigh our own heart. Only God can do so.What is the practical input of this reality - that we see a favorably distorted view of ourselves and only the Lord weighs with accuracy the heart? It should make us humble. It should make us slow to make judgment of others, especially to make unfavorable judgments of others in relation to ourselves.
We should be zealous to study God's Word so that it shines a light on our hearts. We should never be quick to defend our hearts, knowing that we may very well be wrong. Even when we may be accurate about what we do see in ourselves, we never do know the full picture. Again, only the Lord weighs truly the heart.Finally, it should lead us to rely wholly on the mercy of God.
If God were to measure out justice according to what he weighs in our hearts, we would all perish. God weighs and then he measures out to us according to his mercy. Have you thanked him today for such mercy?
Note two insights in this proverb in relation to a Christian. First, a Christian will defend his behavior either through using scripture for justification or by appealing to conscience. I've listened to a husband defend being critical of his wife by appealing to Ephesians 5:25-27 which refers to Christ has sanctifying the church.
Likewise, Christians have defended rude behavior as being bold for Christ and zealous for truth. In every case, the person believes he is doing what is right. In his own eyes, he is being faithful to God.Second, the Lord weighs the heart. He weighs the heart, not the action. He weighs the true motive of the Christian, not what the Christian thinks is his motive. The mistake of the Christian is to believe that he looks within his own heart with clear sight.
That is precisely what we are weakest at doing. We cannot weigh our own heart. Only God can do so.What is the practical input of this reality - that we see a favorably distorted view of ourselves and only the Lord weighs with accuracy the heart? It should make us humble. It should make us slow to make judgment of others, especially to make unfavorable judgments of others in relation to ourselves.
We should be zealous to study God's Word so that it shines a light on our hearts. We should never be quick to defend our hearts, knowing that we may very well be wrong. Even when we may be accurate about what we do see in ourselves, we never do know the full picture. Again, only the Lord weighs truly the heart.Finally, it should lead us to rely wholly on the mercy of God.
If God were to measure out justice according to what he weighs in our hearts, we would all perish. God weighs and then he measures out to us according to his mercy. Have you thanked him today for such mercy?
Wolves
Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature . . . . Colossians 3:5
Elizabeth Berg in the novel The Year of Pleasure tells about a Navajo grandfather who says to his grandson: “Two wolves live inside me. One is the bad wolf, full of greed and laziness, full of anger and jealousy and regret. The other is the good wolf, full of joy and compassion and willingness and a great love for the world. All the time these wolves are fighting inside me.”
“But grandfather,” the boy said, “which wolf will win?”
The grandfather answered, “The one I feed.”
It’s a good story. There are times in all of our lives when it’s most helpful to ask, “Do I really want to feed this anger? Or this lust? Or this envy? Paul appears to say something similar in our passage when he tells us to get rid of—to starve—sinful practices.
Yet the story, as good as it is, is incomplete. It assumes that the self who chooses whether to feed the good wolf or the bad wolf is untainted in its judgments. But, of course, it isn’t. The ways of the good and bad wolves infect the very core of our being. We rationalize and justify our sins all the time; we’re masters at putting a good face on the evil we do.
Paul tells us not only to starve our sinful practices but also to drown our old self in the waters of baptism so that we may put on the new self, Christ.
PRAYER
Lord Jesus, we want you on the throne of our lives to guide us in all our decisions, all we think, say, and do. Be the Lord of our lives, we pray. In your name, Amen.
Elizabeth Berg in the novel The Year of Pleasure tells about a Navajo grandfather who says to his grandson: “Two wolves live inside me. One is the bad wolf, full of greed and laziness, full of anger and jealousy and regret. The other is the good wolf, full of joy and compassion and willingness and a great love for the world. All the time these wolves are fighting inside me.”
“But grandfather,” the boy said, “which wolf will win?”
The grandfather answered, “The one I feed.”
It’s a good story. There are times in all of our lives when it’s most helpful to ask, “Do I really want to feed this anger? Or this lust? Or this envy? Paul appears to say something similar in our passage when he tells us to get rid of—to starve—sinful practices.
Yet the story, as good as it is, is incomplete. It assumes that the self who chooses whether to feed the good wolf or the bad wolf is untainted in its judgments. But, of course, it isn’t. The ways of the good and bad wolves infect the very core of our being. We rationalize and justify our sins all the time; we’re masters at putting a good face on the evil we do.
Paul tells us not only to starve our sinful practices but also to drown our old self in the waters of baptism so that we may put on the new self, Christ.
PRAYER
Lord Jesus, we want you on the throne of our lives to guide us in all our decisions, all we think, say, and do. Be the Lord of our lives, we pray. In your name, Amen.
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