Only a Holy God
Cityalight published the song, “Only a Holy God.” It goes like this:
Who else commands all the hosts of heaven?
Who else could make every king bow down?
Who else can whisper and darkness trembles?
Only a Holy God
What other beauty demands such praises?
What other splendour outshines the sun?
What other majesty rules with justice?
Only a Holy God
Come and behold Him
The One and the Only
Cry out, sing holy
Forever a Holy God
Come and worship the Holy God
Our God is a Holy God. All throughout Scripture, God is portrayed as Holy. In Leviticus 20:7 we are told to be holy because God is holy. Peter echoes this in 1 Peter 1:15. Isaiah had a vision of God in the year that King Uzziah died, and it was of the Holy God.
R.C. Sproul writes, “The idea of holiness is so central to biblical teaching that it is said of God, “Holy is His name.” (Luke 1:49). The first petition in the Lord’s prayer is “Hallowed by your name.” In other words, let God be regarded as holy. Sproul continues, “How we understand the person and character of God the Father affects every aspect of our lives.”
1 John 1:5
In 1 John 1: 5, we read, “This is the message we have hear from Him and announce to you, God is light, and in Him there is no darkness at all.” God is perfectly holy, that there is not even on ounce of sin in him. The response of believers then in verse 7 is, “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.”
As God is Holy and ought to be regarded as holy, All throughout Scripture God’s People are set apart to be holy to the Lord also. Stephen Charnock, a 17th century puritan, says of the Holiness of God:
The nature of God cannot rationally be conceived without it….Yet if we conceive him destitute of this excellent perfection, and imagine him possessed with the least contagion of evil, we make him but an infinite monster, and sully all those perfections we ascribed to him before; we rather own him a devil than a God. It is a contradiction to be God and be darkness, or to have one mote of darkness mixed with its light.
Speaking of his holiness, Charnock writes, “God is so holy, that he cannot possibly approve of any evil done by another, but doth perfectly abhor it.” On the contrary he writes, “God is so holy that he cannot but love holiness in others.”
Because of this, God’s holiness is most seen at the cross. Speaking of the cross Charnock writes,
“Justice indeed gave the stroke, bot holiness ordered it…Where did God break out so furiously in his detestation of iniquity? The Father would have the most excellent person, one next in order of himself, and equal to Him in all the glorious perfections of His nature, die on a disgraceful cross, and be exposed to the flames of Divine Wrath, rather than sin should live, and his holiness remain forever disparaged by the violations of his law.”
Our response to God’s Holiness
When Isaiah had a vision of God’s Holiness he bows down and says, “Woe is me, for I am ruined! Because I am a man of unclean lips, and I love among a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts.”
Isaiah’s glimpse of God’s holiness led him to despise his sin and become utterly abased and cry out to God. This led to his iniquity being taken away and his sins being forgiven.
If we are going to see the church victorious, if we are going to see the church be the pillar and buttress of truth it is called to be, if we are going to see the manifold wisdom of God displayed through the Church, we must recover a vision of God’s holiness. We must regard God as holy.
So many times we come to God as a cosmic grandpa handing out our hand for whatever he will give us, instead of the Sovereign, Holy King who demands our worship and allegiance.
AW Pink writes,
“The god which the vast majority of professing Christians “love” is looked upon very much like an indulgent old man, who himself has no relish for folly, but leniently winks at the “indiscretions” of youth. But the Word says, ‘Thou hates all workers of iniquity’ (Psalm 5:5) And again, ‘God is angry with the wicked every day’ (Psalm 7:11). But men refuse to believe in this God, and gnash their teeth when His hatred of sin is faithfully pressed upon their attention. No, sinful man was no more likely to devise a holy God than to create the Lake of fire in which he will be tormented for ever and ever.”
So friend, I invite you to turn from the idol you have created in your own mind, and to come and behold the holy God of the Bible. Come and worship him.
Come and behold Him
The One and the Only
Cry out, sing holy
Forever a Holy God
Come and worship the Holy God
Out of Context: Jeremiah 29:11
Imagine for a moment you are graduating high school, or college. Someone gives you a plaque to hang on your wall with an inspirational Bible verse: “ ‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity, to give you a future and a hope.’”
These certainly would be comforting words to someone who is entering a new stage of life. Maybe leaving his parents house for the first time, or stepping into the real world with a big boy job. Hearing that God’s plans for us includes our welfare, and a future and a hope, that sure does sound good!
The intended audience
The problem is, Jeremiah wasn’t writing this to high school or college graduates. He was writing to men and women from Judah who had been taken into captivity because of Judah’s disobedience.
The context
In context, Jeremiah is responding to a false prophet. Judah has been taken into Babylon and in Jeremiah 28:1, an alleged prophet named Hananiah comes along with a “Word from God.” in verse 3: “Within two years I am going to bring back to this place all the vessels of the Lord’s house, which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon took away from this place and carried to Babylon. I am also going to bring back to this place Jeconiah the son of Jehoakim, king of Judah, and all the exiles of Judah, who went to Babylon.”
This was great news!! Only two more years of captivity, proclaimed this prophet. The problem is, that is was false. He was telling the people what they wanted to hear, but this was not Good’s true prophet. Jeremiah was God’s true prophet and he responds in 29:4, in a letter sent to the elders in exile. “Thus says the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon,
“Build houses and live in them; and plant gardens and eat their produce. Take wives and become the fathers of sons and daughters, and take wives for your sons and give your daughters to husbands, that they may bear sons and daughters; and multiply there and do not decrease. Seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf; for in its welfare you will have welfare. For thus says the Lord of hosts, “Do not let your prophets who are in your midst and your diviners decieve you, and do not listen to the dreams which they dream. For they prophesy falsely to you in My name; I have not sent them declares the Lord.’”
“For thus says the Lord, ‘When seventy years have been completed for Babylon, I will visit you and fulfill my good word to you, to bring you back to this place.”
The immediate future for the exiles
Verse 11 seems a bit interesting given this immediate context. Jeremiah encouraged them to build houses, plant vineyards, get married and make babies so their babies can grow up, get married, and give them grand babies. Why? Because they would actually be in captivity for 70 YEARS!! The other guy was spreading false prophecy. Sure, it sounded better, but it was a lie. This should be counsel to pastors to preach what is true, not what people want to hear.
In verse 10, God did promise that after 70 years, he would bring them back to their land. But when he says in verse 11, plans for their welfare and not calamity, plans for a future and a hope, the immediate future for those in Babylon, many of them will be to die there. That is why they are told to keep having children and grandchildren. God will fulfill his promise to future generations.
When we read Jeremiah 29:11 in context, the future of these exiles is to live and die in Babylon. Some future and hope that is. Now, this doesn’t seem very encouraging to the high school or college graduate.
The Greater Context-The Bible’s One Story to Redeem the Broken World in Jesus
Even though Jeremiah 29 seems pretty bleak, they aren’t leaving Babylon anytime soon, and the adults will likely die there, God still promised a future and a hope. Is this simply referring to when the 70 years would be over, and they return to their land? All along the way we get glimpses of hope.
Jeremiah 30:3, “For behold days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will restore the fortunes of my people Israel and Judah.”
Jeremiah 31:1, “At that time, declares the Lord, I will be the God of all the families of Israel, and they shall be my people.”
In Jeremiah 31:27-34 , we get introduced to this idea of a New Covenant that God will establish where he will put the law, not on tablets of stone, but on their hearts, and he will forgive their iniquity, for I will remember their sin no more.”
When will this new covenant be established. When will their iniquity and sin be blotted out? When will God finally restore his people?
In Jeremiah 33:14-16, we read, “Behold days are coming declares the Lord, when I will fulfill the good word which I have spoken to the house of Israel and the house of Judah. In those days, and at that time I will cause a righteous Branch of David to spring forth; and He shall execute justice and righteousness on all the earth. In those days, Judah will be saved and Jerusalem will dwell in safety; and this is the name by which she will be called, “The Lord is our righteousness.”
Jeremiah had already mentioned this Righteous Branch of David in chapter 23:5.
Who is this righteous branch who will spring forth from David? Who will be the one to come from David’s line to save God’s people? When you turn to Matthew 1, the light bulb ought to be going off. The Righteous Branch of David is the one and only, Jesus of Nazareth.
What Jeremiah 29:11 really means
It ought to be crystal clear at this point that Jeremiah 29:11 isn’t promising the college graduate an easy life, and a six figure job right after graduation. What Jeremiah 29:11 teaches us is that even though life may not be what you expected it to be right now. Even if life involves suffering, as it did for those exiles, there is a future and a hope in the midst of this, and His name is Jesus. Jesus is our hope. Jesus is the one who will restore what is broken. Jesus is the one who will restore God’s people into a right relationship with God. Jeremiah 29:11 isn’t about you. Its not even about Israel or Judah. Jeremiah 29:11 tells us that Jesus, the righteous branch of David, He is our future and hope.
The Proof is in the Pudding
Have you ever thought about the above phrase? I have heard the above phrase my entire life, and never really considered its meaning. According to Dictionary.com, this expression means that “the value, quality, or truth of something must be judged based on direct experience with it-or on its results.”
Now, this phrase only goes so far. When it comes to God’s truth, it is true no matter what our experience is of it. But at the same time, the proof is in the pudding.
I saw a facebook ad for a new book coming out, and there was an atheist on their demanding proof for God’s existence, and demanding proof for any one of the miracles performed by Jesus 2,000 years ago. He argued that we cannot prove God’s existence even from the existence of creation. Using that logic he says, we can prove that Santa Clause exists because the North Pole exists.
While his logic is flawed, in one sense he is right. I cannot prove the existence of God in the same way I can prove the existence of my wife, or my house, or my employment status. If you have any doubts even to my existence, and perhaps think I am merely AI, some chatbot writing this blog, and that maybe I don’t even exist, I can prove that I do. My parents can prove that. But I cannot in the same way, prove that God exists. In one sense, that is where faith comes in.
But I can prove the existence of God in a different way. How? The proof is in the pudding. Why on earth would believers of all nations, tribes and tongues set aside one day of the week to worship a Being they cannot see. Because God is real. How is it that here in Wickenburg, Arizona at First Southern Baptist Church of Wickenburg, that a group of people with different backgrounds, different preferences, different perspectives on tertiary theological issues, and different ages, all come together, united, singing praises to a Being they cannot see, and submit to His Word? Because God is real.
There is no factual argument you can give an atheist to convince him of God’s existence. I could argue why the Bible is reliable, I could argue facts about the crucifixion and resurrection to prove that Jesus died and rose again. But none of those arguments would satisfy the fool who in his heart says there is no God. (Psalm 14:1).
Ultimately it is the Spirit of God, through a display of God’s sovereignty that changes the heart of a sinner. But the means by which God uses to change a sinners heart is the united witness of the local church. The unity of the local church is a gospel witness to the watching world.
Jesus, in his high priestly prayer prays for believers in John 17:21, “That they may all be one; even as you, Father, are in me and I in you, that they may be in US, so that the world may believe that You sent me.”
Jesus prays that the believers would be one, ultimately for the purpose that the world may believe. As we consider the church on Fellowship Fridays, the church displays the gospel through our unity together, and it gives evidence to the one who established the church. DO you want proof God exists? The proof is in the pudding. Find a church that believes in God, that submits to the Word of God, that proclaims the gospel of God, and go “partake of the pudding.” Go experience it. Go skeptically if you must, but go. Don’t just go once, but go often. Rub shoulders with other sinful people that God has redeemed. Listen to a normal every day man faithfully teach the Word in a Bible Study group. Listen to a flawed man preach the Word of God that he believes in in full conviction. Go share a meal with an older couple who have served God their entire lives. Go spend time with a deacon as he visits a church member and prays with them. Join your voice with the other voices as they sing praises to this invisible God.
When you experience the life in a local church, then come meet with me and give me proof that God doesn’t exist.
Behold Your Unchanging God
Change is all around us. The seasons change. Even there is change from night to day as the sun rises and falls. As humans, we change. Our bodies change (I won’t elaborate on this!), sometimes our beliefs change, and our disposition changes. Our attitudes to certain things change. We develop. There was once a time I didn’t know my ABC’s or how to speak a three letter word, now I am reading the works of brilliant theologians to write this very blog. We change.
When we thing of God though, he doesn’t change. When we begin to talk about God’s attributes, there are two kinda of attributes of God that theologians talk about. They are called incommunicable attributes, and communicable attributes. Incommunicable, means they are not communicated, which means these attributes of God are not reflected in his image bearers. They are things only true of himself. For example, his omnipresence is incommunicable, but his the love of God is a communicable attribute. Humans, image bears of God cannot reflect God’s omnipresence, but we can reflect his love.
When we think of God’s unchangeableness, or as theologians call it, his immutability, this is an incommunicable attribute. While we change frequently, God doesn’t.
This is not a hard attribute to affirm. We sing this regularly in churches across the globe:
Great is Thy Faithfulness, O God My Father,
There is no shadow of turning with Thee;
Thou changest not, thy compassions, they fail not.
As thou has been, thou forever wilt be.
This famous hymn communicates the theological truth of God’s immutability or unchangeableness. How then is God unchanging?
God is unchanging in his Divine Essence. God has been God for eternity. He cannot become more or less God than he already is. While some cult’s may teach that God was once a man who became a god, that is completely false. In fact, Christianity is the opposite, God, in there person of Jesus, took on flesh, and became man.
God is unchanging in his character. Numbers 23:19 says, “God is not a man that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind. HAs he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it. Hebrews 13:8 tells us that “Jesus Christ, is the same yesterday and today, and forever.” Even though Jesus took on flesh, his divine nature, and moral character never changed. God’s love is perfect. He cannot grow more loving, and he does not become less loving. God is perfectly holy. He cannot be more holy than he is, because he is infinitely holy. and God will not be less holy, because God cannot sin.
God’s plans and purposes are unchanging. “And the Glory of Israel will not lie or have regret, for he is not a man, that he should have regret.” If we understand the Bible wrongly, it may look like God has one way of salvation, through the law, and then when that didn’t work, he went to plan B and sent Jesus to bear the curse of the law. But when we really understand God’s Word, we know that even from Genesis 3:15, the gospel has been God’s plan from the beginning. Jesus is the fulfillment of promises made to Abraham, before the Law was even given. God’s plan and his ways are unchanging.
The Unchanging God who Relents
In Geneis 6:6, it speaks of the Lord “regretting” that he made man, and it grieved him to his heart? As if he realized he made a mistake, it seems. Other verses seems to indicate a change of mind in God.
“Now therefore mend your ways and your deeds, and obey the voice of the Lord your God, and the Lord will relent of the disaster that he has pronounced against you.” Jeremiah 26:13
“And God sent the angel to Jerusalem to destroy it, but as he was about to destroy it, the Lord saw, and he relented from the calamity. And he said to the angel who was working destruction, “It is enough; now stay your hand.” 1 Chronicles 21:15
“And rend your hearts and not your garments. Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and merciful. slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and he relents over disaster.” Joel 2:13
It is actually interesting to look at these passages, because as we see God is not changing in his character, he is not changing in his position against sin. What is changing is his response to humans as the turn from their sin. Wayne Grudem accurately writes, “ God’s unchangeableness does not mean he will not act nor feel differently in response to different situations.” God responds different to rebellion than he does repentance. When we trust in Jesus by faith, while God’s mercy is poured out upon us and not his wrath, God has not stopped being God. He continues to be holy, just, and merciful all at the same time.
Comfort from God’s Unchangeableness
Listen to these Words from AW Tozer:
What peace it brings to the CHristian’s heart to realize that our Heavenly Father never differs from Himself. In coming to Him at any time we need not wonder whether we shall find him in a receptive mood. His is always receptive to misery and need, as well as to love and faith. He does not keep office hours not set aside periods when He will see no one. Neither does He change his mind about anything. Today, this moment, He feels toward His creatures, toward babies, toward the sick, the fallen, the sinful, exactly as he did when He sent His only-begotten Son into the world to die for mankind.
God never changes moods or cools off in his affections or loses enthusiasm. His attitude toward sin is now the same as it was when he drive out the sinful man from the eastward garden, and His attitude toward the sinner the same as when he stretched forth his hands and cried, “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”
AW Pink comforts us with the unchangeableness of God this way:
Human nature cannot be relied upon, but God can! However unstable I may be, however fickle my friends may prove, God changes not. If he varied as we do, if he willed one thing today and another tomorrow, if He were controlled by caprice, who could confide in Him? But all praise to his glorious name, He is ever the same. His purpose is fixed, His will is stable, His word is sure. Here then is a rock on which we may fix our feet, while the mighty torrent is sweeping away everything around us.
Encouragement to Pray:
Stephen Charnock, a 17th century puritan in his excellent work “The Existence and Attributes of God writes, “What comfort would it be to pray to a god that, like a chameleon, changed color every moment? Who would put pu a petition to an earthly prince that was so mutable to grant a petition one day, and deny it another?”
God’s unchangeableness means he is faithful, reliable, and he can be trusted. We can take our needs before him because he does not change.
A Warning to the Wicked
AW Pink writes again giving a serious warning:
Those who defy Him, who break His laws, who have no concern for His glory, but who live their lives as though He existed not, must not suppose that, when at last they shall cry to Him for mercy, He will alter His will, revoke His word, and rescind his awful threatenings. God will not deny Himself to gratify their lusts. God is holy, unchangingly so. Therefore God hates sin, eternally hates it.
If you are rejecting God and trampling upon his gospel, don’t expect him to change in the end and give you a free pass. He won’t be like me. Sometimes I cave to my daughter, “Fine you can have a popsicle,” when previously she was not allowed. God is not like me. God’s character does not change, his holiness is eternal, and his will cannot be thwarted.
Behold, your Unchanging God.
Out of Context: Philippians 4:13
In todays Tuesday’s Truth, and following ones, we are going to examine what certain Bible verses mean in their context. There are popular Bible verses that are often taken out of their context, and twisted to mean something the author’s never intended. When the Bible was written, there were no chapter and verse divisions. So individual verses were never intended to stand alone. They are to be interpreted and understood within the passage that they are in. The one we will look at today is Philippians 4:13,
“I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.”
I used to have this verse on a shirt with a basketball on it. I believed this verse meant that God would give me the strength needed to slam dunk a basketball. The verse certainly says we can do “all things” right? Well, yes. But what are the all things being talked about in the context of the verse? That is what will help us in understanding what Philippians 4:13 is saying.
In verse 10, Paul is rejoicing that the Philippian church has contributed to his needs financially. In verse 14 they shared with him in his affliction. In verse 15, they were the only church that gave to him financially after he left Macedonia when he first began preaching the gospel.
Verse 13 then is in the context of giving and receiving of financial needs. In verse 11, Paul notes that he is not speaking from want, because he has learned how to be content in whatever circumstances I am in. He unpacks this in verse 12. I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having and abundance, and suffering need.
When we read in context, the all things of Philippians 4:13 refers back to the “whatever circumstances” of verse 11, and the any and every circumstance of verse 12.
So Philippians 4:13 isn’t telling me that Christ is going to strength me to crush Michael Jordan in a game of basketball. The all things refers to having plenty or being in need. What the verse is saying is that Paul can live in poverty or abundance because it is Christ who give him strength in both situations.
We have to let the context tell us what “all things” means. When we understand this verse in context, we understand its proper meaning and application for our lives.
No matter what financial situation we find ourselves in, Christ is the one who strengthens us. I remember in seminary my bank account was running dry, I went to check my mail and a church couple had sent me a check. God was the one behind the scenes, sustaining me with his strength during that time. Life is no longer like that. While Im not rich by anyone’s estimation, all of my needs are met and I am not living paycheck to paycheck as I did many years ago. It is the same God and the same strength that allows me to make wise decisions with what he has given me.
The reason God strengthened him even when suffering need, is so that even in these difficult circumstances, Paul could continue being faithful to gospel ministry even in poverty. God doesn’t call us to be faithful to gospel ministry only when our pocketbooks are full. But he strengthens us to continue in faithfulness, even when they aren’t.
Decisions or Disciples: Seeking Clarity on who belongs to Jesus
I grew up in church my entire life. I’ve been to so many evangelistic events where invitations have happened. You know how it goes. The preacher stands down front, gives an appeal to follow Jesus.
With every head bowed and eyes closed, if you want to experience the peace of Christ in your troubled life, raise your hand. I see you back there sister. I see that hand in the balcony. We have more hands going up! Hallelujah, glory to God! Are there any more? Today may be your last day to give your life to Jesus? We’re gonna wait just a couple more minutes, keep those hands held high. Alright, for those of you with your hands raised, I want you to repeat this prayer after me…
You have heard something similar I’m sure. Maybe you were saved under such an invitation. But I am convinced that such a system produced a lot of “decisions” but not many disciples.
In Matthew 7:21, as Jesus was teaching on the sermon of the mount we read:
“Not everyone who says to me Lord, Lord,” will enter the kingdom of heaven. But he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. Many will say to me on that day, Lord, Lord did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name cast out demons, and in your name perform miracles?” And then I will declare to them, “I never knew you depart from me, you who practice lawlessness.”
There are those who profess Jesus as Lord, but are trusting in their own works to save them, while continuing to live a sinful life. In 1 John, many say they love God but they prove themselves to be liars. because they do not walk in holiness, they do not believe the gospel, and they do not love their fellow brothers in Christ.
Merely saying you are a Christian doesn’t mean that you actually are one. 1 John 1:6 tells us, “If we say that we have fellowship with him, and yet walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.”
I grew up in a church culture that promoted decisions over discipleship. If you wanted to be someone in denominational life, you had to report how many decisions were made “down front,” how many “prayed the prayer” and how many baptisms, and report those to the convention. You would even report how many “rededication’s” you had. The problem with this, I began to see, is the same people would “rededicate their life” every summer after youth camp, and never actually live a changed life. The Spirit was not living within them and their lives were not marked by the fruits of the Spirit.
To be sure, a church that preaches the gospel should see people repenting of sin and placing their faith in Jesus, getting baptized and joining the church. However, in this “decision culture” we have unfortunately led many people to “make a decision” that the Spirit had not drawn them to, and baptized many false converts.
A gospel preaching church should be eager to see genuine disciples formed by the preaching of the gospel, not seeking to get as many decisions as possible. How do we avoid producing false converts? Well, we can’t complete avoid it. The Parable of the Soils makes that clear. But we can do our best to seek genuine disciples and not unverifiable decisions that lead to false conversion, and worst false assurance. How do we do that.
Preach the gospel accurately. When we water down the gospel to get a response, we may get decisions, but we haven’t produced disciples.
Implore people to count the cost: This is what Jesus did. He didn’t paint a version of Christianity that was a bed of roses, but a version of Christianity that included self-denial and suffering.
Don’t use unbiblical methods of evangelism. Mack Stiles in his book Evangelism says this, “Most important, even though people come to Jesus through various means, the Bible never uses results to guide or justify evangelistic practice.” So much of today’s problem is we promoted unbiblical methods, and called them successful because of the mass amount of “decisions” that were made, when in reality they were not genuine converts. Now we have people who think they are Christians because they walked an aisle and “prayed the prayer” when they were 6, but they have never repented of their sin, and they presently are not walking with Jesus
Be clear in the response to the gospel. The Biblical response to the gospel is not “come forward or pray this prayer.” The biblical response to the gospel is repent of sin and trust in the the atoning sacrifice of Christ on the cross.
Disciple others and hold others accountable in the local church. When people do place their faith in Christ, members of the local Chu have the responsibility to disciple them and help them grow as a Christian. A professing believer should not be allowed to leave the church for prolonged periods of time without someone checking in. The church should have such a culture of discipleship and care that we go after straying members, and we help faithful members continue to grow.
Practice Biblical Church Discipline. If someone is not believing like a Christian or behaving like a Christian, we do them no favors to allow them to keep thinking they are a Christian. This is where church discipline comes in. It is loving, and It protects the purity of the gospel and the church, and protects the soul of the one under discipline so that he will perhaps see his sin and his need for Christ, and genuinely respond in repentance and faith.
A Bruised Reed He Will not Break
As I have spent some time looking ahead to plan Christmas sermons, the book of Isaiah is filled with so many prophecies concerning the birth of Christ. Isaiah is writing to give people hope who would be in exile. Israel in Babylonian exile may lose hope, but the promise of the coming Messiah, and the restoration of the remnant of Israel, those who trust in God’s promises were to give God’s people hope in the midst of a hopeless situation.
In the book of Isaiah, we come to Isaiah 42:1-4, which is one of the messianic prophecies about Christ.
1 Behold, My Servant, whom I uphold;
My chosen one in whom My soul delights.
I have put My Spirit upon Him;
He will bring forth justice to the nations.
2 “He will not cry out or raise His voice,
Nor make His voice heard in the street.
3 “A bruised reed He will not break
And a dimly burning wick He will not extinguish;
He will faithfully bring forth justice.
4 “He will not be disheartened or crushed
Until He has established justice in the earth;
In this passage, we get a glimpse of the kind of Savior Jesus will be. First, Jesus is the chosen servant of God in whom the Father delights. We see this at Jesus’ baptism, when the Father says, “This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased. We also see in verse 1 and verse 4 that Jesus will execute justice. This was a hopeful promise to Israel who would be taken captive by Babylon.
But I want to zero in on verse 3. A bruised reed he will not break, and a dimly burning wick he will not extinguish.” A bruised reed is hanging on by a thread, and a dimly burning wick is about to go out. From our vantage point, the bruised weed and the wick that’s at the end of its rope, is practically useless. We would pull the reed off, and snuff the candle out.
And that’s what Babylon does to God’s people. When they have had enough, when they are a bruised reed and a dimly burning wick, Babylon kicks them while they are down.
But here we see the gentleness of Jesus. The Bruised reed and dimly burning wick point us to the brokenness and frailty of humanity. We may be broken because of our own sin, or broken due to the sin of others.
Jesus will not break the bruised reed. He will not extinguish the dimly burning wick. That’s you and me. We are bruised, we are barely shining and our light about to go out. But Jesus doesn’t toss us out. He doesn’t get rid of us. In fact, he comes to restore us. He comes to save and redeem the bruised reeds and dimly burning wicks.
Dear believer, I don’t know where you are in your life today. But I imagine at times life’s circumstances may cause you to feel like that bruised reed and dimly burning wick. Life sometimes appears to be hopeless. But Jesus, the servant in whom the Father delights, he cares for us. He will execute justice and restore the broken. Come to him! Find peace in Christ today, for a bruised reed he will not break, and a dimly burning wick he will not extinguish.
The Priority of Prayer
It has been a while since I have updated the blog. We have had some family and friends visiting and have put blogging on the back burner, but I do enjoy writing short things for your growth and encouragement. One of my favorite things to look forward to each week is our Sunday PM prayer gathering. I do love preaching on Sundays and singing with the saints, but even more I look forward praying with God’s people. Because of this, I begain reading a book called, “A Praying Church.” By Paul Miller.
He writes, “Praying together is not a luxury, nor is it something, just for “spiritual” Christians; it’s the very breath of the church.
In his book he notes that often at church planting meetings, church planters often talk about strategies and methods, but the one thing that is often lacking in those meetings is prayer. No amount of strategizing can substitute for our utter and absolute dependence on God.
God’s people have always been a praying people. Early in Genesis, in chapter 4:26, it reads, “At that time people began to call upon the name of the Lord.” The disciples who could have asked Jesus anything asked him, “Lord, teach us to pray.” (Luke 11:1). After Jesus ascended and the believers were waiting on the coming of the Holy Spirit, we find in Acts 1:14, “These all with one mind were continually devoting themselves to prayer, along with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, with His brothers.”
After Pentecost, when the Spirit poured out on 3,000 souls and the church of the Lord Jesus Christ was formed, prayer was one of their chief priorities. Acts 2:42 says, “They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles teaching, and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread, and to prayer.”
When the first deacons were chosen to take care of widows that were being neglected, they were chosen so that the apostles could devote themselves to preaching and prayer. ““But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.” It is actually interesting to note that they mentioned prayer before the ministry of the word. Today, emphasis is placed on preaching. The preaching of the Word is the central, and focal point of the morning service. But prayer was listed first as a priority to the apostles. They knew that without prayer, without dependance on God, their ministry of the Word would lack the power that it needs to bring about salvation. In Paul’s letters we are exhorted to not be anxious, but to pray. We are exhorted to pray continuously. Timothy is instructed to pray for King’s and all who are in authority. Elder are encouraged to pray for the sick in James. In Revelation 8:3-5, the prayers of all the saints went up to God after the Lamb broke the seventh seal.
Prayer is a priority of God’s people from beginning to end in the Bible. As believers and as churches, we must also make prayer a priority in our lives individually and corporately. Even the Lord’s prayer in Luke 11, the emphasis is on corporate prayer. Teach US to pray, Give US each day OUR daily bread. And forgive US OUR sins. Lead US not into temptation.
One of the things that we must do collectively and corporately as a church is pray. This shouldn’t be just one more thing on our to do list, but it should be the heartbeat of the church that pumps life into everything else. Just as the heart pumps blood to the rest of the body, prayer should give life to every other aspect of the church’s ministry. We cannot preach the word apart from prayer. We cannot evangelize without prayer. We cannot shepherd our children without prayer.
To get you praying, here are a few things you can pray for this week:
Pray for your own soul. Pray that God would continue to give you growth as a Christian and give you a greater knowledge of His Word as you study it so that you may know HIM better.
Pray for someone you know that is lost. Pray for unbelievers to come to salvation. Mention them by name.
Pray for your church. Pray for your pastor, church leaders, bible study teachers, and members. Pray for specific requests if you know them.
Pray with people. When you meet with them, pray with them.
Mondays Musings: Why we preach verse by verse through books of the Bible?
I was asked yesterday by a dear member how long I would be preaching through the book of Galatians. My answer was “As long as it takes to finish it.”
Many members in our churches are not used to book by book, verse by verse preaching. This is what we call expository preaching. While it is not the only form of preaching, and perhaps what many people are used to is topical preaching, I believe book by book, verse by verse preaching is the best method of preaching, for many reasons, but the first is that I believe is it is taught in the Bible itself.
Expository Preaching is Biblical.
First, I believe it is biblical. In Nehemiah 8, the prophet Ezra was asked by the people of God to bring the book of the law of Moses which the Lord had given to Israel. The first five books of the Bible, Genesis-Deuteronomy, known as the Pentateuch, were Israel’s scriptures. Verse 1 says they were gathered as one man. In verse 2, “Ezra the priest brought the book of the law of Moses before the assembly of men, women, and all who could listen with understanding on the first day of the seventh month.”
What we see here is that the congregation included even children who could understand. They weren’t in another area making crafts and coloring pictures of Noah’s Ark. They were listening to the reading of God’s Word. This is one reason that at FSBCW we prioritize children being in worship with their parents, because there is a biblical precedence for it. Verse 3 says, “He read from it before the square which was in front of the Water Gate from early morning until mid day, in the presence of men and women, those who could understand; and all the people were attentive to the book of the law.” This was a multiple hour sermon, and even the kids were paying attention. I am not suggesting we go back to several hours of preaching, because technology has destroyed our attention spans. I recommend a book by Neil Postman, “Amusing Ourselves to death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business,” a book written in the 80’s to show how technology has changed public discourse and the ability to listen to public discourse, preaching included.
In verse 4 it reads, “Ezra the scribe stood at a wooden podium which they had made for that purpose.” It records that other men were beside him. While I don’t think that this necessitates that churches must have a wooden podium, I personally prefer the traditional wooden podium verses the modern acrylic ones because of this text. In verse 5-6, “Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people, for he was standing above all the people, and when he opened it, all the people stood up. The Ezra blessed the Lord, the great God. And all the people answered, Amen, Amen!” While lifting up their hands, then they bowed low and worshipped the Lord with their faces to the ground.”
The reverence and awe the people of God has for the Word of God needs to be recovered today. I am glad that the Bible has been translated into the vernacular of every day language and that everyone can have a copy of God’s Word. I have perhaps more copies of God’s Word on my bookshelf than I actually need (Although many of them are study Bibles and different versions that I consult with regularly). But having the Bible so readily available, perhaps has caused us to lose our awe of God’s Word, as the people of God had in Ezra and Nehemiah’s day. In verse 7, we get another list of people and it says, “they explained the law to the people while the people remained in their place.”
Verse 8 gives a great explanation of what happened during this multiple hour sermon experience: “They read from the book, from the law of God, translating to give the sense so that they understand the reading.”
This is why our sermons at FSBCW are book by book, verse by verse. We read from it, we explain it, so that people can understand it.”
As Steven J. Lawson writes in his book, Famine in the Land: A Passionate Call for Expository Preaching,
“Many evangelical ministers have succumed to delivering secular sounding motivational pep talks aimed at soothing the felt needs of restless church shoppers, or worse, salving the guilty consciences of unregenerate church members. Rather than expounding the depths of God’s Word, mant Bible believing ministers have chosen the path of least resistance, content to scratch the surface of shallow souls and tickle the ears of languid listeners. The result is congregations are starving, even though many of the famished may not be aware of it-settling for sickly sweet, yet totally inadequate, spiritual pabulum.”
I believe he is absolutely right. While expository preaching may not be as entertaining I believe it is what we are called to do, and I believe it is what every member in the congregation needs.
Expository Preaching is Beneficial.
While I believe book by book verse is biblical, I believe it is also immensely beneficial. First, expository preaching is faithful to the text of scripture and prevents us from taking scripture out of context. The desire of the expositor is to explain the text within its context. This will keep the preacher from taking scripture out of context to suit their own message. With topical or motivational preaching, instead of explaining the scripture, “preachers” can pull a verse out of its context, use it in a way it was not intended, to bolster support for their message, instead of explaining God’s message to those who need it. Second, expository preaching promotes clarity and understanding: There are so many passages of Scripture that are difficult to understand, and when a preacher explains them in their given context, within a passage, within a book, within its geographical, historical, and redemptive context, the light bulb begins to illumine in the minds of the hearers. Third, expository preaching prevents preachers from avoiding difficult and potentially divisive doctrinal truths. When we preach verse by verse, we cannot avoid verses that are in God’s Word that we would rather not address. We are called to preach the Word, not just the parts of the Word we like, or that are easier to handle. Also it prevents us from avoiding passages that are difficult in our own theological system. It enables us to put scriptures together that are hard to reconcile. Fourth, expository preaching contributes to the spiriutal growth and maturity of the congregation. If my daughter had it her way, we would have ice cream for dinner every night. A little ice cream is good, but we need a steady diet of meat, fruits, vegetables, and carbs. We put food on her plate that she probably would rather not eat. But she needs it. The church likewise needs a stead diet of all of Scripture. We need the Old and New Testaments, we need to hear sermons from the minor prophets and Paul’s Letters. We need to have some of the law of Moses and the gospels on our plate. When we have a steady diet of verse by verse preaching from different books in different genres of Scripture, we grow in spiritual maturity. The truth is, we need to sit under the expositional preaching of God’s Word, even if we don’t know it. It is good for our souls. Fifth, expository preaching deepens our theological understanding. As pastors faithful preach verse by verse from different genres we will begin to see how God’s covenant with Abraham in Genesis 15 fits with the genealogy of Jesus in Matthew 1. We will begin to connect various parts of Scripture as our theological understanding grows.
So at FSBW, you may not find the most entertaining sermons. While you will hear some humor, the purpose of preaching is not to tell jokes. (And for the record, our pastors jokes aren’t really that funny!) But out pastor is committed to faithfully preaching the Bible, verse by verse through books of the Bible. It is through this method of reading the text and explaining it that God’s people grow in the understanding of God’s Word, so that they may know Him all the more, and experience His love deeper and love Him more deeply.
Theology Thursdays: Behold Your God
Isaiah 40:9–10
[9] Go on up to a high mountain, O Zion, herald of good news; lift up your voice with strength, O Jerusalem, herald of good news; lift it up, fear not; say to the cities of Judah,“Behold your God!”
[10] Behold, the Lord GOD comes with might, and his arm rules for him; behold, his reward is with him, and his recompense before him. (ESV)
I’m going to dive right in. I believe the greatest need for the church today is to really know who God is. J.I Packer writes, “Christian minds have been conformed to the modern spirit; the spirit that is, that spawns great thoughts of man and leaves room for only small thoughts of God.
I believe J.I. Packer is absolutely right. As H.B. Charles says in his book “On Worship, “Without a proper view of God, you have nothing. Only when you see God properly, will everything else be brought into focus.”
Only when we understand who God is: infinite in holiness and power, majestic in his sovereignty, perfect in his goodness, consistent in his faithfulness, will we truly understand everything else.
As noted in yesterday’s blog post, the reason why most modern worship is so anemic is that many have such a low view of God. The reason evangelism doesn’t happen is because we have a low view of God, and therefore a low view of salvation.
In many cases theology seems to become a merely academic exercise for pastors and seminary students. But theology is immensely practical.
So what are the practical benefits of having a right view of God:
A Deeper relationship with God. The point of theology is not so we will be puffed up with information, but that we know God better. For example, we don’t study the love of God, just to have intellectual knowledge about God’s love. We do so that according to Ephesians 3:19, “to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
Seeking guidance: When we know God’s omniscience and wisdom, we will seek him for guidance in various aspects of our life. the Bible assures us that God is all knowing (Psalm 147:5) and that He grants wisdom to those who ask (James 1:5).
Finding comfort and strength. When we understand God’s sovereignty and that he has a purpose behind our suffering., and that he is good, and works “all things for the good of those who love God, who are called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28), then we can trust him even when life seems to be spinning out of control, because we know that even though life is chaotic and troublesome to use, he is upholding and sustaining all things, and sovereignly orchestrating them for our good, and His glory.
Encouraging Worship and Adoration: This was the point of the post yesterday. When we grasp his holiness, majesty, and glory we are moved to praise and exalt Him above all else.
Guiding Christian Living: As people who bear the image of God and called to reflect this image in the world, Knowing God and his attributes help us to live rightly in the world. For example, knowing God’s holiness, we know what it means to live a holy life. In 1 Peter 1:15, “As he who called you is holy, so be holy in all your conduct, for it is written, “You shall be holy for I am holy.” We are called to live a holy life, but we do not understand what that means until we can first grasp what it means for God to be holy. Understanding God’s holiness helps us to live our lives of holiness. Also, when we understand that God is love, and knowing how God loves us, we are to love others as he loved us (1 John 4:11). We do not truly understand how we ought to be loving, until we first understand biblically what it means for God to be loving.
Strengthening our Faith: When we know God’s attributes, namely his faithfulness and trustworthiness, we can put all of our hope in him, even when things don’t make since to us, or when circumstances are hard.
So, as we embark on our study of God on Theology Thursdays, I don’t want you to be afraid of the word “theology” because you heard someone say theology and doctrine are divisive. Sure they can be and sometimes rightfully so when it comes down to truth verses error, but sometimes unnecessarily so when christians divide over their particular views over lesser theological matters. But Theology is a Word about God, and it is crucial to our lives as Christians to know God rightly and biblically. It is important that we submit what our grannies and our pastors taught us at the feet of biblical authority. What does the Bible say about God? That is exactly what we are going to do in the weeks ahead, and I hope you are just as excited as I am.
Next Week we will dive into exploring: Our Unchanging God.
High and Lifted Up: Seeing God for Who He is
In Isaiah 6, Isaiah records that in the year that King Uzziah died, he had such a vision of God that caused him to bow down and see his sin for what it is. He referred to God as Holy, Holy, Holy. This vision of Isaiah is as follows:
In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high andlifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. 2 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. 3 And one called to another and said:
“Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts;
the whole earth is full of his glory!”
4 And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. 5 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!”
6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he hadtaken with tongs from the altar. 7 And he touched my mouth and said: “Behold, this hastouched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for.”
It is important to see this vision. When we worship, we ought to have such a high view of God similar to that of Isaiah. We ought to see God in his unrivaled sovereignty and indescribable holiness.
A.W. Tozer writes, “The greatest need of the moment is that lighthearted, superficial religionists be struck down with a vision of God high and lifted up, with his train filling the temple.”
To worship, literally means to ascribe worth. In order to truly worship God, we must see God for who he is. We must truly know God in order to worship him. As we move into Theology Thursdays and look at various attributes of God, the purpose is that we know him better and therefore worship him more accurately.
H.B. Charles notes in his book, “On Worship,” that this holy vision of God brought Isaiah to an end of himself. He recognized he was a man of unclean lips. Charles writes,
“When you see God as He truly is, you will see yourself as you are. True worship is transformative. But transformation happens in worship not because that is our goal. We change in worship as we behold the glory of the Lord.”
He continues:
When the vision of God’s holiness convicts us of our sinfulness, we not not need to be pumped and primed to worship. It will be the overflow of glad and grateful hearts that are trophies of grace.
We need right theology, so that we may rightfully worship God. We need a robust and high view of God, so that we will have a right view of ourselves, and fall down before God in genuine worship.
In order to promote a High view of God I recommend a few books:
J.I Packer, “Knowing God.”
A.W. Pink, “The Attributes of God.”
A.W. Tozer, “The Knowledge of the Holy.”
A.W. Tozer, “The Attributes of God.”
Tuesday’s Truth: Teaching what is Good: The Responsibility of Godly women in the church
In the past several installments of Tuesday’s Truth, we have looked at the truth about Gender in the Bible. It was designed by God, and men and women have different roles within the church and at home. It is clear that God has designed men to lead in the church and at home. When scholars teach on biblical manhood and womanhood, since it is often a defense against evangelical feminism, the emphasis is often on what women can’t do, focusing on verses like 1 Timothy 2:12-14. However, in this post I want to show that women have a responsibility to teach the word to other women in the local church. Let’s look at Titus chapter 2.
In Titus 2:1, Paul writes to Titus, “But as for you, speak the things which are fitting for sound doctrine. He then describes certain behaviors that older men must exhibit (2:2), and then older women (Titus 2:3).
Older women likewise are to be reverent in their behavior, not malicious gossips nor enslaved to much wine, teaching what is good;
Most of what we see are character qualities, reverent, not gossiping, and not getting drunk. But then the older women are told to “teach what is good.” We see the result of her teaching in the next verse.
So that they may encourage the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, to be sensible, pure, workers at home, kind, being subject to their own husbands, so that the word of God will not be dishonored.
We see clearly here in this text that older women are to teach what is good to the younger women. What is included in teaching what is good? I believe this goes back to verse 1. What Paul admonishes Titus to do is to speak that which is fitting for sound doctrine, and in so doing the various members of the congregation older men, older women, young women, and young men will live godly lives. Older women have a responsibility to teach the young women what is good, that is, what is fitting for sound doctrine.
The result of this teaching is so that the younger women will be able to better love their husbands and children. It will be so that younger women will have a better theological understanding so that they will carry out their God ordained responsibilities so that God’s word will be honored. In order for the young women to not dishonor the Word, the older women have a responsibility to teach them the Word. Now, we don’t have an age requirement here for who qualifies as an older women. I believe the idea here is a mature, godly woman who studies the Word, knows the word, can effectively communicate the word to other women so that they aren’t just filled with theological knowledge but live godly lives. Women can love their families in the way that God has ordained to the extent that they know God’s Word.
Women must not just teach other women how to be home makers, but also to instruct young women to deny ungodliness and worldly desires, and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age (Titus 2:12), and these women must teach other women so that they will place their hope in Jesus: “looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus, who gave himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds.” (Titus 2:13-14)
As we want to be a church faithful to God’s Word, we must not merely respond to the false views of feminism and say what a woman can’t do. Sure, God has not ordained women to pastor and teach authoritatively over men in the church. But we must celebrate the many ways God has gifted women and embrace the ways God has biblically called women to serve in the church, and equip them to fulfill their God ordained responsibility to teach what is good to other women, so that God’s Word will not be dishonored.
When both men and woman are serving the church in the way God has designed them, God is glorified, His Word is Honored, and the church is built up, and Jesus is exalted!
Monday Musings: The Danger of Human Pride
The month of June is known as “Pride Month.” It is where the LGBTQ community celebrates and takes pride in their lifestyle. While we affirm that every person is created in the image of God, and that as a result, every human being is worthy of being treated with honor, dignity, and respect, we of course disagree with the affirmations of the LGBTQ community, and have already shared on this blog that marriage is between one man and one woman and was designed by God to paint a visible picture of the gospel, the relationship between Jesus and His church. We furthermore affirm that Gender is designed by God, stated elsewhere on the blog “From the Pastor’s Desk.
But I want us to think about Pride. This has been something I have been thinking about. In a book I have been reading entitled, “Pastors and their Critics: A guide to Coping with Criticism in Ministry,” Joel Beeke addresses the common sin of Pride.
He describes Pride in this way.
It is a form of self-deification. The tragedy of all sin is that it turns us from God; the double tragedy of pride is that is turns us against God in an ettemp to lift self above God…..By nature, we puff ourselves sup with false notions of self-importance and self satisfaction, doing everything in our power to serve and preserve this fatally skewed perception of who we really are.”
He continues:
Pride is not satisfied, however, with its own high estimation, but wants all the world to join in praising and adoring the self, In our arrogance, we desire others to affirm that we really are as great as we have deceived ourselves into believing we are.”
C.J. Mahaney in his book Humility defines Pride this way, “Pride is when sinful human beings aspire the status and position of God and refuse to acknowledge their dependence on Him.”
Instead of getting upset that there is a “Pride Month” I want us to take this time to look into our own hearts where Pride may exists, where we may think more “highly of ourselves than we ought.” (Romans 12:3).
Pride is dangerous because ignores the reality of our sin. Beeke writes,
Here is what we are by nature: finite, weak, sinful: wayward, helpless, and hopeless. Is it not unfitting for us to exalt such a self?
Of course it is unfitting to exalt ourselves when apart from Jesus we are “dead in trespasses in sins.” There are so many scriptures that talk about how sinful we are, and pride causes us to have spiritual amnesia, forgetting who we are apart from Jesus.
Pride is dangerous because it stems from and causes us to have a low view of God. Beeke writes:
Low views of God promote high views of self, whereas high views of God help us to see our true state. We would do well to mediate on God transcendent, self-sufficient, eternal, unchanging majesty, along with his spotless purity, moral equity, and steadfast love and faithfulness. One cannot believingly behold the glory of God in general and special revelation without his self-promoting pride becoming deflated.
We become prideful and think more highly of ourselves than we ought, when we don’t think highly enough of God. Pride causes us to have debased thoughts of God. When God is exalted, we are brought low. The prideful person has a low view of God.
Is this not evident in our culture? Those who celebrate pride have an utter disregard for the things of God and his Word. They do so because they do not esteem him, that have a debased view of God. But we too, when we think of ourself more highly than we ought to think, it is because we do not have a right view of God either.
Pride is dangerous because it keeps us from benefiting from criticism.
We need others to speak truth into our lives. We need to be able to except positive criticism. But when we are prideful, as Joel Beeke writes, “
It will either infuriate us that someone would dare attack our self-complex, or it will crush us because our self image is founded on the praise of men. Pride will either lead us to become defensive or devastated in the face of criticism.
The truth is God uses positive criticism in our sanctification. We have to always be learners. None of us have arrived at the level of holiness that God desires, so we constantly need to learn and listen to others. Pride keeps us form that, and when it does come, it will be destructive to us.
Yet, negative criticism also can come our way. When this happens, when we think rightly of ourselves then we will have the posture that Charles Spurgeon says we ought to have:
If any man thinks ill of you, do not be angry with him, for you are far worse than he thinks you to be.
This is so helpful. There is no one that can say anything that the Bible doesn’t give a more grave pronouncement on the condition of my soul apart from Jesus.
Pride is dangerous because it undermines unity in the church. Pride swells up when people think they are better than another group of people. Perhaps they think they are more holy, or have a better theology, or better than other members in some fashion. Wherever there is a church facing division and quarreling, pride is behind it.
Pride is dangerous because it destroys leaders. We all know Proverbs 16:18, Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.” When a leader falls into gross immorality and falls, it is because pride has taken root in his heart.
Instead of Pride, we need to pursue humility.
CJ. Mahaney notes a few things about humility.
Humility draws the gaze of our Sovereign God. In Isaiah 66:2, God says, “This is the one to whom I look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word.
Humility invites the grace of God into our loves. In James 4:6 it says that God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. When we humbly come before God, acknowledging our sinful state, coming before him pleading for mercy, he gives us his grace.
Humility causes us to asses ourselves in light of God’s holiness and our sinfulness. As Joel Beeke has noted, Pride causes a low view of God, but when we have a right view of God we will rightly see ourselves. When we have a right view of our sinfulness, pride is impossible.
So this pride month, let’s use this as an opportunity for introspection. Where has pride been swelling in my own heart? Maybe you are reading this as a member of the LGBTQ community, I pray the Lord would use this to convict you of your sin of exalting your ways above God’s ways, and thinking you are better than Him. I pray that you would see God for who his is, and your sin for what it is, and humbly bow before him seeking his grace and mercy.
Maybe you are a believer like me. You are trusting in Jesus for salvation. You go to church regularly, you tithe, you sing during all the worship songs, and show up to church anytime you can. Even for folks like you and me, pride can sweep up in our hearts. We can even become prideful in our religious performance.
Wherever you are today, turn from any sin of pride that may be in your life and humbly bow before Christ our King and come to Him for grace and mercy.
What are the essential marks of a church?
I have grown up in church my entire life. Surprisingly, the church I attended all my growing up years, Mountain Park First Baptist Church in Stone Mountain, Georgia was founded only in 1960. When I moved to Kentucky, I pastored a church that celebrated its 225th anniversary. My last church, Deep Creek Baptist Church of Harrodsburg, KY was founded in 1796, just 20 years after America gained her independence. That is some rich history. I loved being a part of churches with such long lasting heritage. That is over 200 years of faithfulness to Jesus! That ought to be celebrated! Those small churches that sit among cow pastures and horse farms, while declining in number, are still filled with believers who love Jesus, sing the old hymns, and gather to hear God’s Word.
But let’s be honest with each other, with so much time that has passed in many of those churches (over two centuries), sometimes its east to lose focus of what we really are supposed to be committed to. Often, these churches determine their comittments based on loyalty to tradition over loyalty to God’s Word.
That’s not just a problem with old churches. It’s a significant problem with new churches too. New churches who want to be culturally relevant, often let culture determine their commitments and values, over God’s Word. I am suggesting that God’s Word ought to determine what the church ought to be committed to and that Word should shape who we are.
In Acts 2:42-47, we see the first church gathering, after Peter preached the famous Pentecost sermon where 3,000 people were pierced to the heart and responded to the gospel in repentance and faith. I would have loved to have been there to see such an outpouring of God’s Spirit saving so many people at once! But what did they do after that is what’s important.
They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone kept feeling a sense of awe; and many wonders and signs were taking place through the apostles. And all those who had believed were together and had all things in common and they began selling their property and possessions and were sharing them with all, as anyone might have need. Day by day continuing with one mind in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they were taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved.
We see several things that marked this first church that I believe ought to be a mark of every church of the Lord Jesus.
They were committed to biblical preaching and teaching. It says they continually devoted themselves to the apostles teaching. This was the first thing mentioned. The teaching of the Word shaped everything else they did. First and foremost, churches today must be shaped by God’s Word, over tradition and over culture.
They were committed to biblical fellowship and unity. The word for fellowship, literally means partnership. They were united together in the gospel. It says later on that they had “all things in common.” I don’t think that means they all liked the same foods, had the same favorite color, or even struggled with the same sins. But in the things that mattered, things pertaining to the gospel and sound doctrine, they were in unity and enjoyed a sweet fellowship with one another.
They were committed to remembering Christ’s sacrifice through the ordinances . It says they devoted themselves to the breaking of bread. This could refer just to sharing meals together, but that is brought up later. I believe this is in reference to the ordinance of the Lord’s Supper. The devoted to remembering the sacrifice of Jesus by regularly breaking the bread together. Right before this, they all had been baptized as a response to their faith in Christ. Since they have been baptized, symbolizing their new life in Jesus, they regularly break the bread together to remember Christ’s body that was broken and torn, as He died in their place.
They were committed to prayer. These were not just ritualistic prayers like the pagans prayed with their repetitive chants. This was not the prayers of the Pharisees who prayed on the street corners to be seen by men and be praised for their public piety. They poured their hearts out to God in complete dependance because they know who they are apart from him. They pour out the hearts in genuine praise because they know God has saved them from despair and torment. It is a joy to gather Sunday evenings here at FSBC and pray with God’s people. I pray that we will always be people of prayer and never lose sight of our utter dependance on God.
They were committed to a spirit of awe for who God is and what he was doing in their midst. It says everyone kept feeling a sense of awe. Signs and wonders were still being done. The Spirit of God was moving among them. This should characterize every believer when we come before God in worship. We ought to be in awe of who God is: the all knowing, all powerful, all wise, sovereign holy, faithful and benevolent God, who sent his son Jesus to save us from our sin. Are you in awe of God? Is you churched marked by an awe of God?
They were committed to loving one another and caring for one another. It says they were together, had all things and common, and based on their partnership, and their deep fellowship and unity, they manifested that in their love and care for one another. The text says they literally would sell their stuff so that they can give the money to whoever had need. While the certainly involved serving those outside, I believe it is referring to caring for another within the context of the fellowshipping community. This is the blessing of being a part of a church, is being loved on and cared for like family.
They were committed to ongoing community. It says they met daily in the temple, and they also broke bread from house to house. I believe this reference to breaking bread is reference to sharing their meals together, considering it was done from house to house, and it says right after that they were taking their meals together. They didn’t just go to church on Sundays and say, “have a great week.” They were involved in each others life, and shared meals together throughout the week? A healthy church isn’t just one with really good expositional preaching. A healthy church is one that is seen sharing meals together throughout the week. When is the last time you and another church member family had dinner together in yours or their home.?
They were a joyful and worshipping church. As they gathered it says they did so with gladness, and they were praising God. People that have been saved by God’s grace should be filled with gladness and ought to be praising God every chance they get.
They were reputable with outsiders. Their faithfulness to the Word, to prayer, and to loving one another in tangible ways, people were hearing about this church! They were literally selling their stuff so they could help their fellow church members in need. Sure, it was still a church filled with 3,000 sinners. I’m sure that first business meeting got interesting. But, despite whatever imperfections marked the first group of fellowshipping believers, people could say they were faithful to God’s Word, they believed in the power of prayer, and they loved one another deeply. That kind of impact on a community produced tangible results.
They were a growing church. Notice that it says the Lord was adding to their number those who were being saved. Salvation is God’s business. Sure, they shared the gospel with people. Sure their faithfulness to the apostles teaching and love for one another drew people in, but it was God who was doing the saving. They were faithful to what God called them to, and God was saving people, and the church was growing. When we fail to realize that it is God who saves, then we will soon quickly abandon those things God has called us to be faithful to, and we will soon employ worldly methods to draw a crowd and grow numbers. No, the church was faithful to biblical teaching, genuine community, radical love, and people were hearing about it, and God was saving people.
While we could certainly add more things to this list by looking through the New Testament, such as biblical church leadership, biblical membership and discipline, these things marked that first gathering of fellowshipping believers, and certainly should increasingly characterize our churches today.
What should I Believe about the Bible Part II.
In last week’s blog of Theology Thursday’s we looked at a few key things about the Bible. The Bible is authoritative, clear, sufficient, and necessary. We need God’s Word, it is sufficient for us, and it is our ultimate authority. Today, we will look at the 3 I’s of Scripture: Inspiration, Inerrancy, and Infallibility. These three are closely related, and important to understand even further why Scripture is sufficient, necessary, and authoritative.
The Inspiration of Scripture. Paul says in 2 Timothy 3:16, “All Scripture, is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.” When Paul uses the word Scripture he, he is referring tot he Old Testament. Yet there are two passages that refer to the New Testament as Scripture. in 2 Peter 3:16, Peter refers to all of Paul’s letters as Scripture. He mentioned Paul’s letters and says that untaught and unstable men distort Paul’s letters, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures.” This shows us that Peter himself affirmed Paul’s letters to be equally authoritative as the Old Testament scriptures. In 1 Timothy 5:8, Paul quotes the gospel of Luke and calls it scripture.
But what do we mean by inspired? Is The Bible an “inspirational” book in the sense that it may move us to tears and motivate us to do something “inspiring?” Not quite. The Greek word translated “inspired” is theopneustos, which literally means “God-Breathed. It is asserting that the written word of Scripture is literally breathed out by God, or to make it more clear, spoken by Him.
In 1 Peter 1:21, it describes this process a bit more for us. “But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation, for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.” When Moses, David, Jeremiah, Paul, and Peter wrote what they wrote, the Holy Spirit was working in them to write the very words of God. Because the Scripture are God’s “Breathed out” words, they are therefore authoritative as we saw last week.
The inerrancy of Scripture. Many people claim that the Bible has errors. The doctrine of inerrancy is this: “The inerrancy of Scripture mean that Scripture in the original manuscripts does not affirm anything contrary to fact.” (Grudem, Systematic Theology.) The Chicago Statement of inerrancy describes it this way: “Being wholly and verbally God given, Scripture is without error or fault in all its teaching, no less in what is states about God’s acts in creation, about the events of world history, and about its own literary origins under God, that in its witness to God’s saving grace in individual lives.” While many claim the Bible has errors, biblical scholars have done their due diligence to show that supposed errors are not errors at all. Individuals who claim that there are errors in the Bible, do so because they do not want to submit to the Bible as their ultimate authority. Ken Ham with Answers in Genesis as written a book called, “Demolishing Supposed Bible Contradictions.” Gleason Archer has written the Encyclopedia of Bible Difficulties.” It is not in the time constraints of this blog post to address those, but I point to those two works, and there are more, to deal with those things that people may claim are errors in the Bible.
The Infallibility of Scripture. Closely tied to inerrancy is the doctrine of infallibility. What we mean by infallibility is not only does the Bible not contain any errors, it cannot err. It flows that if Scripture is God’s breathed out word, and if God cannot lie (Numbers 23:19, Titus 1:2, Hebrews 6:18), then the Bible cannot err, it cannot lie, and therefore the Bible is “totally true and trustworthy” as affirmed in the Baptist Faith and Message 2000.
Since the Bible is totally true, it is sufficient. We don’ t need anything else to clear up the Scriptures for us. Since it is totally true and trust worthy, it is necessary, as it tells is what is true, and how we can be saved from sin. Since it is totally true and trust worthy, it is indeed our ultimate authority by which every other truth claim is evaluated.
With all that we have said about God’s Word, theology isn’t just for our heads. We don’t want to just be puffed up with theological knowledge, we want our theology to lead is obedience and praise. So what ought to be our response to God’s Word.
Praise God for Preserving His Word. The Bible was written by various men many thousands of years ago, copied, copied again, translated, and yet even through all of that God has preserved his word so that we can know him, we can know the truth about our selves, and know precisely how to be saved and enter into eternity with Jesus. Praise God that he has not left us in our sin, but through his word, has revealed the light of the gospel.
Confidently Trust in God’s Word. Every word of it is true. You can anchor your soul to it.
Do the hard work of Bible Study. The Bible is not a collection of cute, pithy, fortune cookie sayings. It requires work to “rightly divide the word of truth.” It is one grand narrative telling the story of redemption in Jesus. Study it. Learn to understand how to interpret the different literary genres, discover the author’s intent to the original audience, seek to understand what was going on during that time period. Understand how what you are studying fits into the grand narrative of redemption. Learn how the passage applies to us today.
Submit to and Obey God’s Word. If there is something in the Bible that you disagree with, I can assure you, its not the Bible that’s wrong. Let God’s Word change you, don’t seek to change the Bible’s meaning. Submit to it. Even when it is uncomfortable, or you may not like what it says. Submit to it, and live in obedience to it, empowered by the Spirit of course.
Share God’s Word. Don’t just fill your own head knowledge with the Bible, share it with others. Share it with other believers in discipleship, and share it with non believers in evangelism.
What should we do during corporate Worship?
In today’s blog of Worship Wednesdays, I want to ask what should we do during corporate worship? How should a church decide what elements belong in corporate worship? Some may say, whatever you feel the spirit leading you to do. We saw last week that we are to worship in spirit and truth, so certainly we ought to worship in spirit. But we also ought to worship in truth. So how do we decide what to do?
I want to echo the answer from Matt Merker’s book, “Corporate Worship.” He says, “God, by His Word, governs what the local church should do when it gathers.”
In all of life, our first and ultimate question ought to be, what does the Bible say. I am afraid there are two streams of thought in the church today that has cast off biblical authority when it comes to the church gathering. The first is tradition. So many churches across America have included things in their worship gathering that are not according to God’s Word. They have been doing it this way for 50 plus years, and “it is the way we have always done it.” Tradition often trumps Biblical authority when it comes to the elements of the worship gathering.
The second is novelty. Many new churches wanting to reject tradition, does new things in worship, and many of those aren’t according to Scripture. In this case, novelty trumps biblical authority.
Neither tradition nor novelty should dictate what we do in corporate worship, but God’s Word alone. It is our ultimate authority.
Thankfully, God’s Word tells us what we ought to do when we gather. He has not left that up to us to decide. This is what Baptists have believed for hundreds of years. The 1689 London Baptist confession of faith , which is from the year 1689 (if you didn’t figure that out) says this concerning worship:
But the acceptable way of worshipping the true God is instituted by Himself, and so limited by His own revealed will, that He may not be worshipped according to the imaginations and devices of men, nor the suggestions of Satan, under any visible representations, or any other way not prescribed in the Holy Scriptures.
So, God has told us in His Word how he desires to be worshipped. And we are not to worship him in any way other than how he has told us in the Scriptures.
In Genesis 8:20-21, we read that Noah built an altar to the Lord, offered burnt offerings. The Lord smelled the offering and it was a pleasing aroma to him. Noah had worshipped in the manner God has prescribed.
Yet in Leviticus 10:1-2, we read:
Now Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took their respective firepans, and after putting fire in them, placed incense on it and offered strange fire before the Lord, which He had not commanded them. And fire came out from the presence of the Lord and consumed them, and they died before the Lord.
It seems a bit severe. They had made an offering to the Lord, and he consumed and killed them. The problem is they offered “strange fire.” They did not worship God according to his revealed word. They did what they wanted, worshipped God on their own terms, and it had serious consequences.
Essentially the problem is recorded in 10:3: “The Moses said to Aaron, It is what the Lord spoke saying, ‘By those who come near me I will be treated as holy, and before all the people I will be honored.’”
Nadab and Abihu were not treating God as holy nor honoring him in the way that they flippantly worshipped without regard for what God had commanded.
So, in our context today, in the year 2023, what has God commanded us to do during corporate worship? While every church may look different, God has told us what to do.
Merker answers this: “Following our Protestant Reformation heritage, we can summarize these elements under five headings: read the Word, pray the word, preach the Word, sing the Word, and see the Word.
Read the Word: I. Timothy 4:13, “Until I come, give attention to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation and teaching.” Scripture shouldn’t just be preached, it ought to be read.
Pray the Word: James 5:14, “Is anyone among you sick? Then he must call for the elders of the church, and they are to pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord.” 1 Timothy 2:1-2, “First of all, then, I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men, for kings and all who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity.” We are called to be people of prayer.
Preach the Word: 2 Timothy 4:2, “Preach the Word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with great patience and instruction.” We are to preach the Word. In Nehemiah 8:1-8, I believe the Bible gives us a great model for biblical preaching.
And all the people gathered as one man at the square which was in front of the Water Gate, and they asked Ezra the scribe to bring the book of the law of Moses which the Lord had given to Israel. 2 Then Ezra the priest brought the law before the assembly of men, women and all who could listen with understanding, on the first day of the seventh month. 3 He read from it before the square which was in front of the Water Gate from early morning until midday, in the presence of men and women, those who could understand; and all the people were attentive to the book of the law. 4 Ezra the scribe stood at a wooden podium which they had made for the purpose. And beside him stood Mattithiah, Shema, Anaiah, Uriah, Hilkiah, and Maaseiah on his right hand; and Pedaiah, Mishael, Malchijah, Hashum, Hashbaddanah, Zechariah and Meshullam on his left hand. 5 Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people for he was standing above all the people; and when he opened it, all the people stood up. 6 Then Ezra blessed the Lord the great God. And all the people answered, “Amen, Amen!” while lifting up their hands; then they bowed low and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground. 7 Also Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodiah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, Pelaiah, the Levites, explained the law to the people while the people remained in their place. 8 They read from the book, from the law of God, translating to give the sense so that they understood the reading.
All the people were gathered, and all who could listen with understanding were present. He stood at a wooden podium which was made for this purpose. This was for several hours. This was not a 25 minutes sermon it was from early morning until mid day. Men, women, and children who could understand were all present. He opened the book, and he was standing on a platform above the rest, and when he began reading they stood up, and then they bowed low and worshipped the Lord their faces on the ground. They had a reverence for God’s Word. As they read it, they explained it, translating it to give the sense so that they understood the reading. They read the word, and explained it so that they could understand it.
This is preaching. It is not sprinking a verse or two in to share your motivational speech. It is reading God’s Word and explaining to to the congregation so that they can understand it.
Sing the Word: “Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom and teaching, and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns, and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God. How does the Word of God dwell in us? Through wisdom and teaching, but also by admonishing one another with songs. Through singing we admonish one another with the Word. If God’s Word is going to richly dwell in us through song, then our songs must be saturated with Scripture. And it is the word of Christ, the gospel that richly dwells in us, so our songs must be gospel centered. Many modern worship songs today could just as easily be sung to a girlfriend without changing the lyrics. That should not be. The Word of God must be clear in our songs, and our songs must communicate “the word of Christ.”
See the Word: We do this through the ordinance of baptism and the Lord’s Supper. Obviously this isn’t necessarily done each week. But both of these serve as visible pictures of what Jesus has done to save us from our sin.
If you are reading this and can think of something you are doing in your worship service that isn’t prescribed in Scripture, I would encourage you to petition to stop that practice. Whether you have been doing it for 50 years, or your new flashy pastor is doing something new to draw a crowd, if its not prescribed by the Bible, then it is the strange fire of Nadab and Abihu, and God is not pleased. What is acceptable worship to him is Worship according to His Word. When we worship God according to His Word, he is honored, glorified, and pleased. May this be our goal everytime we gather to worship our soverign, holy, wise, faithful, loving, gracious and merciful God.
Biblical Headship in the Home: The Call to Husbands and wives to display the gospel in marriage.
Perhaps no biblical truth is challenged in today’s culture as is the Bible’s teaching on Gender differences, and roles within the home and the church. In our first installment on Tuesday’s Truth, we saw that Gender is God’s Design. Last week we saw God has ordained men to be the leader’s in the church, and that was rooted in a creation principle, not a cultural problem.
Today, we turn our attention into our homes, mainly God’s design for husbands and wives within the context of marriage, in Ephesians 5:22-33.
In verses 22-24, Paul encourages wives to submit to, or be subject to their own husbands.
Wives, be subject to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ also is the head of the church, He Himself being the Savior of the body. But also the church is subject to Christ, so also the wives ought to be to their husbands in every way.
First we see the command. Wives are called to be subject to their own husbands. The word be subject to is the Greek word, hypotassō, and it has as its origin a military being organized under the command of a leader. Just as a military would submit to their leader, otherwise chaos would ensue, a wife is to follow the leadership of her own husband. It is not because she is somehow inferior. Even in a military, there may be someone smarter than the leader, but there is still a hierarchy to promote order.
Even within a Christian home, a wife may have more biblical or theological knowledge than her husband, but that doesn’t give her a pass at the call to submit to her own husband. God has established a design for the home.
Second we see that she is to submit to her own husband. She is not commanded to submit to all men in general. A woman is called to submit to her own husband. Why? Because the husband is the head of the wife in the same way Christ is also the head of the church.
Here we see the motive. Men are to reflect Jesus and his shepherding leadership and care over the church in how they lead their wives. When a husband is reflecting Jesus as head, a wife can joyfully submit to her husband. In the same way, a wife displays the gospel in submitting to her husband as the church submits to Christ.
The rest of the section is addressed to husbands.
Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, so that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the Word, that he might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but she would be holy and blameless.
In these three verses, 25-27, we see that a husband is to love his wife, in so doing he is to display the gospel, demonstrating the love that Jesus has for the church. Jesus demonstrated his love in giving himself up for Her. A wife submits to her husband as the church submits to Christ, and a husband loves his wife and lays his life down for her, as Jesus does for the church. Marriage is to be a beautiful, visible picture of the relationship of Jesus with his bride.
Husbands love their wives by seeking their sanctification and growth in the Word. This is what Jesus does for the church, and a husband should lovingly lead his wife by pointing her to God’s Word over and over and helping her to grow in holiness.
Husbands must cherish their wives:
SO husbands ought also to love their own wives as their own bodies. He who loves His wife, loves himself, for no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church, because we are members of His body.
Through the gospel, we become members of one body the church. In the same way, husbands and wives manifest this union with Christ and the church through our union together, as we become one flesh. Paul even quotes Genesis in verse 31, “For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother, and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.
Reading in Genesis, this seems to refer to marriage, but Paul says, “This mystery is great, but I am speaking in reference to Christ and the church. Just as Jesus left his father and took on flesh, and joined himself with sinful humanity, becoming one body with the redeemed. Husbands leave their father and mother, becoming one flesh, or one body with their wives.
The way a husband clings to his wife and makes that relationship top priority, and the way he nourishes her, cares for her, and cherishes and values her, reflects Jesus commitment and care to His bride, the church.
The roles and relationships within marriage are not interchangeable. God has a clear design for marriage that is intended to give a visible picture of the gospel, the relationship Jesus has with his redeemed in dying for the church, cleansing the church, and cherishing the church.
May we as believing husbands and wives fulfill our God designed roles in the home as we display a vivid picture of glorious gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us.
Let’s go to Church: In Defense of Doctrine, Denominations, and Organized Religion
I love my church. This is one of the most welcoming and loving congregations I have been a part of. I also love this town. I grew up in the southeast, known for its “hospitality.” I have found that the town of Wickenburg, AZ is more hospitable and kind than “the south".”
One thing I have noticed, especially on community facebook pages is a desire for non-denominational churches, and more organic house churches, people gathered together worshipping in living rooms.
I understand the sentiment of both. There is something sweet about believers gathering together and worshipping together in such organic fashion. I also understand the sentiment of non-denominational churches. Perhaps the drive is a greater unity among believers who may have different perspectives than you. Perhaps people have seen denominations divide, and they don’t want any part of it.
While our church affiliates with the largest protestant denomination in the US, the Southern Baptist Convention, there are literally 65 BAPTIST denominations in the US. With so many baptist denominations alone, I could definitely understand why someone would’t want to sift through all those to see which one to become a part of. Being non denominational seems much easier and simpler.
Even so, I have some concerns for the desire for organic living room worship in place of gathering with an established church, and I have concerns over non-denominationalism, and I believe there are advantages to being a part of a denomination.
In Defense of Denominations
A Christian denomination is a voluntary partnership. As FSBCW is a part of the Southern Baptist Convention, we don’t have to be. They aren’t an authority over us, and we could easily decide to abandon that partnership. It is voluntary. And we partner together with like minded churches, to protect the truth of the gospel, and to be obedient to the great commission.
Essentially, our voluntary partnership with the SBC is all about partnering together to proclaim the truth of the gospel around the world. While you don’t see denominations in the Bible, you do see partnerships.
In Acts 11:27, some prophets came down from Jerusalem to the church at Antioch. The occasion of this visit were that these prophets were prophesying about a famine that would come upon the world. What we see is great:
And in the proportion that any of the disciples had means, each of them determined to send a contribution for the relief of the brethren living in Judea. And this they did, sending it in charge of Barnabas, and Saul, and the Elders.
This visit is recorded in Galatians 2, and when Paul and Barnabas took that collection to Jerusalem, he “submits his gospel to them” and Peter, James, and John extedned them the right hand of fellowship, affirmed their ministry to the Gentiles, and only asked that they continue to remember the poor in Jerusalem. When Paul would plant churches among the Gentiles, not only were the united in the gospel, but they united together to give towards the poor in Jerusalem. The money collected by these Gentile churches would then be taken to the Jerusalem elders to distribute as any had need.
This collection was also spoken of in 2 Corinthians 8, where even in the churches of Macedonia, which were not well off, they also gave “according to their ability and on their own accord (2 Corinthians 8:3), and they were begging for the favor of participation and the support of the saints. (8:4). Even these churches that didnt have much, saw the opportunity to become a part of something bigger than themselves, to ministry to saints that they have never met in the churches of Jerusalem.
At the end of 1 Corinthians 15, in the last verse, verse 58, In light of the resurrection of Jesus and the future resurrection of believers, the people of God are encouraged to “Be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain.”
What work was that? That is recorded in the next chapter.
Now concerning the collection of the saints, as I directed the churches of Galatia, so do you also. On the first day of the week each one of you is to put aside and save, as he may prosper, so that no collections be made when I come. When I arrive, whomever you may approve, I will send them with letters to carry your gift to Jerusalem, and if it is fitting for me to go also, they will go with me.
The churches of Corinth, Galatia, Macedonia, and all the churches joined together, and as a means of living out the gospel, they gave financially to the relief of the poor in Jerusalem.
These churches collectively could do much more and offer much more support than they could individually. As a church, we have a benevolence fund, but it isn’t much. We want to serve when we can, but by joining together as a denomination, the 50,000 plus SBC churches can do more collectively than we could ever dream of by ourselves. For example, this year at our SBC annual meeting, we learned that together we sent close to 100 missionaries, fully funded, overseas to make Christ known literally all over the globe, some to dangerous places, some to people groups who have never heard the name of Jesus.
This is not something that FSBCW could do by ourselves. We could certainly send a check to one missionary family, but it wouldn’t be enough to sustain them. This is one reason we partner together with the largest protestant denomination in the US.
In Defense of Doctrine
Maybe you would see the above stats, and the above descriptions of partnership in the Bible and say, “that sounds great, but unfortunately denominations divide. After all you did say there were at least 65 BAPTIST denominations.”
Even in the midst of so much division, I believe doctrine is important. Let me examine why doctrine is important biblically.
In Paul’s letter to Timothy, 2 Timothy 3, Paul notes a decline in the culture of serious immorality. What was Timothy to do in response to such a decline of culture? He as to Preach the Word. He was to remain steadfast at preaching the word, because,
The time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but wanting to have their ears ticked, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance with their own desires, and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths.
Timothy is to preach the word because so many people will say “we don’t need doctrine.” And when they take that posture, they begin to reject the truth for what is false. Instead of repentance, they want teachers to suit their own desires. They want so called preachers to tell them they are ok just the way they are, when our Savior and Lord begin preaching, “Repent for the Kingdom of God is at hand.”
Also, the role of an elder/pastor, is to “hold fast the faithful word which is accordance with the teaching, so that he will be able both to exhort in sound doctrine and to refute those who contradict.” (Titus 1:9)
Sure, doctrine does divide. And it ought to be so, because doctrine clarifies what is true and what isn’t. But doctrine also unites. In our denomination, we have a statement of faith that is a unifying document. It is true, that it creates a boundary. But it also creates a banner by which many churches can unite together in gospel partnership togethers. Over 50,000 churches have united together under a common confession, a common doctrinal statement so that we unite together and partner together to advance God’s Kingdom together.
Our statement of faith does include room for disagreement on lesser important theological matters, while calling for unity on things that are crystal clear in Scripture, and that are foundational to our understanding of the gospel, and what we believe the church is, and how it ought to function.
Why not loosen your doctrinal standards? Well, that has been done in History in what is known as the Downgrade controversy, which the Baptist Union in Spurgeon’s day sought to loosen their doctrinal commitments to allow for greater association, but it actually fostered more disunity. And it caused confusion about what the gospel is. The truth is doctrinal clarity is important for unity, and it is important to be clear about what the gospel is. Lack of doctrinal clarity eventually leads the church into liberalism and eventually rejecting the truth of God’s Word altogether so that the church instead of being “the pillar and buttress of truth” united by common confession (1 Timothy 3:15-16), the church becomes somewhat of a social action club, just taking care of humanitarian needs and failing to proclaim the gospel which is the power of God for salvation (1 Corinthians 1:18, Romans 1:16)
In Defense of Organized Religion
When I was in college, I enjoyed wonderful times of devotion and worship with my college friends. Some of those friends became lifelong friends that still spur me on to to godliness today, many serving in churches across our country. But those praise times in our dorm room lobbies is not church. Your neighborhood Bible study. is not church. When we look at Scripture, the church is God’s idea, it has a membership. It has leaders, there are clear commands of what the church is supposed to do when it gathers. I understand the desire for more organic worship, but God is a God of order, and he has established the design for his church His way. Simply grabbing a guitar and singing some praise choruses and someone giving a devotional message in your living room is NOT God’s design for church.
Jesus died for the church. Ephesians 5:25 says, “Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for Her.” We can see these even more in Ephesians 2:14-16:
For He Himself is our peace, who made both groups into one and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall, by abolishing in His flesh the enmity, which is the Law of commandments contained in ordinances, so that in Himself He might make the two into one new man, thus establishing peace, 16 and might reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross, by it having put to death the enmity.
We see that through Jesus’ death on the cross he established the church. He didn’t just die for individuals to do their own thing, He died for the church, creating the church.
The church has biblical leadership. Scripture is clear that the offices of church leadership are elders and deacons. More can be said about these offices, but you see this all throughout Scripture. (Philippians 1:1, 1 Timothy 3, Titus 1, 1 Peter 5, Acts 6, Acts 14:23, Acts 20:17-38)
The church has biblical membership. There is biblical evidence that the early church kept a record of rolls. 1 Timothy 5 talks about caring for widows, and only certain types of widows are to be “put on the list” to receive a certain level of care in the church. (1 Timothy 5:9). In 1 Corinthians 5, the church was told by Paul to exclude a member who had been engaged in gross sexual immorality. By inference, you cannot exclude someone who has not formally been included in the first place. Paul refers to the same man in 2 Corinthians, and the church is told to reaffirm their love for him because he had endured sufficient punishment that was “inflicted by the majority.” You cannot have a majority if there is not a defined number of a group of people. In Hebrews 13:17, church leaders watch over the souls of their members, and have to give an account to each one. How can leaders give an account when there is no official membership? The Bible overwhelmingly supports the idea of church membership.
The church has a biblical commitment to one another. In the New Testament, churches are told how to live their lives with one another. You cannot obey these one another verses from your couch. And certainly a Bible study doesn’t do this. A Bible study doesn’t unite together to bear one another’s burdens, care for one another, confess sins to one another. They gather to study the Bible, which is all well and good, but then they go home.
The church has a biblical responsibility to gather. The word church is literally a gathering. In Hebrews 10:24-25, some were neglecting the gathering, which means they were expected to be gathering. Preaching, singing, and public reading of Scripture are all things commanded to be done during the public gathering, as well as taking the Lord’s Supper. We don’t get to decide what to do when we gather, the Bible has prescribed that. This is why “organic church” fails. Theres no elders and deacons in living room church. No official membership.
You may very well love Jesus. But Jesus has also called you to love his church. Not being a part of a church is not the way God designed the Christian life to be lived. You literally cannot obey the New Testament if you are not connected to a church.
Also, join a church that is clear on what it believes, not one that is loose on doctrine. A church that is doctrinally fuzzy, is a church that will soon reject the Bible and drift towards liberalism.
Join a church that deliberately and voluntarlity partners with other gospel preaching and docrinally sound churches so that you can acommplish greather things together for the advancement of God’s Kingdom for the Glory of God.
To know more about our church, browse this website, and contact me at jhitchcock@fsbcw.com so I can share more about what we believe and who we are!
What should I believe about the Bible?
As Christian’s we believe the Bible, preach the Bible, teach the Bible, sing the Bible. The Bible is our book. It is where we learn who God is and what he has done to save us from our sin.
Maybe you would argue: You can’t trust the Bible, its full of errors isn’t it? the Bible was written by men, certainly its full of mistakes and their own opinions and contradictions right? Well, that’s not what we affirm. And I don’t believe any of those arguments are accurate. Next week we will look at this doctrine in more detail, but here are a few things you ought to believe about the Bible.
The Bible is authoritative. Wayne Grudem writes, “All the words in the Bible are God’s Words. Therefore to disbelieve or disobey them, is to disbelieve or disobey God himself.” The Bible claims to be God’s Words, according to 2 Timothy 3:16 among other verses. If God claims the words of Scripture are his own, then there is ultimately no greater authority than the Bible. the Bible is the standard by which all truth is to be be evaluated. The 1689 London Baptist Confession of Faith says this:
The authority of the Holy Scripture, for which it ought to be believed, dependeth not upon the testimony of any man or church, but wholly upon God (who is truth itself), the Author thereof; therefore it is to be received because it is the word of God
The supreme judge, by which all controversies of religion are to be determined, and all decrees of councils, opinions of ancient writers, doctrines of men, and private spirits, are to be examined, and in whose sentence we are to rest, can be no other but the Holy Scripture delivered by the Spirit, into which Scripture so delivered, our faith is finally resolved.”
The Clarity of Scripture: Wayne Gruydem accurately says that “As we read Scripture and seek to understand it, we discover that some passages are easer to understand than others.” While that is true, the things necessary for our salvation and growth are clear. The 1689 confession again states, “All things in Scripture are not alike plain in themselves, nor alike clear unto all; yet those things which are necessary to be known, believed and observed for salvation, are so clearly propounded and opened in some place of Scripture or other, that not only the learned, but the unlearned, in a due use of ordinary means, may attain a sufficient understanding of them.“
Not all Scripture is clear to every reader. That is why there are doctrinal disagreements among church members, different denominations. Yet at the same time Scripture is crystal clear on the things necessary for salvation and the fundamental doctrines of the Christian faith.
When we say not all Scripture is clear, we are not saying that there is a problem with the Scriptures. “When individuals disagree on the proper interpretation of a passage of Scripture, the problem does not lie with Scriptures, for God guided its composition so that it can be understood. Rather, the problem lies with us. “ (Grudem).
The Necessity of Scripture. It is true that the Bible is clear on the things necessary for our salvation. It is also true that without the Bible, we would not know the things necessary for salvation, life, and godliness. We need the Scriptures. They are necessary. As Grudem says, “The necessity of Scripture means that it is necessary to read the Bible or have someone tell us what is in the Bible if we are going to know God personally, have our sins forgiven, and know with certainty what God wants us to do….Just as our physical lives are maintained by daily nourishment with physical food, so our spiritual lives are maintained by daily nourishment with the Word of God.. To neglect regular reading of the Bible is detrimental to the health of our souls.”
The sufficiency of Scripture: Wayne Grudem asserts: “the Bible contains all the words of God that a person needs to become a Christian, live as a Christian, and grow as a Christian.” In the Bible, God has given us everything necessary for teaching, reproof, correction, training and righteousness, so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.” (2 Timothy 3:16) This is what we mean by Scripture is sufficient. We don’t need anything else for those purposes.
the Bible may not answer every question we could think of, but the Bible gives us just what we need for life and godliness. In our doctrinal, ethical, and moral teachings and beliefs, we should be content with what God has revealed to us in Scripture, because it is sufficient, it is enough, it is adequate.
Worship in Spirit and in Truth: Thoughts on Worship from John 4
When people encountered Jesus in the gospels, their lives radically changed. That’s true of us today. It was certainly true of a particular woman in John 4.
A Divine Appointment
Jesus had left Judea towards Galilee and John 4:4 says he had to pass through Samaria. Technically, that is not accurate. In fact, he could have gotten through to Galilee by going around Samaria. That’s what Jews did, because Samaritans were have Jew/have Gentles, and were loathed by Jewish people. Jesus being a Jewish man, it is odd that he goes through Samaria. This was a divine, sovereignly ordained appointment because Jesus had to go through Samaria to encounter this woman.
When he gets to Samaria, Jesus sits by the well, and its about the 6th hour of day like, likely noon time. He is weary from his journey, seeing his full humanity.
Crossing Cultural Barriers
A woman comes to draw water and Jesus asked for a drink (John 4:7). The woman is shocked because a JEWISH MAN is speaking to a SAMARITAN WOMAN. It wasn’t kosher for Jews to speak to Samaritans, and it wasn’t appropriate for a man to speak to a woman in this context. But Jesus breaks these barriers to set the stage for the gospel to invade her life.
If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, “Give me a drink,” you would have asked Him, and He would have giving you living water.”
This woman Is confused because Jesus doesn’t have anything to draw water with, and there really is nowhere to get “living water.” She is thinking of a stream as apposed to a well.
She then asks, “You are not greater than our father Jacob are you, who gave us this well, and drank of it himself and his sons and his cattle?”
She has no idea!!! Yes Jesus is greater than Jacob!!
Jesus then says, “Everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again; but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never thirst; but the water that I will give him will become a will of water springing up to eternal life.”
The woman then asks, revealing she still doesn’t understand, “give me this water, so I will not be thirsty, nor come all the way here to draw.” Jesus is talking about salvation, and she is still thinking about actual water. We will see why she doesn’t want to come back to the well in just a moment.
Getting to the Point
Jesus asks her. “Go call your husband and come here.”
She responds, “I have no husband.”
Jesus replies, “You have correctly said I have no husband, for you have had five husbands, and the one whom you now have is not your husband; this you have said truly.”
Yikes. Jesus has just laid her sinful lifestyle right there. He got right to the point. If Jesus said something like this to you, what would he reveal?
We can start putting some pieces together. This woman is an outcast in her society. All of the other women would have come to draw water before the sun came up, while it was still cool. This woman is coming when no one else is, in the heat of the day, because of her lifestyle, she is not welcome with the other women. She doesn’t want that. So she wants a drink of water that won’t make her thirsty again physically.
This woman, perceives that Jesus is a prophet. She then decides to change the subject.
“Our fathers worshiped in this mountain, and you people say that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.”
True worshippers
While seeking to change the subject, Jesus is about to expose her heart. Jesus responds:
Woman, believe me, an hour is coming when neither in this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. You worship what you do not know, we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth; for such people the Father seeks to be his worshipers. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.
The woman wanted to change the subject, but Jesus reveals that worship is about the affections of our hearts. What are we truly pursuing. This woman wasn’t worshipping God, she was worshipping relationships. She was trying to be satisfied in her relationships with men, and it was coming up short. She was seeking fulfillment in creation, with what can only be satisfied with the creator. Where out affections and desires are, that is what we worship. She was not worshipping God at all.
Jesus then reveals that he is the Messiah, and it changed her life.
A changed life
So the woman left her water pot, and went into the city and said to the men, “Come see a man who told me all the things I have done, this is not the Christ is it."?”
The leaving of the water pot is significant. She is leaving her former life behind, and has now gone to interact with the very people she was trying to avoid, because now that she has had an encounter with Jesus, she feels no shame. She went to evangelize.
A changed life changes lives
What happens next as recorded in John 4:39 is incredible:
From that city many of the Samaritans believed in Him because of the word of the woman who testified…..41 “Many more believed because of His Word and they were saying to the woman, “It is no longer because of what you have said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves and know this One is indeed the Savior of the Word.
A couple of things to not here about Worship:
Worship in spirit and in truth begins with a changed heart. This woman had to have her sin exposed and her heart changed.
Worship in spirit and in truth leads to a change of life. This woman in leaving her water pot synbolizes she’s leaving her old life behind. She cannot be a true worshipper of Jesus and keep sleeping around, getting married, and divorcing. She cannot worship God on Sunday, and sleep with someone who isn’t her husband on Monday.
Worship in spirit and in truth reveals our innermost desires. She didn’t desire God. She desired men. She exchanged the worship of the creator for the worship of the creature (Romans 1). Her desire was to please her self, not to please God. Our sin reveals what we truly worship. What is it that you are truly worshipping?
Worshipping in spirit and in truth leads to passionate evangelism. Someone who has truly experienced Jesus won’t just sing about it on Sunday morning, they won’t stop talking about him Monday through Saturday. A true worshipper tells everyone about Jesus.
If we are true worshippers of Jesus our lives will be radically changed by grace, and we will tell others so that they too may worship the Savior of the World.