Titus 3:10-11 - 10 As for a person who stirs up division, after warning him once and then twice, have nothing more to do with him, 11 knowing that such a person is warped and sinful; he is self-condemned.
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Many people struggle against sin in many ways. Thanks be to God, there is much room for grace in his church. All of us fail in various areas. Sometimes we get over our sinfulness in a particular area with very few setbacks. At other times, we fight against our flesh for year after year, seemingly only gaining inches in a battle that will take miles to thoroughly win. Isn’t it wonderful that God knows our hearts, knows our failures, and chooses to keep loving us?
But there are a few areas in which our struggle against sin has less leeway. There are points of struggle in which God is clear, we must attack it now, defeat it now, and not return to it. This is not to say that he will love us less if we fail, but it is to say that our continuing failure will carry with it some very strong consequences.
What do you think of when you think of areas of sin that God will simply not tolerate in us? What areas do you assume are the kinds of sin with which we cannot be patient? What areas do you think of as the “big ones?” This is not saying that any sin is a little sin, but there are only a few in the scripture that require immediate attention—that say “fix this or else.” Do you think of murder, adultery, and felonious criminal behavior? Do you think of the marriage-destroying and enslaving sin of viewing pornography? What ranks up there as a sin that requires immediate action?
In Titus 3, Paul shares with a young pastor one sin that is clearly a very big, very immediate problem: stirring up division. Strange, isn’t it, to think of this sin with the kind of gravity that Paul gives it in verses 10-11 of Titus 3? Paul tells Titus to look at this sin with a “three strikes and you’re out” approach. Warn a division maker once, and even twice; but after you have warned him twice, if he keeps it up, have nothing to do with him. This is hard-hitting, right-to-the-point, and no exceptions allowed kind of teaching.
Why might God be so strong on the issue of making divisions in the church? It’s simple, really. The church is the “body of Christ” on earth. That means that we serve as the visible and physical reminder to the world of who Jesus is. And when one of us does something to tear down the body, causing conflict and division where there need not be conflict or division, we earn for ourselves strong words of condemnation from our God. He will not let the body of Christ be marred by petty divisions and conflicts. We are to address them head-on.
Now, there are two kinds of questions that should come in all of our minds. I’ll handle the easier first. Are there ever areas in which conflict is acceptable? Of course there are. When you see a member of the church involved in blatant sin, you must as a brother or sister in Christ confront that person. At times, such a confrontation will cause a conflict. In such an instance, the conflict is necessary for the good of the believer and the church. When blatant sin or clear and important biblical doctrine is at stake, conflict may be necessary.
But now to the second question: How do I know if I am causing a division in the church? Almost all Christians would believe that people should not cause strife and division in the church. Almost all Christians would say that there are far too many Christians who are stirring up division in their local congregation. And, surprise, almost all Christians think that they are not the ones who stir up conflict. How can this be? The answer to this is also simple, stirrers of conflict often do not think that what they are doing is something that is a cause of division in the church.
So, in order to make sure that you and I are not the causes of division in the church, a sin which draws such extreme rebuke from our Lord, let’s examine what we do and say.
· Do you regularly talk to others about things in the church that “bother you.” We’re not talking about sinful areas here that you intend to confront, but simply those things that don’t suit you? If so, you stir division.
· Do you speak negatively about other people in the church? Let’s be clear; when we put down others, what they do or how they have done it, we are stirring division. Again, it is one thing to address sinful behavior, it’s entirely another thing to simply enjoy complaining about a person or group of people.
· Do you prefer to bemoan the sin of another person instead of confronting them? If we see our brother or sister in sin, we are to address it with them with the goal of restoring them to right living. IF we simply talk about “how sad it is,” we do not help; we only stir division.
· Do you regularly complain that things are not done your way regarding issues of preference? Do you talk to others to find out if they also feel the same as you about the preference issue? It is very likely that you are stirring up division. Instead, you should talk to the leaders who are making the decision. Who knows, they may have a reason for doing things the way that they do them that you have not considered. Who knows, they may even be willing to change things in order that your preference is also acknowledged along with the preferences of others. Or, perhaps they will not be able to do what you ask; but it is still better for you to talk to the leaders instead of stirring up division with others.
· Do you, when there is a debate over some non-essential issue of theology, run through people in the church to see which “side they’re on?” It’s one thing to want to be taught by scripture. It is divisive to think that the way to find truth is to find which group has the majority opinion.
· Do you, whenever a business meeting type decision is approaching, go through the church to privately win people over to your “side?” if so, you are in great danger of being divisive.
· Do you, when the pastor has preached a sermon, talk with others more about what was right or what was wrong with the message? Be careful.
One thing that we do not want to do is ever be guilty of being dividers in the church. How can we avoid it?
· Pray for a person before ever speaking negatively regarding them. Try this: make it a rule that you will pray for a person for 10 minutes before you will allow yourself to speak a negative word about them.
· If you are going to speak negatively about someone, be sure that you are dealing with clearly sinful behavior that you are willing to personally confront. If you are willing to say that Bob was wrong in the way he did something, you must be willing to follow the scriptures, and bring your grievance to Bob for his good. You should talk to Bob long before you talk to another person about Bob (with the possible exception of your seeking counsel concerning how best to talk to Bob).
· If someone asks you a question that will, if you honestly answer it, bring out a divisive remark, do one of two things. Either refuse to answer the question and simply change the subject or speak at least 2 compliments for every negative you offer. Show that you are not willing, under any circumstances, to darken another’s opinion of someone else in the church who is not engaging in overtly sinful behavior.
· If someone comes to you with a complaint about another church member, refuse to listen to them without their agreeing that they will allow you to be a part of reconciling the situation. Say, “I’ll let you tell me your problem with Bob only if you will help me be a part of solving it. Once you tell me what is on your mind, either you or both of us will go to Bob to make this better.”
· Refuse, under any circumstances, to engage in complaining about things that you are unwilling to help fix.
· Seek out things in the church to compliment. Be kind to the pastor, to Sunday School teachers, to visitors, and to others in the body. Become a person whose conversation is seasoned with grace instead of someone who begins a conversation with, “Isn’t it awful that . . .”
· When you see or hear something done in a way that is not your preference, try to think of who in the church might prefer it that way. Perhaps you will find that you can think of a good group of people who like the very thing you dislike.
All of us are working through the progression of becoming what God wants us to be. This is a long and often difficult procedure. Because we are all still sinners in the process of change, we are going to disagree with one another regularly and dislike one another on occasion. God makes it very clear for us, however, that doing things that divide the church is not acceptable. We are to avoid such activity like the plague.
I know that I, as a pastor, have to watch what I allow myself to think, say, and do. I know that as church members, many others have to guard themselves as well. Let us make it a point, however, to honor God by being peacemakers in our church, and never, under any circumstances, to cause division. Let us understand that we start this fix with ourselves, not by blaming others. Let us follow God’s word in Titus, and neither cause division nor put up with those who do.
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Nice Parenting Article from 9 Marks
This is a nice, pithy article full of godly parenting pointers from 9 Marks ministries. If you are a parent, especially of younger kids, you might find this worth your while.
http://9marks.org/CC/article/0,,PTID314526%7CCHID598014%7CCIID2438226,00.html
http://9marks.org/CC/article/0,,PTID314526%7CCHID598014%7CCIID2438226,00.html
Painful Thoughts on My Speech and Obedience (Titus 3:1-2)
Titus 3:1-2 - 1 Remind them to be submissive to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work, 2 to speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and to show perfect courtesy toward all people.
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Paul’s letters to Timothy and Titus are his letters offering advice for young pastors. Paul, as an older apostle of the Lord Jesus, has wisdom to pass along to his protégés. The glorious thing for us is that God has chosen to preserve this advice, as it is what he calls all pastors to think, to do, and to be.
Here in Titus 3, Paul lists a set of character qualities that young pastors are to put before the people of God. Clearly these are all attributes that the people of God should already know to have. But it is wise for a godly pastor to remind his flock to have these qualities, because, in our humanity, we often forget the obvious things we ought to do or be.
While there are seven qualities listed here, I want to focus our attention on two major categories of qualities: obedience and speech. Looking at obedience, we see that verse 1 has a running theme. The people of God are to obey their authorities to be able to do good. There are likely two categories in view here. On the one hand, Christians are to be obedient to all the laws of the land in which they live. We are to obey any law of government unless that law somehow contradicts the commands of God. So, if a law is passed forbidding evangelism, we must humbly disobey. However, we obey laws such as copyright laws and speed limits because God’s word has no specific commands telling us not to. We must be a people who know how to honor authority.
In a second category of obedience, it is right for the people of God to respect and follow the leaders that God has put in place over them. God designed the local church to be led by at least one elder or pastor (I think a plurality of elders is most biblical). These men are charged with the task of praying for and feeding the people of God with the word of God. They are called by God to offer spiritual leadership and guidance to the church. And, since these men are charged with the task to lead, the congregation is charged with the task to follow. Again, this is to take place in the church unless the leadership, for some reason, attempts to lead the people in a direction that is clearly contrary to the word of God
Between the two categories is the call to be ready to do good work. This is both part of our obedience and part of the second category of our words. We need to be eager, anxious, and ready to do what is good and right. We should be eager to obey our authorities. We should be eager to speak and act in a way that is godly.
The second category is what I will simply summarize as being godly in our speech. Look at the reminders: “to speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and to show perfect courtesy toward all people.” Simply put, our speech is to be kind, loving, and positive when at all possible. We are not to speak evil of one another or of those outside our community. This is a hard one for me, as I am easily tempted to join in such conversation; but there is no excuse for sinfully speaking evil of another person. Yes, there is a difference in being honest and being evil, and that difference will be heard in the tone of speech and understood in the heart’s motivation. The fact is, if you have something negative to say about another person, you had better be very careful that your heart is focused on God’s glory and the other’s good, that your attitude is not arrogant and selfish, and that you have been careful to do everything in your power to believe the best about the person first.
Paul goes on to call us to avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and to be courteous. This is all in our attitude and in our speech. We avoid harsh words in order to show gentleness, kindness, and love. We ought always be eager to avoid a quarrel so long as essential doctrine is not at stake. We ought be gentle, not willing to do any person any unnecessary harm with our words. We ought be courteous, even if our interlocutor is not. Why? We want to show Christ’s kind of love and gentleness to everyone.
You might say, “This all sounds nice, but it’s impossible in the real world.” My flesh wants to agree with you. But let me draw on one picture before we close the topic. Jesus was bloodied, beaten, and abused by evil men. During the entire event, Jesus spoke no evil against those men, and prayed that God might have mercy upon them. Can you, for even a second, picture Jesus speaking to or about these men without kindness, gentleness, or perfect courtesy? Of course you can’t, not if you really have a picture of the Lord Jesus. We want to show the world what Jesus is like, and our speech must be as full of grace and love as his was, even when we are abused.
By the way, do you think that Paul put obedience and speech side-by-side for a reason? Whom do you find easiest to criticize? About whom is it most common for you to let out a nasty judgment? Is it not the ones over you? Is it not easy to speak out against the supposedly inept establishment in Washington? Is it not easy to spout off at how poorly things are being run at a denominational level (regardless your denomination or its efficiency)? Is it not tempting to listen to a sermon and then sit down with your family to a lunch of “roast preacher”? Let’s be careful, as our most natural ways of criticizing may be our most fleshly.
Folks, I do not pretend that I have this one all worked out yet, but I look at this text, and I see that God wants me to be reminded of his standards for my speech. Perhaps you have the same feeling as you read this. Perhaps you feel like you are a long way from getting this part of your life right. If so, you are at least in my company if not good company. So, let us work together to tame our tongues for the glory of God. Let us remember to follow our leaders and use our words in such a way that we might glorify God in what we say and do.
.
Paul’s letters to Timothy and Titus are his letters offering advice for young pastors. Paul, as an older apostle of the Lord Jesus, has wisdom to pass along to his protégés. The glorious thing for us is that God has chosen to preserve this advice, as it is what he calls all pastors to think, to do, and to be.
Here in Titus 3, Paul lists a set of character qualities that young pastors are to put before the people of God. Clearly these are all attributes that the people of God should already know to have. But it is wise for a godly pastor to remind his flock to have these qualities, because, in our humanity, we often forget the obvious things we ought to do or be.
While there are seven qualities listed here, I want to focus our attention on two major categories of qualities: obedience and speech. Looking at obedience, we see that verse 1 has a running theme. The people of God are to obey their authorities to be able to do good. There are likely two categories in view here. On the one hand, Christians are to be obedient to all the laws of the land in which they live. We are to obey any law of government unless that law somehow contradicts the commands of God. So, if a law is passed forbidding evangelism, we must humbly disobey. However, we obey laws such as copyright laws and speed limits because God’s word has no specific commands telling us not to. We must be a people who know how to honor authority.
In a second category of obedience, it is right for the people of God to respect and follow the leaders that God has put in place over them. God designed the local church to be led by at least one elder or pastor (I think a plurality of elders is most biblical). These men are charged with the task of praying for and feeding the people of God with the word of God. They are called by God to offer spiritual leadership and guidance to the church. And, since these men are charged with the task to lead, the congregation is charged with the task to follow. Again, this is to take place in the church unless the leadership, for some reason, attempts to lead the people in a direction that is clearly contrary to the word of God
Between the two categories is the call to be ready to do good work. This is both part of our obedience and part of the second category of our words. We need to be eager, anxious, and ready to do what is good and right. We should be eager to obey our authorities. We should be eager to speak and act in a way that is godly.
The second category is what I will simply summarize as being godly in our speech. Look at the reminders: “to speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and to show perfect courtesy toward all people.” Simply put, our speech is to be kind, loving, and positive when at all possible. We are not to speak evil of one another or of those outside our community. This is a hard one for me, as I am easily tempted to join in such conversation; but there is no excuse for sinfully speaking evil of another person. Yes, there is a difference in being honest and being evil, and that difference will be heard in the tone of speech and understood in the heart’s motivation. The fact is, if you have something negative to say about another person, you had better be very careful that your heart is focused on God’s glory and the other’s good, that your attitude is not arrogant and selfish, and that you have been careful to do everything in your power to believe the best about the person first.
Paul goes on to call us to avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and to be courteous. This is all in our attitude and in our speech. We avoid harsh words in order to show gentleness, kindness, and love. We ought always be eager to avoid a quarrel so long as essential doctrine is not at stake. We ought be gentle, not willing to do any person any unnecessary harm with our words. We ought be courteous, even if our interlocutor is not. Why? We want to show Christ’s kind of love and gentleness to everyone.
You might say, “This all sounds nice, but it’s impossible in the real world.” My flesh wants to agree with you. But let me draw on one picture before we close the topic. Jesus was bloodied, beaten, and abused by evil men. During the entire event, Jesus spoke no evil against those men, and prayed that God might have mercy upon them. Can you, for even a second, picture Jesus speaking to or about these men without kindness, gentleness, or perfect courtesy? Of course you can’t, not if you really have a picture of the Lord Jesus. We want to show the world what Jesus is like, and our speech must be as full of grace and love as his was, even when we are abused.
By the way, do you think that Paul put obedience and speech side-by-side for a reason? Whom do you find easiest to criticize? About whom is it most common for you to let out a nasty judgment? Is it not the ones over you? Is it not easy to speak out against the supposedly inept establishment in Washington? Is it not easy to spout off at how poorly things are being run at a denominational level (regardless your denomination or its efficiency)? Is it not tempting to listen to a sermon and then sit down with your family to a lunch of “roast preacher”? Let’s be careful, as our most natural ways of criticizing may be our most fleshly.
Folks, I do not pretend that I have this one all worked out yet, but I look at this text, and I see that God wants me to be reminded of his standards for my speech. Perhaps you have the same feeling as you read this. Perhaps you feel like you are a long way from getting this part of your life right. If so, you are at least in my company if not good company. So, let us work together to tame our tongues for the glory of God. Let us remember to follow our leaders and use our words in such a way that we might glorify God in what we say and do.
Thursday, August 21, 2008
MacArthur on Membership (Part 2)
MacArthur concludes this helpful 2 part posting on the importance of formal church membership.
http://www.sfpulpit.com/2008/08/21/why-membership-matters-part-2-2/
http://www.sfpulpit.com/2008/08/21/why-membership-matters-part-2-2/
BP on Obama's Extreme Pro-Choice (Pro-Abortion) Stance
Baptist Pres has written an article detailing some of the specifics of the presumptive Democratic Party's nominee's stance regarding abortion.
http://www.bpnews.net/bpnews.asp?id=28732&ref=BPNews-RSSFeed0820
**
Disclaimer
In my role as pastor, I do not endorse any particular candidate; nor do I instruct any of those in the church where I serve as to how they should vote. I simply call for all believers to vote in accord with what will most bring glory and honor to our Lord.
http://www.bpnews.net/bpnews.asp?id=28732&ref=BPNews-RSSFeed0820
**
Disclaimer
In my role as pastor, I do not endorse any particular candidate; nor do I instruct any of those in the church where I serve as to how they should vote. I simply call for all believers to vote in accord with what will most bring glory and honor to our Lord.
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
BP on the Todd Bentley Fiasco
This article from BP offers a simple summary of the lessons learned from Lakeland.
Christians must be very careful which leaders we follow, and never follow them blindly.
http://www.bpnews.net/bpnews.asp?id=28727&ref=BPNews-RSSFeed0819
Christians must be very careful which leaders we follow, and never follow them blindly.
http://www.bpnews.net/bpnews.asp?id=28727&ref=BPNews-RSSFeed0819
MacArthur on Church Membership
Nice article by John MacArthur explaining why church membership is vital. It will have a second part tomorrow.
http://www.sfpulpit.com/2008/08/20/why-church-membership-matters-part-1/
http://www.sfpulpit.com/2008/08/20/why-church-membership-matters-part-1/
Oxen, Mangers, Homes, and Churches (Proverbs 14:4)
Proverbs 14:4
Where there are no oxen, the manger is clean,
but abundant crops come by the strength of the ox.
.
While it may not be true of every person you know, many people have lives that treasure being orderly. Many people love for their houses to be clean, their schedules to be kept, and their lives to be just so. For such people, when things are thrown off track, the consequences are quite difficult to handle.
This fact can be mirrored in churches. Many churches and their members love to have things very tidy, very neat, very clean. We come to the pristine sanctuary in our Sunday best. We love bulletins without spelling errors and sermons without flawed grammar. We look for well-played music, organized orders of worship, and timely beginnings and endings to everything. We all are willing to confess ourselves as sinners saved by grace, but very few of us indeed would ever dare to upset the apple cart by actually talking to another person in the church about our own faults, sins, and struggles. We love seeing the people we know, the people who are safe; and we cringe just a little when someone walks in who is not quite up to our standards of being shipshape.
The problem is, as we keep ourselves orderly, clean, and without mess, we find that our community dwindles, becomes sick, or perhaps even falls apart. We might develop one of the best-looking church services you could find in our town, but nothing looks different. None of our own show their brokenness. None of our own confess their sin. None of our own show their weakness in humility. And we certainly do not look upon it favorably when someone who is an outsider comes to us and airs his or her own dirty laundry.
The Ox and the Manger
Send into the scenario Proverbs 14:4, “Where there are no oxen, the manger is clean, but abundant crops come by the strength of the ox.” This may be an obscure proverb to you, but it will make sense rather quickly. Imagine that you are a farmer who loves a clean barn. You like your barn to be in order, tidy, without mess. How can you keep a truly clean barn. The best way to keep your barn spic and span is to not let any animals into it. So you sell off your oxen. You certainly do not need some smelly animal coming into your barn, messing on the floor and slobbering in the watering trough.
What’s the problem with the clean barn picture? When it comes time to work the fields, the farmer has no animal to pull his plow. Though oxen are messy, oxen are also the creatures necessary for accomplishing the work of farming for the farmer of yesterday. With a working team of oxen, the farmer can accomplish leaps and bounds more than he ever could have accomplished without them.
So, the farmer has a dilemma. On the one hand, he loves a clean barn. On the other, he wants to have a productive harvest. He must count the cost. And, if he is going to be a farmer who is worth anything, he is going to have to conclude that having a successful farm requires that he let his barn get a little messy. He must have oxen, or the farming business is simply not for him.
Tools for God’s Glory or Museums for Our Glory
Now, return to our own lives. I’m not suggesting that we turn the church into a smelly barn. I’m not suggesting that our homes ought to be messy. But what I am suggesting is that the church building and our homes ought to be places that are more designed for the work of God to be accomplished than they ought to be museums of our own glory. Let’s think of how this might apply in each area.
Your Home
First, let’s think of your home. You live there. You want it to be nice and presentable. Indeed you should want these things. But if your desire to make your home beautiful keeps you from using your home as a tool for ministry or as a place for family joy, you are missing the point. Wouldn’t you rather have the harvest of well-developed relationships and friendships and a loving family than you would have a “Better Homes and Gardens” worthy picture. Sure, you can strive to have a nice home, an inviting home, but do not let that consume you.
On the other hand, if you want your home to be a place where people will come and be ministered to, you need to have a home that is clean and inviting enough that people will feel comfortable in it. If when someone comes to your door, you have to clean a path for them to reach the sofa, you need to change that practice. If you are regularly too embarrassed to allow anyone into your home, you ought to do the work to make your home a vehicle for potential ministry. Remember, everything we have is to be a tool that we use to bring honor and glory to God; so make your home such a tool.
The Church
The church building is another place where we must take stock. Just as I ended the discussion on the home I will continue with the church building. A messy, ugly, or unsafe church building will not be inviting to outsiders. Studies show that people are still drawn to clean and even beautiful church structures as places of worship. Therefore, it is foolish to have an unkempt building and grounds. How we care for the building and the grounds is an outward sign, at some level, of how much we believe that what we are doing is important, sacred, and worth our energy.
On the other hand, we must never make the cleanliness or perfection of the building be a concern that keeps us from ministry. A church building is a place of worship, but it is by no means the temple of the living God. The people are the church. The building is a facility in which the church often meets to take part in corporate worship. As such, the building is not the highest priority. Let us not protect the building so much that we refuse to use it for ministry. Like a good home, the building ought to have a clean, nice, and yet lived-in feel.
Finally, what about the church as a community. Just as we can become too protective of the building, not allowing potential dirtiness to enter it, so also can we become too closed as a community. As a church community, we must learn to be welcoming of the less fortunate, the down-trodden, the needy. We must not turn up our noses at sinners—for goodness’ sake, we are sinners—who express their need for help or grace; instead, let us become a place of healing. It has often been said that the church should be a hospital for wounded sinners and not a museum for perfect saints; such a statement is true, and we must learn to live it.
Where there are no oxen, the manger is clean,
but abundant crops come by the strength of the ox.
.
While it may not be true of every person you know, many people have lives that treasure being orderly. Many people love for their houses to be clean, their schedules to be kept, and their lives to be just so. For such people, when things are thrown off track, the consequences are quite difficult to handle.
This fact can be mirrored in churches. Many churches and their members love to have things very tidy, very neat, very clean. We come to the pristine sanctuary in our Sunday best. We love bulletins without spelling errors and sermons without flawed grammar. We look for well-played music, organized orders of worship, and timely beginnings and endings to everything. We all are willing to confess ourselves as sinners saved by grace, but very few of us indeed would ever dare to upset the apple cart by actually talking to another person in the church about our own faults, sins, and struggles. We love seeing the people we know, the people who are safe; and we cringe just a little when someone walks in who is not quite up to our standards of being shipshape.
The problem is, as we keep ourselves orderly, clean, and without mess, we find that our community dwindles, becomes sick, or perhaps even falls apart. We might develop one of the best-looking church services you could find in our town, but nothing looks different. None of our own show their brokenness. None of our own confess their sin. None of our own show their weakness in humility. And we certainly do not look upon it favorably when someone who is an outsider comes to us and airs his or her own dirty laundry.
The Ox and the Manger
Send into the scenario Proverbs 14:4, “Where there are no oxen, the manger is clean, but abundant crops come by the strength of the ox.” This may be an obscure proverb to you, but it will make sense rather quickly. Imagine that you are a farmer who loves a clean barn. You like your barn to be in order, tidy, without mess. How can you keep a truly clean barn. The best way to keep your barn spic and span is to not let any animals into it. So you sell off your oxen. You certainly do not need some smelly animal coming into your barn, messing on the floor and slobbering in the watering trough.
What’s the problem with the clean barn picture? When it comes time to work the fields, the farmer has no animal to pull his plow. Though oxen are messy, oxen are also the creatures necessary for accomplishing the work of farming for the farmer of yesterday. With a working team of oxen, the farmer can accomplish leaps and bounds more than he ever could have accomplished without them.
So, the farmer has a dilemma. On the one hand, he loves a clean barn. On the other, he wants to have a productive harvest. He must count the cost. And, if he is going to be a farmer who is worth anything, he is going to have to conclude that having a successful farm requires that he let his barn get a little messy. He must have oxen, or the farming business is simply not for him.
Tools for God’s Glory or Museums for Our Glory
Now, return to our own lives. I’m not suggesting that we turn the church into a smelly barn. I’m not suggesting that our homes ought to be messy. But what I am suggesting is that the church building and our homes ought to be places that are more designed for the work of God to be accomplished than they ought to be museums of our own glory. Let’s think of how this might apply in each area.
Your Home
First, let’s think of your home. You live there. You want it to be nice and presentable. Indeed you should want these things. But if your desire to make your home beautiful keeps you from using your home as a tool for ministry or as a place for family joy, you are missing the point. Wouldn’t you rather have the harvest of well-developed relationships and friendships and a loving family than you would have a “Better Homes and Gardens” worthy picture. Sure, you can strive to have a nice home, an inviting home, but do not let that consume you.
On the other hand, if you want your home to be a place where people will come and be ministered to, you need to have a home that is clean and inviting enough that people will feel comfortable in it. If when someone comes to your door, you have to clean a path for them to reach the sofa, you need to change that practice. If you are regularly too embarrassed to allow anyone into your home, you ought to do the work to make your home a vehicle for potential ministry. Remember, everything we have is to be a tool that we use to bring honor and glory to God; so make your home such a tool.
The Church
The church building is another place where we must take stock. Just as I ended the discussion on the home I will continue with the church building. A messy, ugly, or unsafe church building will not be inviting to outsiders. Studies show that people are still drawn to clean and even beautiful church structures as places of worship. Therefore, it is foolish to have an unkempt building and grounds. How we care for the building and the grounds is an outward sign, at some level, of how much we believe that what we are doing is important, sacred, and worth our energy.
On the other hand, we must never make the cleanliness or perfection of the building be a concern that keeps us from ministry. A church building is a place of worship, but it is by no means the temple of the living God. The people are the church. The building is a facility in which the church often meets to take part in corporate worship. As such, the building is not the highest priority. Let us not protect the building so much that we refuse to use it for ministry. Like a good home, the building ought to have a clean, nice, and yet lived-in feel.
Finally, what about the church as a community. Just as we can become too protective of the building, not allowing potential dirtiness to enter it, so also can we become too closed as a community. As a church community, we must learn to be welcoming of the less fortunate, the down-trodden, the needy. We must not turn up our noses at sinners—for goodness’ sake, we are sinners—who express their need for help or grace; instead, let us become a place of healing. It has often been said that the church should be a hospital for wounded sinners and not a museum for perfect saints; such a statement is true, and we must learn to live it.
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Preach the Word: A Must For Our Churches (2 Timothy 4:1-4)
2 Timothy 4:1-4 - 1 I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: 2 preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. 3 For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, 4 and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.
.
What does your church want for a pastor? Ministry-minded men, what kind of pastor do you want to be? If the answers to these two questions does not flow fairly quickly through 2 Timothy 4:1-4, there is something very wrong with your answer.
A Quick Look at the Passage
Paul sets up his call to Timothy with as much weight as he can muster. He charges Timothy to do something by all the greatest of thoughts. He charges Timothy by God the Father and his Son, Jesus—the Jesus who will return and judge. He charges Timothy in the light of Jesus’ appearing and Jesus’ kingdom to do one thing: preach the word.
To preach is to proclaim. Timothy is to proclaim something for all to hear. He is to proclaim the word, the perfect, inspired, God-breathed, useful (see 2 Timothy 3:16-17) word of God as it is found in the holy scriptures. Proclaiming the Bible and its teaching is Timothy’s job, and he must fulfill this task. Timothy is to do this work when it is easy and when it is hard, when it is well-received and when it is opposed.
Paul warns Timothy that a generation of people is on the way who will not willingly endure sound doctrine and solid, biblical preaching. No matter, Timothy is to preach anyway. They will want to hire men to say what makes them feel good, but Timothy is to preach the word. They will run away from God and turn to falsehoods, but Timothy is to keep going, keep preaching the word, whether they like it or not.
A Response for Pastors
If you are training to be a pastor or are simply a ministry-minded person, this text should lay the foundation for what you will do as you pursue the ministry. Perhaps you want to be a preacher. Perhaps you want to do music. Perhaps you are a youth minister. Perhaps you are a missionary in training. Perhaps you want to work with college students. Perhaps you want to simply comfort senior adults. Regardless what is your role, you are to preach the word. You are to bring the perfect, life-changing, all-sufficient word of God into the lives of those around you.
When you bring people the word, some people will love it and others will hate it. It does not matter how they respond, your job is still the same. You certainly do not want to offend a person by your personality, your style, or something not related to the scriptures; but if they are offended by the actual content of the Bible and not your presentation, you must keep preaching the word. Preach the word, not your own opinions. Preach the word, don’t just do little celebrity interviews. Preach the word, don’t give into the temptation to say that our society does not like preaching anymore. Preach the word, not some soft-sided imitation of the word. Preach the word, not psychology. Preach the word, not seven habits of whatever is new on the bookshelves. Preach the word, not simply ten tips for potty-training toddlers. Preach the word, preach it well, and preach it faithfully.
A Response for Church Members
If it is your pastor’s job to preach the word, it is your job to do two different things. First, your job is to hear the word. You are part of the flock to whom the pastor preaches. Listen, and listen well. When the word is opened to you, pay attention. Take notes. Welcome the speaking of God’s word into your life. Do not sit there trying to find someone to whom to apply these insights, fix them on your own life first. Do not seek to simply be entertained with fun stories and cute jokes, long for the pure, non-watered-down word of God.
Second, your job as a church member is to encourage, even demand, the preaching of the word. When your pastor brings the word to you, really the word and not something less, thank him. Don’t just say, “Nice sermon.” Instead, share with the pastor your genuine appreciation that he chose to open to you the word of God. When he brings you something less than the word, with much humility and charity encourage him to not hold back, not pander to the desires of the ungodly, not give into the advice of the world, but to truly preach the word.
Conclusion
Paul charged Timothy with all his might to preach the word. I believe that he would give us the same challenge. Our culture is not word-oriented. Many of our churches and their memberships are not fixed on scripture. But if we are to do what God calls us to do, we must be a people who thrive on and are centered on the word of God. Preach the word. Hear the word. Change as God changes you through the word. Let us become a people who truly love God’s holy word.
.
What does your church want for a pastor? Ministry-minded men, what kind of pastor do you want to be? If the answers to these two questions does not flow fairly quickly through 2 Timothy 4:1-4, there is something very wrong with your answer.
A Quick Look at the Passage
Paul sets up his call to Timothy with as much weight as he can muster. He charges Timothy to do something by all the greatest of thoughts. He charges Timothy by God the Father and his Son, Jesus—the Jesus who will return and judge. He charges Timothy in the light of Jesus’ appearing and Jesus’ kingdom to do one thing: preach the word.
To preach is to proclaim. Timothy is to proclaim something for all to hear. He is to proclaim the word, the perfect, inspired, God-breathed, useful (see 2 Timothy 3:16-17) word of God as it is found in the holy scriptures. Proclaiming the Bible and its teaching is Timothy’s job, and he must fulfill this task. Timothy is to do this work when it is easy and when it is hard, when it is well-received and when it is opposed.
Paul warns Timothy that a generation of people is on the way who will not willingly endure sound doctrine and solid, biblical preaching. No matter, Timothy is to preach anyway. They will want to hire men to say what makes them feel good, but Timothy is to preach the word. They will run away from God and turn to falsehoods, but Timothy is to keep going, keep preaching the word, whether they like it or not.
A Response for Pastors
If you are training to be a pastor or are simply a ministry-minded person, this text should lay the foundation for what you will do as you pursue the ministry. Perhaps you want to be a preacher. Perhaps you want to do music. Perhaps you are a youth minister. Perhaps you are a missionary in training. Perhaps you want to work with college students. Perhaps you want to simply comfort senior adults. Regardless what is your role, you are to preach the word. You are to bring the perfect, life-changing, all-sufficient word of God into the lives of those around you.
When you bring people the word, some people will love it and others will hate it. It does not matter how they respond, your job is still the same. You certainly do not want to offend a person by your personality, your style, or something not related to the scriptures; but if they are offended by the actual content of the Bible and not your presentation, you must keep preaching the word. Preach the word, not your own opinions. Preach the word, don’t just do little celebrity interviews. Preach the word, don’t give into the temptation to say that our society does not like preaching anymore. Preach the word, not some soft-sided imitation of the word. Preach the word, not psychology. Preach the word, not seven habits of whatever is new on the bookshelves. Preach the word, not simply ten tips for potty-training toddlers. Preach the word, preach it well, and preach it faithfully.
A Response for Church Members
If it is your pastor’s job to preach the word, it is your job to do two different things. First, your job is to hear the word. You are part of the flock to whom the pastor preaches. Listen, and listen well. When the word is opened to you, pay attention. Take notes. Welcome the speaking of God’s word into your life. Do not sit there trying to find someone to whom to apply these insights, fix them on your own life first. Do not seek to simply be entertained with fun stories and cute jokes, long for the pure, non-watered-down word of God.
Second, your job as a church member is to encourage, even demand, the preaching of the word. When your pastor brings the word to you, really the word and not something less, thank him. Don’t just say, “Nice sermon.” Instead, share with the pastor your genuine appreciation that he chose to open to you the word of God. When he brings you something less than the word, with much humility and charity encourage him to not hold back, not pander to the desires of the ungodly, not give into the advice of the world, but to truly preach the word.
Conclusion
Paul charged Timothy with all his might to preach the word. I believe that he would give us the same challenge. Our culture is not word-oriented. Many of our churches and their memberships are not fixed on scripture. But if we are to do what God calls us to do, we must be a people who thrive on and are centered on the word of God. Preach the word. Hear the word. Change as God changes you through the word. Let us become a people who truly love God’s holy word.
Did You Miss the Saddleback Forum?
If you did, you can read the transcript from CNN. This was an important event that truely helped to display both presidential candidates, their strengths, weaknesses,and differences.
http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0808/16/se.02.html
http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0808/16/se.02.html
Too Much Church?
Trey Graham writes a nice BP artticle on the danger of becoming too focused on living inside the "bubble" of church meetings. We need time to go an tell too.
http://www.bpnews.net/BPFirstPerson.asp?ID=28721
http://www.bpnews.net/BPFirstPerson.asp?ID=28721
Monday, August 18, 2008
Me onTraining
It's a special sort of sickness that is present when one begins to quote himself. However, since the blogosphere is ripe for self-agrandisement, I will let you know that a post of mine has been posted at SurvigSeminary.com. The post is on training for godliness.
http://seminarysurvivalguide.com/2008/08/18/train-for-godliness-at-seminary/
http://seminarysurvivalguide.com/2008/08/18/train-for-godliness-at-seminary/
MacArthur on Church Music
MacArthur shares some excellent thoughts on why our worship music has become so dangerously shallow.
http://www.sfpulpit.com/2008/08/17/style-or-substance/
http://www.sfpulpit.com/2008/08/17/style-or-substance/
Is God Punishing Me?
If you have ever wondered if God was punishing you as a Christian when you went through difficulties, you simply must read John Bloom's post on the topic from DG.
I really recommend this article; it's an excellent read.
http://www.desiringgod.org/Blog/1349_Is_God_Punishing_Me/
I really recommend this article; it's an excellent read.
http://www.desiringgod.org/Blog/1349_Is_God_Punishing_Me/
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Nice Post on Why Children Lie
This article sheds light on why children lie. It's worth the read (and not just for parents; it tells us about ourselves too).
http://shepherding.typepad.com/my_weblog/2008/08/why-children-li.html
http://shepherding.typepad.com/my_weblog/2008/08/why-children-li.html
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Piper on Suffering and Treasuring Christ
Suffering is God’s design in this sin-soaked world (Romans 8:20). It portrays sin’s horror for the world to see. It punishes sin’s guilt for those who do not believe in Christ. It breaks sin’s power for those who take up their cross and follow Jesus. And because sin is the belittling of the all-satisfying glory of God, the suffering that breaks its power is a severe mercy.
Whatever makes us more and more able to enjoy making much of God is a mercy. For there is no greater joy than joy in the greatness of God. And if we must suffer to see this and savor it most deeply, then suffering is a mercy. And Christ’s call to take up our cross and join him on the Calvary road is love (62).
**
It is good to work and have. It is better to work and have in order to give. God’s glory shines more brightly when he satisfies us in times of loss than when he provides for us in times of plenty. The health, wealth, and prosperity “gospel” swallows up the beauty of Christ in the beauty of his gifts and turns the gifts into idols. The world is not impressed when Christians get rich and say thanks to God. They are impressed when God is so satisfying that we give our riches away for Christ’s sake and count it gain (72).
From: John Piper. Don’t Waste Your Life. Wheton, IL: Crossway, 2003.
Whatever makes us more and more able to enjoy making much of God is a mercy. For there is no greater joy than joy in the greatness of God. And if we must suffer to see this and savor it most deeply, then suffering is a mercy. And Christ’s call to take up our cross and join him on the Calvary road is love (62).
**
It is good to work and have. It is better to work and have in order to give. God’s glory shines more brightly when he satisfies us in times of loss than when he provides for us in times of plenty. The health, wealth, and prosperity “gospel” swallows up the beauty of Christ in the beauty of his gifts and turns the gifts into idols. The world is not impressed when Christians get rich and say thanks to God. They are impressed when God is so satisfying that we give our riches away for Christ’s sake and count it gain (72).
From: John Piper. Don’t Waste Your Life. Wheton, IL: Crossway, 2003.
MacArthur on Killing Sin (Part 3)
This is the final installment from MacArthur on killing the sin in your own life. You can find links to the other two below.
http://www.sfpulpit.com/2008/08/13/killing-the-sin-in-your-life-part-3/
http://www.sfpulpit.com/2008/08/13/killing-the-sin-in-your-life-part-3/
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
New Family Photo Site for the Petersons
Mitzi is now putting family pics at
http://mitzipeterson.blogspot.com/
So, for you who want to keep up with us, this is the place to check. Her Xanga site is gone.
http://mitzipeterson.blogspot.com/
So, for you who want to keep up with us, this is the place to check. Her Xanga site is gone.
Resources for Women from Titus 2 Talk
Here is a nice list of resources for women from the Titus 2 Talk blog.
http://titus2talk.blogspot.com/2008/08/home-work.html
http://titus2talk.blogspot.com/2008/08/home-work.html
Universalism at Funerals (BP)
J. Gerald Harris writes a compelling article on the necessary difficulty of not preaching non-
Christians into heaven.
http://www.bpnews.net/BPFirstPerson.asp?ID=28666
Christians into heaven.
http://www.bpnews.net/BPFirstPerson.asp?ID=28666
Nathan Finn on Baptism (Helpful Introduction)
In his series on Baptist beliefs, Nathan Finn offers a very simple and helpful introduction to doctrine of baptism.
http://betweenthetimes.com/2008/08/12/identification-with-the-gospel-believers-baptism-by-immersion/
http://betweenthetimes.com/2008/08/12/identification-with-the-gospel-believers-baptism-by-immersion/
MacArthur on Killing Sin (Part 2)
This is the second installment in John MacArthur's series on killing sin in our personal lives.
http://www.sfpulpit.com/2008/08/12/killing-the-sin-in-your-life-part-2/
http://www.sfpulpit.com/2008/08/12/killing-the-sin-in-your-life-part-2/
Monday, August 11, 2008
Wells on Who Grows the Church
Great thoughts from David Wells, The Courage to Be Protestant, page 247.
Letting God be God over his church, seeing him as its center and
glory, its source and its life, is a truly liberating experience. It liberates
us from thinking that we have to do, in ourselves, what we are entirely
incapable of doing. That is, growing the church. We cannot do the work
that only God can do. We can work in the church, preach and teach,
spread the gospel, encourage and urge each other on, but we cannot
impart new life. Nor can we ever sanctify the church. Indeed, we cannot
even feed the church. It is God who supplies the food; we are simply
called upon to serve it (1 Cor. 3:5). This, however, is precisely why Paul
says, a little later, that “we do not lose heart” (2 Cor. 4:1, 16) but are “confident”
(3:4; cf. 5:6).
While all of this is conventional enough, it is not common enough
in evangelical churches. Lip service is paid to these ideas, but when we
get really serious about “doing church” we turn to what we know best.
We turn to structures and programs, appearances and management,
advertising and marketing. Our preoccupation is with what we do
and therefore with what we control.
This is what animates the conversation
among evangelical leaders, what fills the pages of magazines like Leadership,
and what attracts pastors to the really big, important conferences.
This is what they are willing to pay serious money to hear.
Alas! It is missing the point, if I may say so. What is of primary interest
in a technological world is technique, for that, after all, is how we
manage everything else. In the kingdom of God things are different. It
is not that we do not do things, but that our doing is rooted in our being.
Who we are is more fundamental than what we do.
Character is more basic than action. Being mastered by God is infinitely more important
than having the know-how to manage the church.
Letting God be God over his church, seeing him as its center and
glory, its source and its life, is a truly liberating experience. It liberates
us from thinking that we have to do, in ourselves, what we are entirely
incapable of doing. That is, growing the church. We cannot do the work
that only God can do. We can work in the church, preach and teach,
spread the gospel, encourage and urge each other on, but we cannot
impart new life. Nor can we ever sanctify the church. Indeed, we cannot
even feed the church. It is God who supplies the food; we are simply
called upon to serve it (1 Cor. 3:5). This, however, is precisely why Paul
says, a little later, that “we do not lose heart” (2 Cor. 4:1, 16) but are “confident”
(3:4; cf. 5:6).
While all of this is conventional enough, it is not common enough
in evangelical churches. Lip service is paid to these ideas, but when we
get really serious about “doing church” we turn to what we know best.
We turn to structures and programs, appearances and management,
advertising and marketing. Our preoccupation is with what we do
and therefore with what we control.
This is what animates the conversation
among evangelical leaders, what fills the pages of magazines like Leadership,
and what attracts pastors to the really big, important conferences.
This is what they are willing to pay serious money to hear.
Alas! It is missing the point, if I may say so. What is of primary interest
in a technological world is technique, for that, after all, is how we
manage everything else. In the kingdom of God things are different. It
is not that we do not do things, but that our doing is rooted in our being.
Who we are is more fundamental than what we do.
Character is more basic than action. Being mastered by God is infinitely more important
than having the know-how to manage the church.
Working for Christians (1 Timothy 6:2)
1 Timothy 6:2 - Those who have believing masters must not be disrespectful on the ground that they are brothers; rather they must serve all the better since those who benefit by their good service are believers and beloved.
Teach and urge these things.
.
I’ve seen it before. I’ve probably done it before. But I know that it is despicable. What? 1 Timothy 6:2 reminds us that we ought never use the faith of another believer to empower us to treat them with less respect than they deserve.
Paul is writing to Timothy about all sorts of life issues when he turns to the issues of masters and their servants. He commands servants to serve their earthly masters well. Then he calls Christian servants not to shirk work on their Christian masters simply because their masters are Christians. Paul can picture the servants rationalizing, “Well, he’s a believer. He will give me grace. He won’t fire me. He won’t punish me. He has to forgive.”
So, with this verse in mind, let me call us to something here. Christians, serve everybody with true character and righteousness. Do your work well. And if you are serving believers, serve all the more. Do not devalue somebody simply because they are a part of your family in Christ. Instead, work even harder for believers so that you can display your love and respect for them as children of God. Let us show the world that we truly love one another and are truly Jesus’ disciples (John 13:35).
Teach and urge these things.
.
I’ve seen it before. I’ve probably done it before. But I know that it is despicable. What? 1 Timothy 6:2 reminds us that we ought never use the faith of another believer to empower us to treat them with less respect than they deserve.
Paul is writing to Timothy about all sorts of life issues when he turns to the issues of masters and their servants. He commands servants to serve their earthly masters well. Then he calls Christian servants not to shirk work on their Christian masters simply because their masters are Christians. Paul can picture the servants rationalizing, “Well, he’s a believer. He will give me grace. He won’t fire me. He won’t punish me. He has to forgive.”
So, with this verse in mind, let me call us to something here. Christians, serve everybody with true character and righteousness. Do your work well. And if you are serving believers, serve all the more. Do not devalue somebody simply because they are a part of your family in Christ. Instead, work even harder for believers so that you can display your love and respect for them as children of God. Let us show the world that we truly love one another and are truly Jesus’ disciples (John 13:35).
MacArthur on Killing Sin
Helpful comments from John MacArthur on how to kill personal sin in you rlife.
Step 1: Recognize your sin.
http://www.sfpulpit.com/2008/08/11/killing-the-sin-in-your-life-part-1/
Step 1: Recognize your sin.
http://www.sfpulpit.com/2008/08/11/killing-the-sin-in-your-life-part-1/
Friday, August 08, 2008
So Much Free Piper
In case you haven't looked lately, you can download over 30 books by John Piper for free on his web site. These are worth your attention.
http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/OnlineBooks/ByTitle/
http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/OnlineBooks/ByTitle/
Deceptive Statistics in Baseball and Beyond
Jeff Gordon, "Good news, bad news ... and more questions for Cards". 6 August 2008. Accessed 8 August 008, available from http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/sports/columnists.nsf/jeffgordon/story/DD51A464874902FA8625749D00532BEF?OpenDocument
"By the way, here is why you should digest all statistics with a grain of salt: Franklin got a blown save for allowing the game-tying sacrifice fly. And Isringhausen got a “hold” for retiring one of six batters. How stupid is that?)"
***
Jeff Gordon makes a great case for why we ought not assume that statistics in baseball tell the real story. And, as you can see, he has a good case. My question is, what about other statistics?
There are 16 million southern Baptists.
There are 6 million in church on Sunday.
Boy, statistics aren’t truly trustworthy are they?
Let’s do our part to make this better.
"By the way, here is why you should digest all statistics with a grain of salt: Franklin got a blown save for allowing the game-tying sacrifice fly. And Isringhausen got a “hold” for retiring one of six batters. How stupid is that?)"
***
Jeff Gordon makes a great case for why we ought not assume that statistics in baseball tell the real story. And, as you can see, he has a good case. My question is, what about other statistics?
There are 16 million southern Baptists.
There are 6 million in church on Sunday.
Boy, statistics aren’t truly trustworthy are they?
Let’s do our part to make this better.
A Brief Thought on Politics (Ezra 7:27-28; Proverbs 21:1)
Ezra 7:27-28 - 27 Blessed be the Lord, the God of our fathers, who put such a thing as this into the heart of the king, to beautify the house of the Lord that is in Jerusalem, 28 and who extended to me his steadfast love before the king and his counselors, and before all the king’s mighty officers. I took courage, for the hand of the Lord my God was on me, and I gathered leading men from Israel to go up with me.
Proverbs 21:1
The king’s heart is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord;
he turns it wherever he will.
.
What should a Christian do with politics? If a particular person becomes president, ought we to retire in dread of the doom that awaits us? Ought we to spend all our energies to attempt to insure that the right kind of person is elected? Is the election of the wrong kind of man a sure sign of the judgment and wrath of God?
Praise God for the little book of Ezra. Tucked away behind the historical books of 1-2 Kings and 1-2 Chronicles is a record of the return of the exiles of Judah from Babylon. The nation had been captured, taken away from their land, totally conquered. How sad and hopeless a situation this was. But, within seventy years of the original captivity, God did something amazing in the heart of a foreign king.
God redirected the heart of a man who had no reason to do anything kind for the Jews. God put in place a ruler who would send the captives back to Judah. Not only did God put in place such a ruler who would allow the return of the exiles, but he also established in this ruler’s heart to command—not allow but command—the rebuilding of the temple of God. Then, if that all wasn’t enough, God also set in the king’s mind that the royal treasury ought to foot the bill for the temple’s rebuilding.
What should we do with politics? For sure, I believe that we should be responsible citizens who do all in our power to establish principles of righteousness in our society. But I also am not willing to assume that, if my particular candidate does not get elected, doom is sure to follow. The hearts of rulers are in God’s hands. Who knows that God will not allow the worst possible candidate to come into office for the mere purpose of changing that man’s heart into a heart of character. Let us not stress ourselves to the point of sickness over an upcoming election. Instead, let us pray that God will show his mighty hand by directing our nation and its leaders toward his glory.
Proverbs 21:1
The king’s heart is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord;
he turns it wherever he will.
.
What should a Christian do with politics? If a particular person becomes president, ought we to retire in dread of the doom that awaits us? Ought we to spend all our energies to attempt to insure that the right kind of person is elected? Is the election of the wrong kind of man a sure sign of the judgment and wrath of God?
Praise God for the little book of Ezra. Tucked away behind the historical books of 1-2 Kings and 1-2 Chronicles is a record of the return of the exiles of Judah from Babylon. The nation had been captured, taken away from their land, totally conquered. How sad and hopeless a situation this was. But, within seventy years of the original captivity, God did something amazing in the heart of a foreign king.
God redirected the heart of a man who had no reason to do anything kind for the Jews. God put in place a ruler who would send the captives back to Judah. Not only did God put in place such a ruler who would allow the return of the exiles, but he also established in this ruler’s heart to command—not allow but command—the rebuilding of the temple of God. Then, if that all wasn’t enough, God also set in the king’s mind that the royal treasury ought to foot the bill for the temple’s rebuilding.
What should we do with politics? For sure, I believe that we should be responsible citizens who do all in our power to establish principles of righteousness in our society. But I also am not willing to assume that, if my particular candidate does not get elected, doom is sure to follow. The hearts of rulers are in God’s hands. Who knows that God will not allow the worst possible candidate to come into office for the mere purpose of changing that man’s heart into a heart of character. Let us not stress ourselves to the point of sickness over an upcoming election. Instead, let us pray that God will show his mighty hand by directing our nation and its leaders toward his glory.
Thursday, August 07, 2008
Mahaney on Art Monk
I'm not often given to the "Look, a pro ball player is claiming to be a believer" stories; but this one looks to have some truth. If you read Art Monk's words you'll see what an athlete's testimony should sound like.
http://www.sovereigngraceministries.org/Blog/post/Art-Monk.aspx
http://www.sovereigngraceministries.org/Blog/post/Art-Monk.aspx
Wednesday, August 06, 2008
Hermeneutics and Children's Curriculum by John Walton
This is an outstanding little article calling us to watch out for a set of common errors in biblical interpretation present in many children's Bible lessons. If you teach children, it is a must-read.
http://zondervan.typepad.com/koinonia/2008/08/hermeneutics-an.html
http://zondervan.typepad.com/koinonia/2008/08/hermeneutics-an.html
Back Up Your Files!
I heard the crack of thunder so clearly that I jumped while in bed. The storm had been present for a few minutes, but the sound I heard on Tuesday night of last week was so loud, so close, I knew that something had to have been hit. Indeed it was. Some part of the church building, just across the creek from our home, had been struck by lightning.
ON Wednesday, my family and I decided to head south to be with my mom and dad for a few days. I ran by the office, picked up my laptop from my desk, and jumped in the van. As we drove past the city limits of our tiny town, I opened up my lovely little Dell XPS 1330, and pressed the power button. Nothing happened. Nothing. Absolutely nothing. Nothing whatsoever.
After a few different methods of trying to get something out of my laptop, and several minutes on the phone with tech support, I found that Dell was going to send a techie by my house to install a new motherboard in my laptop. And so I sat, from Wednesday evening through Tuesday morning of the next week, hoping and praying that God would have spared the data on my hard drive, as I had been lax in backing up my computer.
Praise be to God, on Tuesday, a nice man came to my home at 7:30 AM, installed the new motherboard, and had my computer up and running by 9:00. All my data is safe. Since then, my wife and I have carefully made sure that all of my data is safely stored on burnable CDs, a very simple way to backup any PC.
God’s word tells us that the companion of wise people will himself grow wise. Part of being wise is to learn from the mistakes and foibles of others. So, as one computer user to another, I offer this counsel from my newly found wisdom. Backup your PC! You must not allow yourself to ever wonder, should anything ever get to your computer, should the surge protector fail, are your files OK. It takes little time and effort, but the peace of mind is worthwhile. Backup your files.
ON Wednesday, my family and I decided to head south to be with my mom and dad for a few days. I ran by the office, picked up my laptop from my desk, and jumped in the van. As we drove past the city limits of our tiny town, I opened up my lovely little Dell XPS 1330, and pressed the power button. Nothing happened. Nothing. Absolutely nothing. Nothing whatsoever.
After a few different methods of trying to get something out of my laptop, and several minutes on the phone with tech support, I found that Dell was going to send a techie by my house to install a new motherboard in my laptop. And so I sat, from Wednesday evening through Tuesday morning of the next week, hoping and praying that God would have spared the data on my hard drive, as I had been lax in backing up my computer.
Praise be to God, on Tuesday, a nice man came to my home at 7:30 AM, installed the new motherboard, and had my computer up and running by 9:00. All my data is safe. Since then, my wife and I have carefully made sure that all of my data is safely stored on burnable CDs, a very simple way to backup any PC.
God’s word tells us that the companion of wise people will himself grow wise. Part of being wise is to learn from the mistakes and foibles of others. So, as one computer user to another, I offer this counsel from my newly found wisdom. Backup your PC! You must not allow yourself to ever wonder, should anything ever get to your computer, should the surge protector fail, are your files OK. It takes little time and effort, but the peace of mind is worthwhile. Backup your files.
Does Fear Mean Fear? (Proverbs 1:7)
Proverbs 1:7
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge;
fools despise wisdom and instruction.
.
How often we do everything we can as Christians to deny the truth of Proverbs 1:7. Now, of course, we conservative, Bible-believing Baptists would never out-and-out deny that this verse is true. The problem is, we deny that the word fear has any meaning akin to the word fear—as in to be afraid, frightened, terrified, etc. Instead, we tell one another that the word means a healthy respect for and reverence for something or someone.
Let me challenge this notion, however, with one simple thought: we would live better if fear meant fear. I’m not trying to deny the fact that perfect love drives out fear as John tells us (1 John 4:18). Nor am I trying to argue that Christians ought to live as though we fear God’s punishment, since our punishment has been fully carried out upon Christ. I’m also not saying that we should fear that God would somehow treat us differently than his word promises. IF one is in Christ, there is no longer any fear of facing God’s wrath.
But, is there not something in the middle ground between the two extremes of what fear must mean? Is there not something that is a little more akin to the right fear that God is due that is at the same time stronger than a simple respect for him? Perhaps I’m just splitting hairs here. Perhaps this is all semantics. But there has to be something more, something stronger than what we live with in common Christian circles that still does not deny that we are totally free and totally forgiven in Christ.
Let me say it this way: If we understand fear, we will live differently. Even if that fear is not the same as fear of punishment, fear of God will lead a person to live differently. No Christian who is living with a proper fear of God will live in bold and willful sin. No Christian will shrug off his or her ungodly behavior as though it is no big deal before the Lord. No Christian will live a life that lacks reverence, propriety, holiness, awe, respectfulness, wholesome speech, high standards, etc. who at the same time lives with a proper fear of God.
How should this come out in my life? I’m still working on it. But I know that it must come out differently than a simplistic shrugging away the concept of fear as something that must not apply to me. Even if I live in confidence that the Lord has truly and totally forgiven me in Christ, I must also live a life that looks as though I both love and fear my God. While love drives away the fear of punishment, it must not drive away the fear of offending my Lord.
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge;
fools despise wisdom and instruction.
.
How often we do everything we can as Christians to deny the truth of Proverbs 1:7. Now, of course, we conservative, Bible-believing Baptists would never out-and-out deny that this verse is true. The problem is, we deny that the word fear has any meaning akin to the word fear—as in to be afraid, frightened, terrified, etc. Instead, we tell one another that the word means a healthy respect for and reverence for something or someone.
Let me challenge this notion, however, with one simple thought: we would live better if fear meant fear. I’m not trying to deny the fact that perfect love drives out fear as John tells us (1 John 4:18). Nor am I trying to argue that Christians ought to live as though we fear God’s punishment, since our punishment has been fully carried out upon Christ. I’m also not saying that we should fear that God would somehow treat us differently than his word promises. IF one is in Christ, there is no longer any fear of facing God’s wrath.
But, is there not something in the middle ground between the two extremes of what fear must mean? Is there not something that is a little more akin to the right fear that God is due that is at the same time stronger than a simple respect for him? Perhaps I’m just splitting hairs here. Perhaps this is all semantics. But there has to be something more, something stronger than what we live with in common Christian circles that still does not deny that we are totally free and totally forgiven in Christ.
Let me say it this way: If we understand fear, we will live differently. Even if that fear is not the same as fear of punishment, fear of God will lead a person to live differently. No Christian who is living with a proper fear of God will live in bold and willful sin. No Christian will shrug off his or her ungodly behavior as though it is no big deal before the Lord. No Christian will live a life that lacks reverence, propriety, holiness, awe, respectfulness, wholesome speech, high standards, etc. who at the same time lives with a proper fear of God.
How should this come out in my life? I’m still working on it. But I know that it must come out differently than a simplistic shrugging away the concept of fear as something that must not apply to me. Even if I live in confidence that the Lord has truly and totally forgiven me in Christ, I must also live a life that looks as though I both love and fear my God. While love drives away the fear of punishment, it must not drive away the fear of offending my Lord.
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