Prophecy and Evangelism

As I've shared before, the opportunity to hear someone else preach is a joy and special privilege to me. When I go on vacation, I spend a good amount of time researching churches in the area (wherever we'll be) to find a place for my family and me to worship on the Lord's Day. I had the experience recently. We were going to have the opportunity to visit another congregation, and I had one in mind. The pastor, I knew, ran on a similar theological path as myself, and the church was small (those are my two main criteria). We enjoyed our visit. The membership was friendly, the music had meaning (and was not overbearing or overly dramatic), and there was the reading of Scripture during the service outside of the preaching of the sermon. The sermon itself was rooted in the text, which I appreciate. The preacher's outline followed the structure of the Scripture. There was a huge, glaring problem, however: there was no Gospel, no Jesus in the message.
I've been reading 1 Peter 1 this week in my personal devotion, rejoicing in the Trinity's revelation in 1:2, the benediction unto "a living hope" in 1:3, the thickness of glory (1:7,8,11,21,24; 2:12; 4:11,13,14,16; 5:1,4,10,11), the importance of obedience (1:2,14,22), revelation (1:5,7,13), etc. I've thought a lot about the Old Testament (1:10-12a) and the New Testament (1:12b) and the tandem role they play in the Lord's work in causing us to be born again. The Old Testament "prophets...prophesied of the grace that" has come to us. They had revelation from "the Spirit of Christ" concerning "the sufferings of Christ and the glories to follow." The Old Testament Prophets were "seeking" greater understanding of these things even as they received revelation of them. For Isaiah through Malachi, knowing the Gospel of Jesus Christ was a hungry obsession that caused them to have an "it's not enough" attitude when the Holy Spirit used them to write that great division of the Old Testament. They wanted the Good News, and they weren't the only ones - this revelation pointed toward "things into which angels long to look." How could you preach from the Prophets without even a hint of this longing?
When I've had opportunity to teach a preaching course, I have advised this discipline: however you construct the sermon (paper or computer), and no matter what your style of writing the outline/manuscript is, start with the cross. Ask yourself, "where is the Gospel in this text, and where will it be in the sermon?" Have Jesus as your ultimate goal. You will study context, history, primary message, etc., but don't forget the Prophet's passion: seeking the fullness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Let his passion, driven by the inspiration of the "Spirit of Christ," be your inspiration.
Peter while preaching to the household of Cornelius in Caesarea, ends his sermon with this statement: "Of Him all the prophets bear witness that through His name everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins" (Acts 10:43). "All the prophets," the apostle said. All of them. I won't quote all of Luke 24:44-49 to you, but you should read it yourself regularly to be reminded of the focus of the Old Testament. "The Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms," Jesus teaches, gives us the foundation for the death and resurrection of Jesus, but also the promise and commission of a global Gospel proclamation and the filling of the Holy Spirit. All of it, Jesus teaches, is found in the Old Testament. Just as the Prophets inquired from the Spirit of Christ for more of the Gospel, we should inquire of the Old Testament (a book written by the Spirit of Christ) for the Gospel for which they longed.
My thought, as the brother behind the pulpit preached a sermon faithfully anchored to the text (but missing the text's goal), was Jesus' statement, "you search the Scriptures [of the Old Testament] because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that testify about Me" (John 5:39).
Paul (and everyone else in that first generation of the new covenant) evangelized from "both the Law of Moses and from the Prophets" concerning Jesus (Acts 28:23). Can we do the same?
O beloved, don't ever, ever, ever miss the point of the Book. It's about Him. It's not about Israel, and it's not about the geopolitical events of today, and it's not primarily about me. It's about Jesus. The sacred desk behind which I preach to a small congregation in the afternoon of the Lord's Day has John 12:21 in sticky-backed letters (a few missing) where only the preacher can see it: "Sir, we would see Jesus." We cannot ever grow past this as preachers and teachers. If we are to endeavor to open the Book before the people, then show them Jesus.

* * * * * * *
I'm currently reading Who Shall Ascend the Mountain of the Lord?: A Biblical Theology of the Book of Leviticus. If I could only keep a small portion of the books in my library, this would be one of them. Morales doesn't just give us great material about Leviticus, but also a helpful vision of the Pentateuch and the whole Bible itself. I highly recommend it. It will enrich your understand of the great Book deeply.

The Law, Prophets, and a Lesson About Gathering

“And you will say to them, ‘Thus says the LORD, “If you will not listen to Me, to walk in My law [תורה] which I have set before you, to listen to the words of My servants the prophets, whom I have been sending to you again and again, but you have not listened; then I will make this house like Shiloh, and this city I will make a curse to all the nations of the earth”’” (Jeremiah 26:4-6).

Ask most people what prophets do, and they will tell you that prophets foretell the future. I have been convinced for a long time that such an understanding of the prophets and biblical prophecy misses a crucial message of the biblical Prophets (and those who echo them in the New Testament). I contend that the Prophets applied the Law of Moses to their audiences in the power and inspiration of the Holy Spirit. They communicated using language meant to move hard hearts – powerful language with dramatic imagery and edgy language. Their “future telling,” when it is present at all (not nearly as often as we’ve grown accustomed to think), is merely an application of the curses for covenant violation in the Law (Leviticus 26; Deuteronomy 28). The Law promised invasion by a foreign army and deportation. The Prophets, in seeing covenant violation among the people, promised this would come. And it did.

Learning one thing revolutionized my reading of the Bible, and that one thing is seeing parallelism.[1] The Hebrew language is not highly technical (like Greek) – the Old Testament writers say one thing several different ways to further illuminate their meaning.

Consider this parallelism:

• “...listen to Me, to walk in My law [תורה] which I have set before you...”
• “...to listen to the words of My servants the prophets, whom I have been sending to you again and again...”

Both of these phrases are introduced with the verb “listen” (שמע), setting up the parallelism as clear as possible for us. Both “law” and “the words of My servants the prophets” are the words of the LORD to His covenant people.

From the standpoint of the doctrine of the Bible, the Law is foundational. The New Testament shows us the Lord Jesus and His apostles continually citing the Law as authoritative teaching. The Prophets of the Old Testament rely on the Law in the same way. There is no fullness to your understanding of later passages of Scripture if you aren’t familiar with what came before. Sadly, most people’s reading of the Prophets leans forward rather than backward. I find the same to be true in most attempts to interpret Revelation.

The LORD, speaking through Jeremiah, places His Law and Prophets in parallelism.

False prophets do not speak the words of the LORD (applying His Law), but speak their own words. “Do not listen to the words of the prophets who are prophesying to you. They are leading you into futility; they speak a vision of their own imagination, not from the mouth of the LORD” (23:16). “‘Behold, I am against the prophets,’ declares the LORD, ‘who use their tongues and declare, “The Lord declares”’” (23:31).

Prophecy is the Spirit-empowered application of the Law to the lives of God’s people with the goal of moving them to repentance from their sin before the Lord. I would use this definition for most of New Testament “prophecy,” as well (especially as described in Romans 12:6; 1 Corinthians 12,14; Ephesians 4:11). We would put it under the category “preaching” these days, though the Bible seems to have parsed the categories of prophetic preaching of the Law for conviction, evangelistic preaching of the Gospel for the giving of grace (to believers and non-believers), and the teaching/explanation of the Bible. We need all of these in our spiritual diet continually.

The “Prophets” of the Old Testament are inerrant and inspired, and serve as models/examples for preachers in the Church. We are, as part of our calling, preach the commands of God, leaning on the Holy Spirit’s help, to move the people of God to repentance and obedience...and we are to do this without abandoning the giving of the grace of the Gospel or the explanation of the meaning and theology of the text.

It is foolish to believe we can accomplish this in a 15-minute talk filled with anecdotes and stories. It is woefully naive to believe attending the gathering of the Church for one hour a week can adequately fill the God-intended purpose of teachers/preachers in the Church. Does your Church have an evening service, a mid-week Bible study, other small groups that study the Word? Are you a part? These are the means by which God speaks His Word to His people through the power of His Holy Spirit.

We need to be convicted unto repentance and obedience, fed grace unto communion with God in Christ, and trained in the nature, character, ways, and thoughts of God through the explanation of His Word. This cannot happen without giving time to the corporate times in the Word. Commit and get involved. It’s not a matter of not having enough time...you’re reading this, aren’t you? If you’re reading this, you’re probably reading a lot of other stuff online. How many hours of online time are you spending a week compared to gathering with Spirit-filled believers to get into God’s Word together? We fool ourselves by complaining there’s not enough time.

He has given the Law and Prophets, the Gospel and Apostles. We need this more than anything else, and He has purposed that we receive and grow in His Word together.

Let’s get to it.

---

[1] This book was helpful when I was first learning this principle.

The Ancient Paths Lead to Jesus...and Rest

“Thus says the LORD,

‘Stand by the ways and see and ask for the ancient paths,

Where the good way is, and walk in it;

And you will find rest for your souls’” (Jeremiah 6:16).

“At that time Jesus said, ‘I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and have revealed them to infants. Yes, Father, for this way was well-pleasing in Your sight. All things have been handed over to Me by My Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father; nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son wills to reveal Him. Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and [as it is written in Jeremiah 6:16] you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light’” (Matthew 11:25-30).

So, are the prophet and Lord in conflict over where rest is to be found for our souls? Is it looking back to the “ancient paths,” or looking to “the Son” alone?

When we read the entirety of Matthew 11, I think we find that there is no conflict between Jeremiah and Jesus. Earlier in the chapter, John the Baptist sent his disciples to inquire as to whether or not Jesus is the long-awaited Messiah. Jesus highlights Himself by pointing to the “ancient paths.”

“Jesus answered and said to them, ‘Go and report to John what you hear and see: [as is says in Isaiah 35:4-6; 42:6,7; 61:1-3] the blind receive sight and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the Gospel preached to them. And blessed is he who does not take offense at Me’” (11:4-6).

After this compilation of Isaiah quotes (that point to Jesus Himself), Jesus then goes back to the “ancient paths” to describe His forerunner, John the Baptist: “This is the one about whom it is written [in Isaiah 40:3; Malachi 3:1], ‘Behold, I send My messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way before You’” (11:10).

And then He continues: “For all the prophets and the Law [the Old Testament!] prophesied until John. And if you are willing to accept it, John himself is Elijah [foretold in Malachi 4:5] who was to come” (11:13,14).

Jesus doesn’t just look to the “ancient paths” for promises of His own coming, but utilizes the examples of the past to show God’s righteous judgment and the greater stakes in His visitation: “Then He began to denounce the cities in which most of His miracles were done, because they did not repent. ‘Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles had occurred in Tyre and Sidon which occurred in you, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. Nevertheless I say to you, it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the day of judgment than for you. And you, Capernaum, will not be exalted to heaven, will you? You will descend to Hades; for if the miracles had occurred in Sodom which occurred in you, it would have remained to this day. Nevertheless I say to you that it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment, than for you’” (11:20-24).

There is no conflict between Jeremiah and Jesus. The “ancient paths” to which Jeremiah points lead us to Jesus, in Whom alone we “find rest for your souls.”

The response of Jeremiah’s generation was, “we will not walk in it” (6:16). And they were judged (as was Jesus’ generation).

What is your response? A day is coming...and we have proof in what has come before. Turn to Jesus alone for your soul's rest and salvation.