Inside=Life/Outside=Death

“It is actually reported that there is immorality among you, and immorality of such a kind as does not exist even among the Gentiles, that someone has his father’s wife” (1 Corinthians 5:1).

It may not have existed among the Gentiles, but it was an ancient sin warned against in the Law of Moses under the old covenant. Take careful note of the punishment.

• “You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father’s wife; it is your father’s nakedness...for whoever does any of these abominations, those persons who do so shall be cut off from among their people” (Leviticus 18:8,29).
• “If there is a man who lies with his father’s wife, he has uncovered his father’s nakedness; both of them shall surely be put to death, their bloodguiltiness is upon them” (Leviticus 20:11). The sentence, “surely be put to death” (מות־יומתו), is an echo of the curse of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil (תמות מות, Genesis 2:17).
• “A man shall not take his father’s wife so that he will not uncover his father’s skirt” (Deuteronomy 22:30).
• “‘Cursed is he who lies with his father’s wife, because he has uncovered his father’s skirt.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen’” (Deuteronomy 27:20).

The punishment is to “be cut off from among [the] people,” “cursed,” which is to “be put to death.”

Now compare this punishment to the new covenant discipline mandated by the apostle Paul:

• “You have become arrogant and have not mourned instead, so that the one who had done this deed would be removed from your midst” (1 Corinthians 5:2).
• “In the name of our Lord Jesus, when you are assembled, and I with you in spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus, I have decided to deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of his flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus” (5:4,5).
• “But actually, I wrote to you not to associate with any so-called brother if he is an immoral person, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or a swindler - not even to eat with such a one. For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Do you not judge those who are within the church? But those who are outside, God judges. Remove the wicked man from among yourselves” (5:11-13; compare this last sentence with Deuteronomy 13:5; 17:7; 21:21; 22:21,22,24).

Being “cut off from among [the] people” in the old covenant meant death. In the new covenant it means excommunication. What does this say about membership in the congregation as the place of life? To be outside the gathering of the Church is a living death. Is your view of the local Church (for this is undoubtedly who Paul is addressing – it stretches believability to think he is speaking to the universal Church) this lofty? Inside, life. Outside, death.*

There is, of course, a profound difference between the old/new covenant with regards to capital punishment/excommunication. There is grace and mercy extended to those excommunicated in the new covenant:

• “For out of much affliction and anguish of heart I wrote to you with many tears; not so that you would be made sorrowful, but that you might know the love which I have especially for you. But if any has caused sorrow, he has caused sorrow not to me, but in some degree - in order not to say too much - to all of you. Sufficient for such a one is this punishment which was inflicted by the majority, so that on the contrary you should rather forgive and comfort him, otherwise such a one might be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. Wherefore I urge you to reaffirm your love for him. For to this end also I wrote, so that I might put you to the test, whether you are obedient in all things. But one whom you forgive anything, I forgive also; for indeed what I have forgiven, if I have forgiven anything, I did it for your sakes in the presence of Christ, so that no advantage would be taken of us by Satan, for we are not ignorant of his schemes” (2 Corinthians 2:4-11).
• “For though I caused you sorrow by my letter, I do not regret it; though I did regret it - for I see that that letter caused you sorrow, though only for a while - I now rejoice, not that you were made sorrowful, but that you were made sorrowful to the point of repentance; for you were made sorrowful according to the will of God, so that you might not suffer loss in anything through us. For the sorrow that is according to the will of God produces a repentance without regret, leading to salvation, but the sorrow of the world produces death” (7:8-10).

In the new covenant, the “living death” of excommunication is used by God to produce “the sorrow” which “produces a repentance without regret, leading to salvation.” This is exactly what Jesus teaches. “If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector” (Matthew 18:17). How did Jesus treat Gentiles and tax collectors? Read Matthew 9:9-13. They are objects of evangelism. They are urged to follow Jesus.

Inside, life. Outside, death.

Hear the call. Come in from among the walking dead. Come into the community of life, the gathering of those who follow Jesus, the local Church.

* We’ve developed a sort of cultural allergy to speaking of boundaries with regards to the Church. It is an allergy the New Testament doesn’t share with us in our sensitivity. The New Testament has no problem speaking of those inside the Church and those outside the Church (Mark 4:11; 1 Corinthians 5:11-13; Colossians 4:5; 1 Thessalonians 4:12; 1 Timothy 3:7; Revelation 22:5).

The House of Forgiveness

In meditating on the Scripture’s teaching about forgiveness this week, I noticed something: God’s forgiveness in Christ is not described as an intensely individualistic and personal reality, but a reality experienced corporately in the “basics” He has given His Church.

Fellowship: “...if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin...if we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:7,9).

Praise: “...to the one who...believes in Him Who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness, just as David also speaks [in Psalm 32:1,2] of the blessing on the man to whom God credits righteousness apart from works: ‘Blessed are those who lawless deeds have been forgiven, and whose sins have been covered. Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will not take into account’” (Romans 4:5-8). See also Psalm 25:18; 32:5; 85:2; 99:8.

Baptism: “Now when they heard this, they were pierced to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, ‘Brethren, what shall we do?’ Peter said to them, ‘Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit’” (Acts 2:37,38).

The Lord’s Supper: “And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He gave it to them, saying, ‘Drink from it, all of you; for this is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for forgiveness of sins’” (Matthew 26:27,28).

Proclamation:

• “Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and He said to them, ‘Thus it is written, that the Christ would suffer and rise again from the dead the third day, and that repentance for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem’” (Luke 24:45-47).
• “And He ordered us to preach to the people, and solemnly to testify that this is the One Who has been appointed by God as Judge of the living and the dead. Of Him all the prophets bear witness that through His name everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins” (Acts 10:42,43).

Perhaps those believers who are struggling with their assurance or feelings of guilt need to ask if they are participating in the corporate life of the Church, where forgiveness is proclaimed and awareness of its reality in Christ is driven deep by the Spirit. We pastors should ask if we are being faithful in this regard over the ones “the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood” (Acts 20:28). Are we proclaiming “repentance for forgiveness of sins” (Luke 24:47)? Are we regularly and faithfully administering the ordinances/sacraments? Does the praise of the Church express repentance and the truth of forgiveness in Christ? If our fellowship is not richly infused with the language of “the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace which He lavished on us” (Ephesians 1:7,8a) and the transfer of the Church “to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in Whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins” (Colossians 1:13,14), we should prayerfully lead it back to this truth. We should guard against false, worldly, pop-psychology ideas like repentance-free forgiveness and “forgiving self.” The spiritual, emotional, and psychological health of the congregation depends on this. The Church is the congregation of the forgiven. Unless the forgiveness found only in Christ is a rich part of our gathering, this health will falter.

Two Little Words and the Cowardly Pastor

I recently had a pastor sitting in my office. We updated each other on things that were going on in our lives for a while, then spoke of plans and things on our radar for the future. He paused for a second, looked at me, and asked, “how do you deal with discouragement in ministry?”

Wrong guy to ask, brother.

I pastor two churches. My Sunday afternoons between services are spent driving 98 miles south to a border church and then driving back. I go down there for an additional Bible study once a month, and occasionally head down there as needs arise. When I first took on this blessed responsibility, it was weird for a lot of people (including myself). The fact that I would serve another congregation during those hours between the morning and evening service frankly bothered some folks.

I remember a committee meeting at my “main” church about six years ago. There was a man in that meeting who tended to openly oppose me (he’s no longer a member of the church). He was sitting by me, but addressed the rest of the committee like I wasn’t there: “Who’s going to pay for the gas for the pastor’s ‘pet project’?” No one challenged him. Not even me.

I tend to bury that stuff deep inside, and it becomes a nagging fear (I guess that’s the word for it) that manipulates me in ministry. Even after that guy left the church the following year, his words (“pet project”) haunted me. It moved me to seek sources of funding for the Sunday afternoon mission outside the church, just so I wouldn’t have to hear those words again.

I thought I had “cast a vision” (to use the modern terminology) that it was an opportunity for us as a congregation to bless a sister church...had I failed? Was I wrong in doing this thing?

Looking back, I realized that these words pushed me away from leading our church to be more missional than we were. The hurt had become fear, which had become disobedience to the Word and failure to faithfully pastor the congregation.

Even three years ago, when I was asked to be part of an annual international mission, this stronghold in my heart planted its flag when it came time to fund-raise. And it did it again the second year when it came time to fund-raise. And this year, the third, year, until...

...last Sunday in the pulpit one of our members, in announcing a pie auction to raise funds for the mission, called it “our Philippines mission.”

And with that one plural possessive pronoun (don’t tell me grammar’s not important) the stronghold fell. The hidden pain which had been fed in the darkness until it became a fear which became a disobedience in my life was demolished. Two words (“pet project”) were defeated by one word (“our”).

Sure, I’m probably a coward. But I know I can’t change hearts. All I can do is submit to God, Who called me to this place to preach the Word expositionally week after week after week, no matter how hurt and fearful and disobedient I am. I kept driving and preaching on my Sunday afternoons – not because I was brave, but because I knew it’s what God would have this little coward to do. I kept committing to the overseas trip, even though that meant I had to rely on others for fund-raising...which meant I was going to have to be vulnerable to the possibility of someone accusing me of raising money for my “pet project.”

What’s pathetic about those two words from six years ago is that it’s so far from the attitude of the church as a whole. They’ve always support me, prayed for me, encouraged me. But I’m small and weak, and derailed by two words.

God is merciful and good, and looking back I see what He’s done despite my weakness as pastor of these beautiful little churches in the remote Southwest U.S.A.

How do I deal with discouragement, fellow pastor? Not very well. Inside I tend to sit the ashes, while plugging on wearing a brave face on the outside.

So, maybe the lesson here is consistence, or perseverance. Don’t quit if the mission/ministry is God-given. You’re probably thinking, “TWO WORDS?! You’re all introspective and moping about TWO WORDS – from a guy who’s not even been around for five years?! I only wish it were just two words in my case!!”

You’re right. Both congregations are now thriving, both have a heart for missions, and both are more loving, supportive, and encouraging than I can tell you. It’s stupid and weak that two echoing words buried deep in my heart hampered me so much. I agree and confess it freely.

I was moved to take on the second church by a passage of Paul’s in 2 Corinthians: “Are they servants of Christ? I am a better one - I am talking like a madman - with far greater labors, far more imprisonments, with countless beatings, and often near death. Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I was adrift at sea; on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers; in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure. And, apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches” 11:23-28). It’s not that I thought I faced anything even remotely close to the long list of outward struggles that Paul rehearses. It was the fact that his outward circumstances didn’t consume his heart – the churches did. How Christ-like! That motivated me to give my Sunday afternoons – just a few hours a week – to tending to this little congregation in the middle of nowhere.

A few verses later Paul gives us a bit of red letter that comes from the risen and ascended Jesus, Who ever lives to make intercession for those who draw near to God through Him: “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” (12:9). The apostle’s “thorn...in the flesh,” a “messenger from Satan,” was probably more than two words. But the point is the same.

Keep on following the heart of Christ for His people, no matter how weak or emotionally crippled you feel. Even if you aren’t blessed in this life as I was this last Sunday when I heard the unexpected but gloriously reviving words “our Philippines mission,” the promise is laid out for His faithful (even if weak) servants, that one day they will hear the words “Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your Master” (Matthew 25:21,23; Luke 19:17).

Twenty Years.

20 years ago today I was driving home after a service at Cedar Heights Baptist Church (North Little Rock, Arkansas, U.S.A.). Pastor David Guzman (Iglesia Bautista Bethania, Monterrey, Mexico) preached that night. As I was on the overpass over I-40, God downloaded a new (to me) “software update.” That’s the only way I know how to describe it. One moment I had a life-plan set out as a bassoon player/teacher. The next moment I knew I was supposed to preach the Word. I didn’t know how this would happen and wasn’t necessarily thrilled with the prospect (I was, and am, a very shy introvert). But I knew this was what I was supposed to do, and by the grace of God there were no instincts of rebellion against this call. As I’ve looked back this week, I am exceedingly thankful for the opportunities my pastor and home church gave me, for those who poured encouragement and advice into my life, seminary education, the written wisdom of those who came before me, my bride and family, and the churches in which I now serve...so much blessing and grace and mercy! All praise be to God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ!

“The way appointed by Christ for the calling of any person fitted and gifted by the Holy Spirit for the office of bishop or elder in a church, is that he is to be chosen by the common consent and vote of the church itself. Such a person should be solemnly set apart by fasting and prayer, with the laying on of hands of the eldership of the church (if there be any previously appoint elder or elders)” (1689 Baptist Confession of Faith, 26.9).

A few reflections...

We don’t do this by ourselves. Paul didn’t (Acts 13:1-4; 14:26-28; 15:4,12; 21:9).

We don’t do this by our own will and authority, but by the Spirit-guided blessing of the leaders of the local congregations of which we are covenant members (1 Timothy 4:14; 5:22).

We don’t do this before men alone, but speak, preach, teach, counsel, give witness, read, and pray in the sight of the God Who has commissioned us through His Church (2 Corinthians 4:2; 5:11).

I have grown and changed in my views on many things over the decades – eschatology, ecclesiology, worship, Catholic mysticism, the sacraments, confessions, etc. I have no problem admitting that I have developed and morphed on these and other topics. One of the Sunday School teachers in one of the churches in which I now serve pointed out that my attitude toward confessions has changed in the last seven years. He said he’d be worried about me if I didn’t grow like everyone else. One thing hasn’t changed: I’m still an idealist and have a visceral reaction to the words “practical” and “pragmatic.” And I get downright angry at false teachers.

I have fought battles with depression all of my life, but am always happy to tell others who are on a similar path that the darkness fades the older I get. I see the truth and promises of the Word become larger and larger every year I gaze at them, and the light is much brighter now in my weak eyes than it was in previous times.

I am humbled by the daily realization that I don’t know enough about holiness, prayer, or wisdom. Some days I feel I know nothing on these topics. I’m light-years from where I used to be as far as my shyness, but I know I still have a long way to go. I move like a glacier in a lot of areas of my life, including social development. I meet with some guys at a coffeeshop every Thursday morning – it took me three weeks to ask the barista his name. I still have a long way to go. Yesterday he saw me come in and said, “it’s Thursday already?! Time flies!” Yes. It does.

I am thankful every hour for the Gospel, for I need it every hour. We never, never, never outgrow the Gospel.

I have been utterly heartbroken by death and division.

I have rejoiced in seeing souls kindled into flame by truth and seeing a row of little ones looking curiously into the baptistry.

I have weekly been reminded of my love for the Church looking out at them over the Lord’s Supper table. I have been healed of hurts dealt me in the Church by spending time with the Church itself (as opposed to those who run because there are sinners like themselves in the congregation). The Lord has used the little border Church where I spend my afternoons to pour such healing grace into my life – the story is impossible to tell because of its world-less depth.

I couldn’t do this without my bride – I can trust her wisdom and her heart and her respect for the pastoral office and her grace in listening to me ramble through confusion. I couldn’t do it without her.

It’s been an amazing 20 years. None of us know how many seconds or decades are ahead, but that’s not up to us. The worldview through which we walk in these moments makes all the difference. I always tell people that we spend so much time trying to analyze the “signs of the times” in our obsession with the “end-times” that we ignore the fact that the Bible’s words are overwhelmingly concerned with teaching us how to live as God’s covenant people on a day-to-day basis in this world. At the same time, we have not spent time on the topic of dying well; this subject consumed a lot of the teaching of our forefathers. We somehow manage to ignore living well and dying well at the same time! I do my best to engage both through the eyes of Paul: “...Christ will even now, as always, be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. But if I am to live on in the flesh, this will mean fruitful labor for me; and I do not know which to choose. But I am hard-pressed from both directions, having the desire to depart and be with Christ, for that is very much better; yet to remain on in the flesh is more necessary for your sake. Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all for your progress and joy in the faith” (Philippians 1:20-25).

At the same time, I’m going to enjoy the good gifts He has given for this day, even if they may all be taken tomorrow. His world is beautiful and amazing. I purpose to never ignore the wonder of the mountains on my drive into town and back home every day. I will enjoy good food, and my bride. “Go then, eat your bread in happiness and drink your wine with a cheerful heart; for God has already approved your works. Let your clothes be white all the time, and let not oil be lacking on your head. Enjoy life with the woman whom you love all the days of your fleeting life which He has given to you under the sun; for this is your reward in life and in your toil in which you have labored under the sun. Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might” (Ecclesiastes 9:7-10).

Whatever I am, it is because of the eternal purpose of the Father, the saving work of the Son, and the application of that purpose and work to my life by the Holy Spirit. The infinitely glorious grace of the Triune God in my life is greater than anything this world has to offer, and it is the foundation and goal of all I am and do.

To God alone be the glory forever and ever and ever.

Empty Phantoms and Brain-Idols

My preaching schedule will have me completing Genesis 1 this Sunday. Since chapters 2 and 3 are ahead, I’m re-reading Herman Witsius’ The Economy of the Covenants Between God and Man (1677). It was reading this three years ago that first got me excitedly thinking about preaching through this part of the Bible.

Most of us are familiar with the passage in the creation narrative in which the singular God refers to Himself with plural pronouns: “Then God said, ‘Let Us make man in Our image, after Our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth’” (Genesis 1:26).

If you’re an especially observant biblical student, you’ve probably taken note of the other places where this curious singular//plural language occurs: Genesis 3:22; 11:7; 18:1-33; Isaiah 6:8.

Witsius notes several other places where the Creator-God, Who is One (Isaiah 37:16; 44:24; 45:18; 1 Corinthians 8:6), is identified with a plural noun. I include this quote for our edification, since our English translations don’t usually reflect the plural in these places: “It cannot certainly be without design, that the scripture, when speaking of man’s Creator, so often uses the plural number: as Is. liv.5 בעליך עשיך, which literally signifies, thy husbands, thy makers, Psal. cxlix.2. ישמח ישראל בעשיו, Let Israel rejoice and his makers. Nay, requires man to attend to this, and engrave it on his mind, Eccl. xii.1 את־בוראיך וזכר, remember thy creators. It is criminal when man neglects it; and says not Job xxxv.10. איה אלוה עשי, where is God my makers? Which phrases, unless referred to a Trinity of persons, might appear to be dangerous” (Book 1, chapter II, part VI).

The Bible is full of references to a plurality in the one true God. On the same page as the above quote, Witsius reflects on the importance of knowing, confessing, and worshiping God as Trinity: “And it may justly be doubted, whether he does not worship God entirely unknown, nay, whether he at all worship the true God, who does not know and worship him, as subsisting in three persons. Whoever represents God to himself in any other light, represents not God, but an empty phantom, and an idol of his own brain.”

The Deeper Things Behind Spring Fever

Believe it or not, even we desert rats get “spring fever.” Even when spring brings words like dry, brown, dusty, and WIND (which must be capitalized...you know why if you’ve ever experienced it). I want to hit the trails and run. Partly because it’s warmer outside and I like the warmth, but also because it’s Monday. Monday’s the day I start work on the sermon for the following Sunday, and I’m preaching through Genesis 1 right now.

I love what our Creator has made, and I love being out in it. Before dawn this morning I started sermon prep the way I always do when I’m preaching from the Old Testament – I make sure I’m looking at Jesus, because I don’t want to miss Him.

Now that I think about it, this is true when reading the Old Testament or when reading the revelation of nature. I don’t want to miss the point while staring at the Word right in front of me.

So, before dawn, I re-read the text of Genesis and reminded myself that Creation is Trinitarian. This is the full depth of its glory.

“...there is but one God, the Father, from Whom are all things and we exist for Him” (1 Corinthians 8:6). God the Creator is God the Father. Out my early morning window Ursa Minor slowly crawls the sky...most mornings of the year I look out over the cup of coffee I hold near my beard and think, “my Father Who is in heaven put that there...and I’m thankful!”

But it’s not just the Father. God is one, but He is three Persons. The Son Whose earthly life earned my justification and Whose death paid my debt is the very Word by which all this beautiful creation has been made. “...God said...” (10 times in Genesis 1!). This is the only Savior of lost humanity, the King of kings and Lord of lords Who has all authority in heaven and on earth. He is the Word of creation. He is the eternal God the Son Who is one God with the Father but is not the Father. He is the Son.

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being” (John 1:1-3)

“For [the Father] rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in Whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn [a statement of authority – see Psalm 89:27] of all creation. For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities - all things have been created through Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together” (Colossians 1:13-17).

“God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, Whom He appointed heir of all things, through Whom also He made the world. And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power” (Hebrews 1:1-3).

The Creation moves me to praise this Son Who is the Word of Creation.

God the Holy Spirit is there, too. “...the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters” (Genesis 1:2). He is the breath of God Who brings the Word forth to create out of nothing. We see them together in the song of the Psalmist: “By the word of the LORD the heavens were made, and by the breath of His mouth all their host” (33:6).

The Hebrew רוח (and the Greek πνευμα in the New Testament) is translated “Spirit,” “breath,” and “wind.” I think of that often in the desert springtime, when the wind threatens to carry us all off. A lot of folks here grumble about it, but I love it. I think of Him Who moves as He wills and brings the dead to life. We cannot see Him, but we certainly know His effects.

“Jesus answered, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not be amazed that I said to you, “You must be born again.” The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit’” (John 3:5-8). This is one of my favorite of Jesus’ illustrations – mainly because I’m a desert-dweller and I’ve known wind. (By the way, 3:5 is also a really cool allusion to Ecclesiates 11:5!)

Monday morning. Coffee. The beauty of the Creation. The Trinity. The full revelation of the Word of God.

And my salvation.

“The hand of the LORD was upon me, and He brought me out by the Spirit of the LORD and set me down in the middle of the valley; and it was full of bones. He caused me to pass among them round about, and behold, there were very many on the surface of the valley; and lo, they were very dry. He said to me, ‘Son of man, can these bones live?’ And I answered, ‘O Lord GOD, You know.’ Again He said to me, ‘Prophesy over these bones and say to them, “O dry bones, hear the word of the LORD.” Thus says the Lord GOD to these bones, “Behold, I will cause breath to enter you that you may come to life. I will put sinews on you, make flesh grow back on you, cover you with skin and put breath in you that you may come alive; and you will know that I am the LORD.”’ So I prophesied as I was commanded; and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and behold, a rattling; and the bones came together, bone to its bone. And I looked, and behold, sinews were on them, and flesh grew and skin covered them; but there was no breath in them. Then He said to me, ‘Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, “Thus says the Lord GOD, ‘Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they come to life.’”’ So I prophesied as He commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they came to life and stood on their feet, an exceedingly great army” (Ezekiel 37:1-10; cf. James 1:18; 1 Peter 1:23-25)

By the will of God, His Word fills us with the Spirit and we live.

Spring fever. I love being outside. Even if “outside” is the desert in the springtime. As magnificently glorious as the creation is, it tells of an infinitely deeper and glorious Reality. One I look forward to enjoying with all my being forever and ever and ever...

Dust storm, July 2013

Two Testimonies You Need to Hear Today, Church

“To our dear brothers in the church of Geneva: Grace and peace from our good God and Father through Jesus Christ our Savior be multiplied to you Amen!

Very dear brothers in our Lord Jesus Christ, since you have been informed of our captivity and of the fury which drives our enemies to persecute and afflict us, we felt it would be good to let you know of the liberty of our spirit and of the wonderful assistance and consolation which our good Father and Savior gives us in these dark prison cells, so that you may participate not only in our affliction of which you have heard but also in our consolation, as members of the same body who all participate in common both in the good and in the evil which comes to pass. For this reason we want you to know that although our body is confined here between four walls, yet our spirit has never been so free and so comforted, and has never previously contemplated so fully and so vividly as now the great heavenly riches and treasures and the truth of the promises which God has made to His children; so much so that we seem not only to believe and hope in them but even to see them with our eyes and touch them with our hands, so great and remarkable is the assistance from God in our bonds and imprisonment. So far, indeed, are we from wishing to regard our affliction as a curse from God, as the world and the flesh wish to regard it, that we regard it rather as the greatest blessing that has ever come upon us, for in it we are made true children of God, brothers and companions of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and are conformed to His image; and by it the possession of our eternal inheritance is confirmed to us. Further, we are bold to say and affirm that we shall derive more profit in this school for our salvation than has ever been the case in any place where we have studied, and we testify that this is the true school of the children of God...we therefore praise God with all our heart and give Him undying thanks that He has been pleased to give us by His grace not only the theory of His Word but also the practice of it, and that He has granted us this honor – which is no small thing for vessels so poor and fragile and mere worms creeping on the earth – by bringing us out before men to be His witnesses and giving us constancy to confess His name and maintain the truth of His holy Word before those who are unwilling to hear it, indeed, who persecute it with all their force...we pray you most affectionately to thank our good God with us for granting to us so great a blessing, so that we may return thanks to Him, beseeching Him that, as He has commenced this work in us, so He will complete it, to the end that all glory may be given to Him, and that, whether we live or die, all may be to His honor and glory, to the edification of His poor Church, and to the advancement of our salvation. Amen.”

Sent by five young men imprisoned in Lyon (July 1552), from Philip E. Hughes’ The Register of the Company of Pastors of Geneva in the Time of Calvin (Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock, 1966), pgs. 191-192.

They would be burned at the stake.

“Having made profession of the glorious gospel of Christ a long time, and preached the same about five years, I was apprehended at a meeting of good people in the country...at the sessions after I was indicted for an upholder and maintainer of unlawful assemblies and conventicles, and for not conforming to the national worship of the church of England; and after some conference there with the justices, they taking my plain dealing with them for a confession, as they termed it, of the indictment, did sentence me to a perpetual banishment, because I refused to conform. So being again delivered up to the jailer’s hands, I was had home to prison, and there have lain now complete twelve years, waiting to see what God would suffer these men to do with me. In which condition I have continued with much content, through grace, but have met with many turnings and goings upon my heart, both from the Lord, Satan, and my own corruptions; by all which (glory be to Jesus Christ) I have also received among many things, much conviction, instruction, and understanding, of which at large I shall not here discourse; only give you a hint or two, a word that may stir up the godly to bless God, and to pray for me; and also to take encouragement, should the case be their own – not to fear what man can do to them. I never had in all my life so great an inlet into the word of God as now...”

Written by John Bunyan, in his Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners (1666).

The Good Things of These Last Days

“But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty” (2 Timothy 3:1).

The apostle Peter says very much the same thing, and he himself points back to the Lord and the Prophets for the foundation of his conviction: “...you should remember the predictions of the holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord and Savior through your apostles, knowing this first of all, that scoffers will come in the last days with scoffing, following their own sinful desires” (2 Peter 3:2,3). Note, too, that Jesus issues this warning by way of “commandment.” False teachers will come and will, from the inside of the congregation, attempt to lead the people astray in their beliefs and actions.

Reading both of the last letters of Paul and Peter, we become aware that they were already well-acquainted with the threats of the “last days.” They were themselves living in the “last days.” Their fellow apostle John goes so far as to say “it is the last hour,” and that “now many antichrists have come” (1 John 2:18). That was some time ago.

I believe the “last days” to be the Gospel Age between the advents of Christ, known in those six verses in the Revelation (and nowhere else) as “the millennium.”

In the midst of the trouble, tribulation, and turmoil that fills most of “last days” discussion these days, we overlook the promised fruit of these days.

In these “last days,” we have the fullness of the revelation of God in the Son of God. We need no other Word. Christ is gloriously all-sufficient to meet our needs, far beyond what we could ever imagine.

“Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days He has spoken to us by His Son, Whom He appointed the heir of all things, through Whom also He created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of His nature, and He upholds the universe by the word of His power. After making purification for sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become as much superior to angels as the name He has inherited is more excellent than theirs” (Hebrews 1:1-4).

In “these last days,” we have been given the Person of the Trinity Who is the Gift and Promise of the Father through the Son, the Holy Spirit. We are never alone. We are never without the personal Presence and Power of God.

“But Peter, standing with the eleven, lifted up his voice and addressed them: ‘Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and give ear to my words. For these people are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day. But this is what was uttered through the prophet Joel [in 2:28-32]: “And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams; even on My male servants and female servants in those days I will pour out My Spirit, and they shall prophesy. And I will show wonders in the heavens above and signs on the earth below, blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke; the sun shall be turned to darkness and the moon to blood, before the day of the Lord comes, the great and magnificent day. And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved”’” (Acts 2:14-21).

In these “last days,” we know that the fruit, purpose, and promised culmination of this age is the resurrection. All else – including the difficulty that overwhelmingly saturates the contemporary discussion like a perverse obsession – pales in comparison to this flowering, this fruit-bearing of this last age.

“And this is the will of Him Who sent Me, that I should lose nothing of all that He has given Me, but raise it up on the last day. For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in Him should have eternal life, and I will raise Him up on the last day...no one can come to Me unless the Father Who sent Me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day...whoever feeds on My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day” (John 6:39,40,33,54).

This is the faith of Martha at the tomb of her brother, a faith in which Jesus reveals Himself to be the goal of these “last days.”

“Jesus said to her, ‘Your brother will rise again.’ Martha said to him, ‘I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.’ Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in Me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?’ She said to Him, ‘Yes, Lord; I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, Who is coming into the world’” (John 11:23-27).

We are, as the apostles all warn, to be on guard that false teachers do not lead the congregation of the Lord astray (the warning is for the health of the congregation, and not for outside perceived threats, where most of our focus is). However, we must never lose sight of the gift of the Holy Spirit, given by the Father through the risen Son. The glorious gifting and work of the Trinity is the great theme of this final age, and should move us to great praise every one of these “last days.”

If you have not been reconciled to the Father through His Son, repent of your sins and confess Jesus Christ as Lord, believing that He died for your sins and lives forever for your joyful eternal life.

“For He says [in Isaiah 49:8], ‘In a favorable time I listened to you, and in a day of salvation I have helped you.’ Behold, now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation” (2 Corinthians 6:2).

“Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says [in Psalm 95:7,8], ‘Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion...’” (Hebrews 3:7,8).

The Evolved Rebel Against Their God

I do not intend this as a polemic. I am merely pointing out what seems to me to be a logical inconsistency with those who hold to a different worldview than my own.

If homosexuality is a genetic predisposition, it would seem that it is one from the standpoint of Darwinian evolution that would naturally diminish in the gene pool (since those who have it cannot naturally reproduce and thus spread the genetic variation). However, due to advancements in the field of fertility (or arrangements utilizing the natural means of reproduction), individuals with this genetic variance can, in fact, spread this variance in the gene pool through reproduction. Granted, this is a rebellion against natural selection, but we've been doing that for years in our work to save endangered species (which I do not oppose - but then again, I'm not a Darwinian evolutionist). If "fittest" means those most able to naturally propagate the species, we are currently working hard to ensure that nonviable genetic variations do, in fact, spread. Are we are determined to de-evolve?

This would seem to be a logical inconsistency.

On the other hand, from my worldview, this is pretty clear. It would seem that those who did away with God with their theory couldn't escape their rebellious nature. Darwinian evolution became their god, and now, true to fallen human nature, they are rebelling against that god, as well.

A Cold, Dark, Dusty Morning with the Inconceivable One

Ah, the week of Daylight Saving Time. I said “week.” I have no idea why it takes me that long to adjust to a single hour’s change to the clock, but it does.

Our Berkhof group met early this morning at a coffee shop in town, and I’m exceedingly glad the fellow there makes good, strong brew. With the time change, the sun didn’t even rise until we were ready to leave. It was a dark, cold, and dusty morning in the high desert.

But the fruit of our fellowship was filling.

We discussed Berkhof’s analysis of agnosticism this morning. Toward the end of his critique, the theologian defends Barth against charges of agnosticism. He then makes this comment: “God reveals Himself exactly as the hidden God, and through His revelation makes us more conscious of the distance which separates Him from man than we ever were before” (Systematic Theology, Part One, II.B.)

I scribbled several verses in the margin of my copy of the “big purple brick” (a slightly more honorable title than the usual “big purple sleeping pill”) that highlight this truth from Scripture. God is knowable to us, but only through His self-revelation in the Scripture, and Scripture’s illumination by the Holy Spirit to those who receive it by faith. The more we know of Him, though, the more aware we are that He is not like us, and that the gracious revealing that makes Him known to us is exceedingly gracious because of the distance between us and Him. The closer He comes, in other words, the more we become aware of how far away He is and gracious He is in drawing near.

And we become ever more aware of the fact that we need a Mediator because of that distance-revealed-in-nearness.

“Then Gideon perceived that he was the angel of the LORD. And Gideon said, ‘Alas, O Lord GOD! For now I have seen the angel of the LORD face to face.’ But the LORD said to him, ‘Peace be to you. Do not fear; you shall not die.’ Then Gideon built an altar there to the LORD and called it, ‘The LORD Is Peace.’ To this day it still stands at Ophrah, which belongs to the Abiezrites. That night the LORD said to him, ‘Take your father’s bull, and the second bull seven years old, and pull down the altar of Baal that your father has, and cut down the Asherah that is beside it and build an altar to the LORD your God on the top of the stronghold here, with stones laid in due order. Then take the second bull and offer it as a burnt offering with the wood of the Asherah that you shall cut down’” (Judges 6:22-26).

“And the angel of the LORD said to Manoah, ‘If you detain me, I will not eat of your food. But if you prepare a burnt offering, then offer it to the LORD.’ (For Manoah did not know that he was the angel of the LORD.) And Manoah said to the angel of the LORD, ‘What is your name, so that, when your words come true, we may honor you?’ And the angel of the LORD said to him, ‘Why do you ask my name, seeing it is wonderful?’ So Manoah took the young goat with the grain offering, and offered it on the rock to the LORD, to the One Who works wonders, and Manoah and his wife were watching. And when the flame went up toward heaven from the altar, the angel of the LORD went up in the flame of the altar. Now Manoah and his wife were watching, and they fell on their faces to the ground. The angel of the LORD appeared no more to Manoah and to his wife. Then Manoah knew that he was the angel of the LORD. And Manoah said to his wife, ‘We shall surely die, for we have seen God.’ But his wife said to him, ‘If the LORD had meant to kill us, He would not have accepted a burnt offering and a grain offering at our hands, or shown us all these things, or now announced to us such things as these’” (Judges 13:16-23).

“In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called to another and said: ‘Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory!’ And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. And I said: ‘Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!’ Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar. And he touched my mouth and said: ‘Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for’” (Isaiah 6:1-7).

“On one occasion, while the crowd was pressing in on Him to hear the word of God, He was standing by the lake of Gennesaret, and He saw two boats by the lake, but the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. Getting into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, He asked him to put out a little from the land. And He sat down and taught the people from the boat. And when He had finished speaking, He said to Simon, ‘Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.’ And Simon answered, ‘Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at Your word I will let down the nets.’ And when they had done this, they enclosed a large number of fish, and their nets were breaking. They signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink. But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, ‘Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord’” (Luke 5:1-8).

Other than His self-revelation by the Spirit and the Word, God would be unknowable to us. But in knowing Him, we become more and more acutely aware of just how inconceivable He is. He is not us. In every scriptural account I just mentioned, the revelation of God (or even just His messenger!) made those receiving the revelation aware of God’s holiness and the incompatibility of that with the sinful human being. Atonement must be made. Substitutionary sacrifice must be offered. The infinite gap must be closed or we will not live before Him!

Jesus Christ Himself, in addition to being the full and complete revelation of God (John 1:18; 14:9; 2 Corinthians 4:4,6; Philippians 2:6; Colossians 1:15; Hebrews 1:3), is also the mediating Sacrifice that allows us to receive the knowledge and Presence of the Inconceivable One and live. Not live in the small way we usual consider it from day-to-day, but really and truly and abundantly live eternally to His glory and our unimaginably great joy.

Believe what God has revealed, repent of the sin that revelation reveals, and put your faith in the only Mediator that reconciles the knowledge and inconceivability of God.

Ash Cake

“Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And after fasting forty days and forty nights, He was hungry. And the tempter came and said to Him, ‘If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.’ But He answered, ‘It is written [in Deuteronomy 8:3], “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God”’” (Matthew 4:1-4).

This hunger. It is purposeful. It is the lesson, the test.

“And you shall remember the whole way that the LORD your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that He might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not. And He humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that He might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD” (Deuteronomy 8:2,3).

The Exodus generation failed it. The true Israel, Jesus of Nazareth, passed the test.

He then ascended the mountain, sat, and taught the disciples more about hunger and bread and the way of the Father between the two...

“Pray then like this: ‘Our Father in heaven...give us this day our daily bread...’” (Matthew 6:9-11).

“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father Who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!” (Matthew 7:7-11).

Bread, bread, bread. Pray for it. Be thankful for the good gift of it.

But remember. Never forget. Your life does not come from the bread.

If you are focused on the bread, you’ll miss eternal life. Even if you’re eating that bread from the hand of the Son of God Himself, you’ll find yourself hungry in eternity.

One day the Lord fed 5,000 people bread. Bellies filled, they followed Him. The bread wasn’t enough for eternal life.

“Jesus answered them, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, you are seeking Me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. Do not labor for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For on Him God the Father has set his seal’” (John 6:26,27).

Pray for the Word from the mouth of the Father. Be thankful for the good gift of it. It is bread that truly brings life, life, eternal life.

“Jesus then said to them, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is He Who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world...I am the bread of life; whoever comes to Me shall not hunger...I am the bread of life. Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is My flesh...as the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever feeds on Me, he also will live because of Me. This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like the bread the fathers ate and died. Whoever feeds on this bread will live forever’” (John 6:32,33,35,48-51,57,58).

Hungry? Where are you going to go?

“After this many of His disciples turned back and no longer walked with Him. So Jesus said to the Twelve, ‘Do you want to go away as well?’ Simon Peter answered Him, ‘Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed, and have come to know, that You are the Holy One of God’” (John 6:66-69).

Seek this bread.

Gospel Suffering

“Remember that Jesus Christ, made of the seed of David, was raised again from the dead according to my Gospel, wherein I suffer trouble as an evil doer, even unto bonds: but the word of God is not bound. Therefore I suffer all things for the elect’s sake, that they might also obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory” (2 Timothy 2:8-10, Geneva Bible).

This suffering is not just Paul’s – he gives a command to Timothy to suffer, as well. Three times.

• “Be not therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, neither of me his prisoner: but be partaker of the afflictions of the Gospel according to the power of God, Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given to us through Christ Jesus before the world was, But is now made manifest by that appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality unto light through the Gospel” (1:8-10). This is a command.
• “Thou therefore suffer affliction as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No man that warreth, entangleth himself with the affairs of this life, because he would please him that hath chosen him to be a soldier” (2:3,4). This is a command.
• “...suffer adversity” (4:5). Again, this is a command.

The only other place this verb is used in the N.T. is in James, where we are given the means by which we are meant to endure suffering. “Is any among you afflicted? Let him pray” (James 5:13). “The grace of faith...is also increased and strengthened by the work of the Spirit through...prayer...” This is the “means appointed by God” in our Gospel suffering (1689 Baptist Confession of Faith, 14.1).

Growth in grace through prayer is God’s intended purpose in Gospel suffering for the elect.

The Gospel suffering of the elect is also a means of God’s effectual calling in the witness of the Church:

• “Behold, I send you as sheep in the midst of the wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and innocent as doves. But beware of men, for they will deliver you up to the Councils, and will scourge you in their Synagogues. And ye shall be brought to the governors and kings for my sake, in witness to them, and to the Gentiles. But when they deliver you up, take no thought how or what ye shall speak: for it shall be given you in that hour, what ye shall say. For it is not ye that speak, but the spirit of your Father which speaketh in you” (Matthew 10:16-20). We are to suffer for Christ’s “sake...in witness to them.”
• “...this is thankworthy, if a man for conscience toward God endure grief, suffering wrongly...and if when ye do well, ye suffer wrong and take it patiently, this is acceptable to God. For hereunto ye are called: for Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example that ye should follow his steps, Who did no sin, neither was there guile found in his mouth. Who when he was reviled, reviled not again: when he suffered, he threatened not, but committed it to him that judgeth righteously. Who his own self bare our sins in his body on the tree, that we being dead to sin, should live in righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed” (1 Peter 2:19,21-24). This is one of the places where “W.W.J.D.” actually applies.

This is not a defeatist theology. This is the God-decreed means by which we will reign with Christ, Who has “all power...in heaven, and in earth” (Matthew 28:18).

• “Then Peter said, ‘Lo, we have left all, and have followed thee.’ And he said unto them, ‘Verily I say unto you, there is no man that hath left house, or parents, or brethren, or wife, or children for the kingdom of God’s sake, Which shall not receive much more in this world, and in the world to come life everlasting’” (Luke 18:28-30).
• “And ye are they which have continued with me in my tentations. Therefore I appoint unto you a kingdom, as my Father hath appointed unto me, That ye may eat, and drink at my table, in my kingdom, and sit on seats, and judge the twelve tribes of Israel” (Luke 22:28-30).
• “Confirming the disciples hearts, and exhorting them to continue in the faith, affirming that we must through many afflictions enter into the kingdom of God” (Acts 14:22). Please not that Paul’s encouragement to them in his preaching and teaching included this teaching on suffering!
• “If we be children, we are also heirs, even the heirs of God, and heirs annexed with Christ: if so be that we suffer with him, that we may also be glorified with him. For I count that the afflictions of this present time are not worthy of the glory, which shall be showed unto us” (Romans 8:17,18).
• “If we suffer, we shall also reign together with him” (2 Timothy 2:12).
• “I John even your brother and companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was in the Isle called Patmos, for the word of God, and for the witnessing of Jesus Christ” (Revelation 1:9).
• “And I saw seats: and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them, and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which did not worship the beast, neither his image, neither had taken his mark upon their foreheads or on their hands: and they lived, and reigned with Christ a thousand years. But the rest of the dead men shall not live again, until the thousand years be finished: this is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he, that hath part in the first resurrection: for on such the second death hath no power: but they shall be the Priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years” (Revelation 20:4-6).

Do we believe His Word? We are to ascend to the throne through Gospel suffering.

If the Church is surprised by suffering, it will be because the Word was not faithfully preached in the pulpit. If the preachers are surprised, it will be because they preached from something other than the Word.

May we preach and hear the full message of Gospel suffering unto growth in grace, unstoppable spread of the Gospel, and Kingdom reign with Christ.

“Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus, shall suffer persecution” (2 Timothy 3:12).

Difficulty Disguised as Godliness

“But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God...” (2 Timothy 3:1-4).

This isn’t the end of what Paul has to say about people “in the last days.”

He goes on to say they are “having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power” (3:5). They look godly. They’re in the Gathering.

On the outside they will appear godly, but inside will be filled with and motivated by the qualities of 3:2-4. The apostle doesn’t want us to be surprised by this, and we shouldn’t be. But we don’t have to accept it. The root reason for this dichotomy between a godly appearance and unregenerate heart is a denial of the power of godliness.

Remedy: live and proclaim the Gift of the Spirit of power (1:7), Who is the Power of God (the Father, see 1:2) to make the Gospel of Jesus Christ known no matter the obstacle (1:8).

There will be fruitless growth in the field (Matthew 13:5-7,20-22), tares among wheat (Matthew 13:24-30), bad fish in the net (Matthew 13:47-50), those who are with us but not really of us (1 John 2:18-20).

You shine brighter and speak truth from a born-again heart, a renewed mind, and by the unstoppable power of the Triune God Who saved you for His glory and your eternal joy.

The Dutchman Speaks Truth

I'm preparing to take a small group of men through Louis Berkhof's Systematic Theology. In getting ready for this, I'm also reading his Introductory Volume to Systematic Theology. As I was reading it this evening I suddenly became confused. I didn't know Berkhof was a prophet. I don't do block quotes much here, but this is stuff that should make every Reformed guy and gal doubt Berkhof's cessationist credentials. In 1932 the Dutchman said:

...it is characteristic of Pietism that it is hostile to all intellectualism in religion and exalts emotionalism and experience as the only real manifestations of the religious life. It bids Christian people escape from the wrangling of doctrinal controversies by withdrawing into the citadel of the heart, the seat of the affections. In our own country Pietism has found a rather welcome ally in an Activism, which holds that it makes little difference what one believes, provided one is only busy in the work of the Lord. A great number of American Christians are much too busy in all kinds of church activities to concern themselves very much about the study of the truth. They are practical pragmatists and are interested only in a religion that promptly yields tangible results. Their knowledge of dogmas has been reduced to a minimum. In fact both Pietists and Activists often claim that Christian people should disengage themselves from the complexities of present day doctrinal systems and return to the simplicity of the Apostolic Age, and preferably to the words of Jesus, who did not concern Himself about dogmas...the assertion often heard in our day, that Christianity is not a doctrine but a life, may have a rather pious sound, and for that very reason seems to appeal to some, but is after all a dangerous falsehood. It has been pointed out repeatedly...that Christianity is a way of life founded on a message. The gospel is the self-revelation of God in Christ, which comes to us in the form of truth. That truth is revealed, not only in the Person and work of Christ, but also in the interpretation of these found in the Bible. And it is only by a proper understanding and a believing acceptance of the message of the gospel, that men are brought to the necessary self-surrender to Christ in faith, and are made partakers of the new life in the Spirit. The reception of that life is not dependent on some purely mystical infusion of grace, nor on the proper ethical conduct of man, but is conditioned by knowledge...participation in the life of Christianity is everywhere in the New Testament made conditional on faith in Christ as He has revealed Himself, and this naturally includes knowledge of the redemptive facts recorded in Scripture. Christians must have a proper understanding of the significance of these facts; and if they are to unite in faith, must also arrive at some unitary conviction and expression of the truth...they who minimize the significance of the truth, and therefore ignore and neglect it, will finally come to discover that they have very little Christianity left (pgs. 28-29).

I am, of course, typing tongue-in-cheek about Berkhof's soothsaying. What he wrote over eighty years ago is an astoundingly accurate description of the contemporary situation because human beings are still human beings, and, as a preacher once said, "there is nothing new under the sun" (Ecclesiastes 1:9). It could be discouraging, in way: things have not changed since Berkhof wrote. Perhaps they've gotten worse. But I can't be too discouraged. After all, a group of men just enthusiastically agreed to buy the Systematic Theology and meet with me to slowly go through it over coffee. I can't wait for them to see what other truths the Dutchman speaks.

Buzz the Basics, Church

I’m not one of any authority to comment on movies. I’ve never seen Mel Gibson’s Passion of the Christ all the way through. I had to be strapped into a seat on a 17-hour trans-Pacific flight to watch The Hobbit (the first one, which is weird since I only own one book by that title) – and it took me watching it twice to stay conscious long enough to be able to say I’ve seen it all. It took me three days to watch The Dark Knight Rises. I had to be forced to watch Fireproof. I’m very glad I was, but am equally glad I’ve avoided seeing all the other Sherwood Baptist Church productions.

I am not an expert on movies.

There’s a decent amount of buzz in the Christian community about the upcoming Son of God movie event. People seem excited about it, and there are some very popular names adding their influential voices to the excitement.

Don’t look here for a review. I have no plans on seeing. I hope you enjoy it if you go see it.

I know I already sound like Grumpy Cat, but can I make an appeal?

The Scripture has given us three primary ways to portray the Person and work of our only Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ (Who is the Son of God).

Preaching.

“And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God” (1 Corinthians 2:1-5).

“O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified. Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith?” (Galatians 3:1,2; the “public portrayal” was the preaching of Christ, which is where the “hearing with faith” occurred).

The Lord’s Supper.

“The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread...for as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until He comes” (1 Corinthians 10:16,17; 11:26).

Baptism.

“Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? We were buried therefore with Him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with Him in a death like His, we shall certainly be united with Him in a resurrection like His” (Romans 6:3-5).

“In Him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, having been buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also raised with Him through faith in the powerful working of God, Who raised Him from the dead” (Colossians 2:11,12).

Since these things are explicitly commanded by God for the remembrance, portrayal, and communication of Jesus, can we buzz about these things more than we do about a movie? I’m not even addressing the validity of the medium of “the movie” as a means of communicating Scripture (right now, anyway). I’m just asking a question about what gets us talking and promoting. If we don’t find the excitement in us to magnify these ordinary – and scriptural - means of grace, maybe we should do some serious soul-searching as the covenant people of God.

Shouldn’t the “big thing” pushed by the Christian community in social media and elsewhere be that which we’ve been commanded to do? Shouldn’t that be our heart’s desire, joy, and the words of our voice in the midst of the world scene? Let’s take our proper place in the historic Church of the ages and get excited to buzz the basics He gave us 2,000 years ago. The new stuff will be gone tomorrow. What He gave us will endure. Get excited.

Useful and Honorable

“Now in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver but also of wood and clay, some for honorable use, some for dishonorable. Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable, he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ready for every good work. So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart. Have nothing to do with foolish, ignorant controversies; you know that they breed quarrels” (2 Timothy 2:20-23).

Cleansing yourself “from what is dishonorable” =

• “...flee youthful passions...” Someone recently asked me what I understood “passions.” Here’s how I responded: Seems to be used for lustful passions often, but is certainly not limited to this...more of an animal instinct or even a "follow your heart" ethic that has few outside guides or constraints. Here Paul adds the adjective “juvenile.” Just because you’re older doesn’t mean you grow up. I see just as much of this among adults as I do teenagers!
• “Have nothing to do with foolish, ignorant controversies...” There certainly are plenty of these. I believe in Matthew 7:12, and am longing for the day that I see more folks (both in and out of my theological camps!) embrace this verse.

Being “set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ready for every good work” =

• “...pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace...” Let the Word define these pursuits!
• “...along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart...” Really consider this phrase! This should be our prayerful goal for the Church! Let me add that those who “call upon the Lord from a pure heart” are also those who will see God (Matthew 5:8). How I pray that the Lord would give His people discernment in their fellowship! How I pray that the hypocrites would be given the grace of repentance and "call on the Lord from a pure heart" rather than a heart hungry for the approval of others pursued through drama, whispering, and slander.

Notice that this definition of holy (biblical pursuits and a focused fellowship) precedes being "ready for every good work." I cannot help but think that many of the things we think are "good works" are not at all because the biblically-mandated foundation is not there - no matter how "good" we think/feel it is. How sad!

Love the Master, love His House. Pray, encourage, be faithful, engage, grow, be purified, and desire to see “dishonorable...vessels...of wood and clay” transformed by the Holy Spirit through His means of grace into “vessels of gold and silver,” for His glory and our eternal joy!

W.W.P.D.?

If "following Jesus" was the whole of the Christian faith, the New Testament would be a whole lot shorter.

The early Church's normal practice was devotion "to the apostles' teaching" (Acts 2:42), and the Church is "built on the foundation of the apostles" (Ephesians 2:20; cf. Revelation 21:14). God the Holy Spirit has given the apostles (and their writings in the New Testament) as His gifting to the Church (1 Corinthians 12:28; Ephesians 4:11).

Merely "following Jesus" or "being like Jesus" or W.W.J.D. alone is not biblical Christianity.

*In addition to being missional and evangelizing often, Paul also planted churches, spent lots of time with churches, exhaustively taught doctrine to churches, and worked hard to make them organized and even - gulp - institutional.