"But though we had already suffered and been shamefully treated at Phillipi, as you know, we had boldness in our God to declare to you the gospel of God in the midst of much conflict." -1 Thessalonians 2:2
I wonder how you would respond if I asked you if you have ever been shamefully treated and suffered. I think most of us would say that we have been shamefully treated and also suffered. However, I don't think we can compare that to the type of shame and suffering Paul endured in his life. He was beaten beyond recognition, shipwrecked and stoned to the point where those who stoned him thought he was dead (imagine what he must have looked like if they thought he was dead). In spite of all this, Paul still says, "we had boldness in our God to declare to you the gospel of God". Notice how Paul still has boldness after enduring suffering. So as we reflect on our own sufferings in our lives; are they bad enough to prevent us from declaring the gospel?
One key, perhaps the greatest, to this verse is in three words; in our God. The gospel they claimed was the gospel of God. Also notice how Paul's confidence or boldness to proclaim the gospel was not given to his own pride or self-righteousness but his boldness was in our God. See how when it is His gospel, He provides the means for it to be preached, BOLDLY. Even after suffering and shame, God gives the messenger the strength, means and boldness to continue to proclaim the Truth.
So what is stopping you? Have you suffered to the point of shedding blood(Hebrews 12:4) or even to the point of death(Philippians 2:8)? These verses in Hebrews and Philippians are in reference to Jesus Christ. He DID suffer to the point of shedding blood and He DID remain obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. So, as both of these contexts encourage us to see our own lives in light of what Christ has done, I wonder if we really do. Do we consider the little amount of suffering we face as an excuse to not boldly proclaim the gospel?
Let Paul be an example to us that we are to boldly proclaim the gospel even in the midst of suffering. Let Jesus be an even greater example as He died in suffering for our sins. I often hear people say, "well I don't have the gift of evangelism." True, we don't all have the spiritual gift of evangelism, but we are all charged Biblically to share the good news (or as I call it, the greatest news ever) of Jesus Christ, His death and resurrection. So again I ask; What is stopping you?
I often try to give Biblical charges as they are in the Sciptures. In fear of leaving you without any equipping for this MOST important task, I will give you a few points to consider before you are done reading.
#1-Pray that God would give you the boldness to share the Truth. Most-likely you have someone in your mind right now that you are thinking about who doesn't have a redemptive relationship with Jesus Christ. Pray that God would provide the means and the opportunity for you to share His Truth with that person or persons. Remember our boldness is in Him.
#2-Get the gospel right! We often don't share in fear that we won't have the right answers for their questions. Spend time getting the most important basics down. Jesus is 100% God and 100% man. Jesus lived a perfect life which made Him worthy of bearing our sins on the cross. He died with our sins so we wouldn't have to, burying our sins once and for all in His death. Then He was raised from the dead to show His power and thus conquered death by rising to live forever and conquered sin once and for all, for all who believe. Your responsibility is to recognize your sin and see a need for salvation from it's consequences. You must repent(turn towards God in sorrow for your sin). And finally BELIEVE. If the Holy Spirit is at work in their hearts they will begin to believe and realize all this as truth.
#3-What if they say 'yes'? Sometimes we get scared that they may actually accept the Truth and want this salvation in Jesus. Are we prepared to help lead them to this? Prepare, in your mind, how you will respond to them when they accept the Truth. Lead them in prayer. They can pray with you out loud or in their hearts. I was blessed to be an instrument of God when He lead a young boy in my youth group to the Lord. I remember telling him, "this was the first time you prayed to God as your Savior!" What an INCREDIBLE moment when someone communicates to the Lord for the first time and He is IN THEM! I promise, you will be blessed!
So, what else is stopping you?
Monday, October 27, 2008
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Biblical Theology for Transformation - 13th Posting
"Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but he who hates reproof is stupid." Proverbs 12:1
Stupid? Does the Bible really use such harsh language? If you read the original language of the Bible I think you would be surprised at its vulgarity. But, yes, the Bible calls those who hate reproof, stupid! It is hard for me to say that I love discipline, but I would rather be known for that than be known as stupid.
Hebrews 12:3-11 gives us great insight into discipline.
"It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline?...For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it." (Hebrews 12:7 & 11)
It is God who disciplines us. That is why those who do not love being disciplined are stupid. Because it is God who is working on us (Philippians 2:13). This discipline produces righteousness in us. I know from experience (and I am sure you do too) that being disciplined by God can be a painful process. Have you ever asked God to make you more patient? Or to break you or humble you? Be careful, you may receive what you ask for. I have prayed those prayers before and the process of getting those things is never the plan I had mapped out in my mind. God's plan for our sanctification (spiritual growth) is usually tougher than we may desire. But the hope lies in the fact that this discipline produces good fruit in us and is to our benefit. As Hebrews explains, our earthly fathers discipline us for our own good and we know that it can be painful sometimes. Has your dad ever spanked you? Not fun? I didn't enjoy it myself either. But as I reflect on the discipline I received from my parents, it only allowed me to make wiser decisions in the future. Our Father in heaven does the same. He disciplines us to make us more like His Son, Jesus Christ. Being disciplined by God also shows us that God loves us. Hebrews 12:8 tells us that if we are not disciplined then we are not sons of God, because God disciplines His children.
One of the tough ideas that goes along with God's discipline is discerning whether we are being disciplined by God or attacked by Satan. If you look at the life of Job you can see that Satan was God's instrument (yes, Satan is a tool) in the discipline of Job. We know this because Satan's attacks on Job (which first had to be passed by God) produced a sanctifying praise of God from Job. Satan was God's instrument of sanctification in Job's life and he can be in ours too. Though Satan's plan is for our destruction, God's plan is for our growth and love for Him.
So are you stupid? I know that sounds harsh. I must admit that I certainly have been stupid in my life. Reproof is another word for correction. There have been many times when I have been given correction (mostly from my Dad) and did not heed to it and suffered the consequences of my own stupidity. We need to be more open to correction from others and most importantly open to correction from God.
We need to be in love with the idea that God works on us. And though it may be painful, we have not suffered to the point of shedding blood, even blood on a cross (Hebrews 12:4). Jesus Christ has suffered more than any of us on OUR BEHALF. Who are we to say, "but why me God". We should be saying, "thank You for treating me as you treated Your son". The Apostles had this attitude in Acts 5:41 when they rejoiced at being beaten for the sake of Jesus Christ.
Yes, discipline is painful, but it produces in us the character of Jesus Christ. We must love the discipline of the Lord!
Stupid? Does the Bible really use such harsh language? If you read the original language of the Bible I think you would be surprised at its vulgarity. But, yes, the Bible calls those who hate reproof, stupid! It is hard for me to say that I love discipline, but I would rather be known for that than be known as stupid.
Hebrews 12:3-11 gives us great insight into discipline.
"It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline?...For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it." (Hebrews 12:7 & 11)
It is God who disciplines us. That is why those who do not love being disciplined are stupid. Because it is God who is working on us (Philippians 2:13). This discipline produces righteousness in us. I know from experience (and I am sure you do too) that being disciplined by God can be a painful process. Have you ever asked God to make you more patient? Or to break you or humble you? Be careful, you may receive what you ask for. I have prayed those prayers before and the process of getting those things is never the plan I had mapped out in my mind. God's plan for our sanctification (spiritual growth) is usually tougher than we may desire. But the hope lies in the fact that this discipline produces good fruit in us and is to our benefit. As Hebrews explains, our earthly fathers discipline us for our own good and we know that it can be painful sometimes. Has your dad ever spanked you? Not fun? I didn't enjoy it myself either. But as I reflect on the discipline I received from my parents, it only allowed me to make wiser decisions in the future. Our Father in heaven does the same. He disciplines us to make us more like His Son, Jesus Christ. Being disciplined by God also shows us that God loves us. Hebrews 12:8 tells us that if we are not disciplined then we are not sons of God, because God disciplines His children.
One of the tough ideas that goes along with God's discipline is discerning whether we are being disciplined by God or attacked by Satan. If you look at the life of Job you can see that Satan was God's instrument (yes, Satan is a tool) in the discipline of Job. We know this because Satan's attacks on Job (which first had to be passed by God) produced a sanctifying praise of God from Job. Satan was God's instrument of sanctification in Job's life and he can be in ours too. Though Satan's plan is for our destruction, God's plan is for our growth and love for Him.
So are you stupid? I know that sounds harsh. I must admit that I certainly have been stupid in my life. Reproof is another word for correction. There have been many times when I have been given correction (mostly from my Dad) and did not heed to it and suffered the consequences of my own stupidity. We need to be more open to correction from others and most importantly open to correction from God.
We need to be in love with the idea that God works on us. And though it may be painful, we have not suffered to the point of shedding blood, even blood on a cross (Hebrews 12:4). Jesus Christ has suffered more than any of us on OUR BEHALF. Who are we to say, "but why me God". We should be saying, "thank You for treating me as you treated Your son". The Apostles had this attitude in Acts 5:41 when they rejoiced at being beaten for the sake of Jesus Christ.
Yes, discipline is painful, but it produces in us the character of Jesus Christ. We must love the discipline of the Lord!
Monday, September 22, 2008
Biblical Theology for Transformation - 12th Posting
"For I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to strengthen you-that is, that we may be mutually encouraged by each other's faith, both yours and mine." Romans 1:11-12
Paul begins his letter to the Romans as he does in most of his letters. He approaches the original readers not with judgment but with encouragment. Paul has the authority to slam the church in Rome but he chooses, by the will of Jesus, not to begin that way. He shows this also in 1 Corinthians 1:4-9 and Philemon 8-9. Paul's heart is set on encouraging the believers before bringing to them the hard truths in which they folly.
Paul shows his love for the church as he says "for I long to see you". He continues this idea in verse 13. Pauls desire for visiting the believers in Rome is to use his spiritual gifts to strengthen the church. So I begin the questioning with this; why do you go to church? I think that many people attend church Sunday mornings as a weekly event to show up and leave once the service is over. But scripture paints for us a clear picture of the purpose of church. First of all it is a place of magnifying the glory of Jesus Christ (Philippians 2:9-11). Second it is a place for us to come and be fed the word of God (2 Timothy 4:2). Third it is place where we go to fellowship with other believers in Christ and to edify and be edified through the use of our spiritual gifts. I will focus on the third purpose. What is your spiritual gift? How do you use it in your church? These are important questions. They will help us better understand our place in the church as a whole and in your local congregation. We need to carry with us the attitude of the apostle Paul and desire to use our gifting of the Holy Spirit to build up and strengthen the believers with whom we have fellowship.
Not only are we to focus on edifying the body with our gifts but also to be edified by others. Paul shows us again that he is not lording over the Romans his authority but is counting himself equal in the fact that he too can be edified by the believers. Verse 8 tells us he is thankful for the believers in Rome for their faith because it is known throughout the world. Verse 9 tells us that he is a gospel-centered man who realizes that the core agreement amongst believers is the gospel of Jesus Christ. Verse 10 tells us that Paul loves to pray for the believers. Verse 11 shows us that he is excited to see them so that he may use his gifts to strengthen the body in Rome. And verse 12 shows us that Paul is not using his authority to slam the believers but to use it as an encouragement to them. Also that he too, may be encouraged by them. So we see that another purpose for the church is not just to feed with our gifts but to be fed by the gifts of others. Paul says he wants to be "mutually encouraged". So I ask you, how are you encouraged in your church? Are we building relationships in the church that are effectively using our spiritual gifts to the edification of the saints? If not, then we need to seek and find a place for ourselves in the church where our gifts can be used, to the glory of Jesus and not ourselves, and a place where we can be strengthened, not to the glory of others but to the glory of Jesus Christ. This is the reason we are called a "body". There is one body but many parts. We, as individuals, are the many parts. The Holy Spirit has given to each of us a gift, or gifts, that will be supernaturally effective for the strengthening and building up of the body as a whole. It is time we become EFFECTIVE! We must seek to find a place for our gifts to be effective. One practical way of knowing your spiritual gift or gifts is to ask a Christian friend. This may not be the most accurate way to understand what our gifts may be, but it will be a good guide into seeing how others may see our gifting. Also, pray to the Lord to reveal to you what your gifts may be. How are we to be effective if we are unsure of our gifting. You may be a teacher, an evangelist, a prophet or have the gifts of service or administration or many other gifts. But we need to know what God has equiped us with before we begin to use what we may not have. Don't get me wrong, just because you don't have the gift of evangelism doesn't mean you shouldn't evagelize. Just because you don't have the gift of service doesn't mean you can't serve. But we have all been uniquely equiped with a gift that God wants to use in and through you.
We need to have a desire to see the Church of Jesus Christ strengthened and built up by the proper use of our spiritual gifts. We need to be an encouragement to each other. Satan loves a divided and discouraged church and he will do all he can to keep or make things that way in your congregation. But the God we serve is greater that the one of this world (Satan). So let us be stong in the Lord (Ephesians 6:10) and use our gifts to strengthen, build up and encourage our brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus!
Paul begins his letter to the Romans as he does in most of his letters. He approaches the original readers not with judgment but with encouragment. Paul has the authority to slam the church in Rome but he chooses, by the will of Jesus, not to begin that way. He shows this also in 1 Corinthians 1:4-9 and Philemon 8-9. Paul's heart is set on encouraging the believers before bringing to them the hard truths in which they folly.
Paul shows his love for the church as he says "for I long to see you". He continues this idea in verse 13. Pauls desire for visiting the believers in Rome is to use his spiritual gifts to strengthen the church. So I begin the questioning with this; why do you go to church? I think that many people attend church Sunday mornings as a weekly event to show up and leave once the service is over. But scripture paints for us a clear picture of the purpose of church. First of all it is a place of magnifying the glory of Jesus Christ (Philippians 2:9-11). Second it is a place for us to come and be fed the word of God (2 Timothy 4:2). Third it is place where we go to fellowship with other believers in Christ and to edify and be edified through the use of our spiritual gifts. I will focus on the third purpose. What is your spiritual gift? How do you use it in your church? These are important questions. They will help us better understand our place in the church as a whole and in your local congregation. We need to carry with us the attitude of the apostle Paul and desire to use our gifting of the Holy Spirit to build up and strengthen the believers with whom we have fellowship.
Not only are we to focus on edifying the body with our gifts but also to be edified by others. Paul shows us again that he is not lording over the Romans his authority but is counting himself equal in the fact that he too can be edified by the believers. Verse 8 tells us he is thankful for the believers in Rome for their faith because it is known throughout the world. Verse 9 tells us that he is a gospel-centered man who realizes that the core agreement amongst believers is the gospel of Jesus Christ. Verse 10 tells us that Paul loves to pray for the believers. Verse 11 shows us that he is excited to see them so that he may use his gifts to strengthen the body in Rome. And verse 12 shows us that Paul is not using his authority to slam the believers but to use it as an encouragement to them. Also that he too, may be encouraged by them. So we see that another purpose for the church is not just to feed with our gifts but to be fed by the gifts of others. Paul says he wants to be "mutually encouraged". So I ask you, how are you encouraged in your church? Are we building relationships in the church that are effectively using our spiritual gifts to the edification of the saints? If not, then we need to seek and find a place for ourselves in the church where our gifts can be used, to the glory of Jesus and not ourselves, and a place where we can be strengthened, not to the glory of others but to the glory of Jesus Christ. This is the reason we are called a "body". There is one body but many parts. We, as individuals, are the many parts. The Holy Spirit has given to each of us a gift, or gifts, that will be supernaturally effective for the strengthening and building up of the body as a whole. It is time we become EFFECTIVE! We must seek to find a place for our gifts to be effective. One practical way of knowing your spiritual gift or gifts is to ask a Christian friend. This may not be the most accurate way to understand what our gifts may be, but it will be a good guide into seeing how others may see our gifting. Also, pray to the Lord to reveal to you what your gifts may be. How are we to be effective if we are unsure of our gifting. You may be a teacher, an evangelist, a prophet or have the gifts of service or administration or many other gifts. But we need to know what God has equiped us with before we begin to use what we may not have. Don't get me wrong, just because you don't have the gift of evangelism doesn't mean you shouldn't evagelize. Just because you don't have the gift of service doesn't mean you can't serve. But we have all been uniquely equiped with a gift that God wants to use in and through you.
We need to have a desire to see the Church of Jesus Christ strengthened and built up by the proper use of our spiritual gifts. We need to be an encouragement to each other. Satan loves a divided and discouraged church and he will do all he can to keep or make things that way in your congregation. But the God we serve is greater that the one of this world (Satan). So let us be stong in the Lord (Ephesians 6:10) and use our gifts to strengthen, build up and encourage our brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus!
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Biblical Theology for Transformation - 11th Posting
"Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them." Ephesians 5:11
When I first read this text I immediately thought that it was my Christian duty to go around and point fingers at as many unbelievers as I could and "expose" their sin. Though that did not seem the most tactful way to make sinners aware of their sin, I thought that is what the Bible was telling me to do. I, of course, did not do that, but instead took a closer look at this text. The idea behind exposing the sin of the unbeliever has more to do with "imitating Christ" than anything else. Look at Ephesians 5:1, just a few verses prior, and you see that we are called to imitate God who is best portrayed in Christ(5:2). We are called to imitate Christ as believers. So my first question to you is this; do you imitate Christ? I could spend a lot of time explaining what it means and what it looks like to imitate Christ in many ways. But I will focus on what Paul focused on in Ephesians chapter 5.
As imitators of Christ we are to "take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness". One may argue that Jesus came to save sinners, and that one of the pharisees problems with Jesus was that He hung around sinners. Also that we should always be involved with the unrepentant sinner. I would agree with that. But this text does not tell us to not relate to the unrepentant, it tells us not to participate in their acts of evil or sin. The verse goes on to say "but instead expose them". This is exactly what Jesus did in His relationships with unbelievers. He exposed the reality of their sinful hearts to them to make it more clear and visible their need for a Savior. So our role as Christ imitators is to expose the sins of those who are lost in the dark. Think about being in a room that is pitch dark. That room represents the lost world. We, as Jesus did, are to go into that room and turn on our flashlight. This light we shine is our way of exposing the darkness with the light of Jesus Christ. This is what it means to "expose them". Just as someone would be lost in a dark room, there are people lost in this dark world. And we are the light of Jesus Christ in the midst of the darkness. That is why Jesus tells us not to hide our light under a bushel.
So we do not expose the sins of the lost in order to condemn them. Rather we are to be Christ imitators and expose the darkened hearts of the lost with the light of Jesus Christ which is His perfect gospel. So I ask again, are you an imitator of Jesus Christ in the midst of this dark world? Or do we enter the dark room shouting claims of salvation without ever turning on our light and never exposing their sins that enables them to see their need for Jesus. I must admit that I struggle with this myself and I need to, for the glory of Jesus Christ, turn on my light. We must be the light of this world in the midst of darkness and expose the sins of the wicked by being imitators of our King and Lord, Jesus Christ.
We must be imitators of God through Jesus Christ!
When I first read this text I immediately thought that it was my Christian duty to go around and point fingers at as many unbelievers as I could and "expose" their sin. Though that did not seem the most tactful way to make sinners aware of their sin, I thought that is what the Bible was telling me to do. I, of course, did not do that, but instead took a closer look at this text. The idea behind exposing the sin of the unbeliever has more to do with "imitating Christ" than anything else. Look at Ephesians 5:1, just a few verses prior, and you see that we are called to imitate God who is best portrayed in Christ(5:2). We are called to imitate Christ as believers. So my first question to you is this; do you imitate Christ? I could spend a lot of time explaining what it means and what it looks like to imitate Christ in many ways. But I will focus on what Paul focused on in Ephesians chapter 5.
As imitators of Christ we are to "take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness". One may argue that Jesus came to save sinners, and that one of the pharisees problems with Jesus was that He hung around sinners. Also that we should always be involved with the unrepentant sinner. I would agree with that. But this text does not tell us to not relate to the unrepentant, it tells us not to participate in their acts of evil or sin. The verse goes on to say "but instead expose them". This is exactly what Jesus did in His relationships with unbelievers. He exposed the reality of their sinful hearts to them to make it more clear and visible their need for a Savior. So our role as Christ imitators is to expose the sins of those who are lost in the dark. Think about being in a room that is pitch dark. That room represents the lost world. We, as Jesus did, are to go into that room and turn on our flashlight. This light we shine is our way of exposing the darkness with the light of Jesus Christ. This is what it means to "expose them". Just as someone would be lost in a dark room, there are people lost in this dark world. And we are the light of Jesus Christ in the midst of the darkness. That is why Jesus tells us not to hide our light under a bushel.
So we do not expose the sins of the lost in order to condemn them. Rather we are to be Christ imitators and expose the darkened hearts of the lost with the light of Jesus Christ which is His perfect gospel. So I ask again, are you an imitator of Jesus Christ in the midst of this dark world? Or do we enter the dark room shouting claims of salvation without ever turning on our light and never exposing their sins that enables them to see their need for Jesus. I must admit that I struggle with this myself and I need to, for the glory of Jesus Christ, turn on my light. We must be the light of this world in the midst of darkness and expose the sins of the wicked by being imitators of our King and Lord, Jesus Christ.
We must be imitators of God through Jesus Christ!
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Biblical Theology for Transformation - 10th Posting
“and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus” (2 Timothy 3:15)
Remember Sunday school as a kid? All those old Bible stories that seemed to be, at best, slightly interesting. Now that I have grown and had time to actually read and understand those stories again (without the felt board), they have come to give me a fresh understanding of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Paul reminds Timothy in 2 Timothy 3:15 that the “sacred writings” are able to give Him understanding about salvation. The “sacred writings” used in this text is the Old Testament. We’ve read the stories, sang the songs and recited the verses. We all know the stories about Abraham, Noah and the ark, Moses, David and Goliath, Daniel and the lion’s den and many more. When we look back on these stories we see something deeper than our old Sunday school teachers taught us…we see Jesus.
My students asked me how the people from the Old Testament got saved. Some thought that it was just a matter of behaving and loving God. That can’t be true! Look at the lives of some of our OT Bible heroes. David was an adulterer, Noah got drunk, Solomon had 700 wives and 300 concubines (put’s Wilt Chamberlain to shame), and Abraham slept with his wife's servant because he didn’t think God would follow through on giving him a true heir through Sarah. I answered my students with the truth…they were saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. God made a promise that He would provide an heir that would do away with all sin once and for all. We look back to the cross and believe in Jesus, in the same way they looked forward and believed in Christ. We see this in Genesis 15 when God grants righteousness (salvation) to Abraham for believing in the coming heir (Christ).
Also, in all these wonderful Bible stories (not made up stories, but actual historical accounts of God’s work and plan for salvation) we see more than just men who God used, we see Jesus. Every word from Genesis 1:1 to Revelation 22:21 is ALL ABOUT JESUS CHRIST. To give you one example, Moses and his leading the people out of Egyptian slavery into the desert and Joshua’s leading into the Promised Land is a PICTURE. Yes, it really happened and the Bible’s account of the events are accurate. But this is a “physical picture” of a “spiritual truth” that was later accomplished by Christ. Just as God redeemed His people (national Israel) from physical slavery, Jesus redeems His people (true Israel) from slavery to sin (Romans 6). Just as God led His people (national Israel) into a physical Promised Land, Jesus leads us (true Israel) into a spiritual Promised Land (eternal life).
So when Paul tells Timothy that the Old Testament is able to make him wise unto salvation through Jesus Christ, we see that God has Jesus Christ laced all throughout scripture. Let us not neglect the Old Testament. Let’s dive into it and “taste and see that the Lord is good” (Psalm 34:8). When you study and read God’s Word through the lens of Jesus Christ you will begin to see that God has salvation mapped out for His chosen people from before the beginning of time (Ephesians 1:3-14). Philippians 2:9-11 tells us that all of God’s redemptive plan from before the beginning of time was to glorify Jesus Christ. As Greg Laurie says, “the main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing.” If Jesus is the whole centrality of the Bible and the Bible is our guide and source of Truth, then we must see that Jesus NEEDS to be the centrality of our lives. So I end by posing these questions; is Jesus at the center of your life? Is Jesus the main thing in your life? Do you live life looking through the lens of Jesus Christ?
Are you all about Jesus Christ?
Remember Sunday school as a kid? All those old Bible stories that seemed to be, at best, slightly interesting. Now that I have grown and had time to actually read and understand those stories again (without the felt board), they have come to give me a fresh understanding of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Paul reminds Timothy in 2 Timothy 3:15 that the “sacred writings” are able to give Him understanding about salvation. The “sacred writings” used in this text is the Old Testament. We’ve read the stories, sang the songs and recited the verses. We all know the stories about Abraham, Noah and the ark, Moses, David and Goliath, Daniel and the lion’s den and many more. When we look back on these stories we see something deeper than our old Sunday school teachers taught us…we see Jesus.
My students asked me how the people from the Old Testament got saved. Some thought that it was just a matter of behaving and loving God. That can’t be true! Look at the lives of some of our OT Bible heroes. David was an adulterer, Noah got drunk, Solomon had 700 wives and 300 concubines (put’s Wilt Chamberlain to shame), and Abraham slept with his wife's servant because he didn’t think God would follow through on giving him a true heir through Sarah. I answered my students with the truth…they were saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. God made a promise that He would provide an heir that would do away with all sin once and for all. We look back to the cross and believe in Jesus, in the same way they looked forward and believed in Christ. We see this in Genesis 15 when God grants righteousness (salvation) to Abraham for believing in the coming heir (Christ).
Also, in all these wonderful Bible stories (not made up stories, but actual historical accounts of God’s work and plan for salvation) we see more than just men who God used, we see Jesus. Every word from Genesis 1:1 to Revelation 22:21 is ALL ABOUT JESUS CHRIST. To give you one example, Moses and his leading the people out of Egyptian slavery into the desert and Joshua’s leading into the Promised Land is a PICTURE. Yes, it really happened and the Bible’s account of the events are accurate. But this is a “physical picture” of a “spiritual truth” that was later accomplished by Christ. Just as God redeemed His people (national Israel) from physical slavery, Jesus redeems His people (true Israel) from slavery to sin (Romans 6). Just as God led His people (national Israel) into a physical Promised Land, Jesus leads us (true Israel) into a spiritual Promised Land (eternal life).
So when Paul tells Timothy that the Old Testament is able to make him wise unto salvation through Jesus Christ, we see that God has Jesus Christ laced all throughout scripture. Let us not neglect the Old Testament. Let’s dive into it and “taste and see that the Lord is good” (Psalm 34:8). When you study and read God’s Word through the lens of Jesus Christ you will begin to see that God has salvation mapped out for His chosen people from before the beginning of time (Ephesians 1:3-14). Philippians 2:9-11 tells us that all of God’s redemptive plan from before the beginning of time was to glorify Jesus Christ. As Greg Laurie says, “the main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing.” If Jesus is the whole centrality of the Bible and the Bible is our guide and source of Truth, then we must see that Jesus NEEDS to be the centrality of our lives. So I end by posing these questions; is Jesus at the center of your life? Is Jesus the main thing in your life? Do you live life looking through the lens of Jesus Christ?
Are you all about Jesus Christ?
Sunday, August 3, 2008
Ithaka Fellowship
In the heartland of Illinois, where the corn grows taller than the buildings, there is a Christ-centered ministry called Ithaka Fellowship. This ministry strives to bring believers to a hightened awareness and INTERACTION with God's creation. Duane Otto was given this passion from the Lord. He has renovated an old country home into a beautiful place where Christians can meet together. Duane's message is for us to actually take stewardship over the land and creation that God has blessed us with. The house they purchased is on a farm land where they are having work projects such as building a garden and now working on adding a deck. Duane is a Christ-centered man with a strong Biblical theology.
Please pray for Duane, his family and his ministry.
My portrayal of this ministry is limited but you can get a much more accurate and detailed understanding of what goes on at Ithaka Fellowship by clicking of the link at the bottom of this page entitled, "Ithaka Fellowship".
Please pray for Duane, his family and his ministry.
My portrayal of this ministry is limited but you can get a much more accurate and detailed understanding of what goes on at Ithaka Fellowship by clicking of the link at the bottom of this page entitled, "Ithaka Fellowship".
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Biblical Theology for Transformation - 9th Posting
“Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.” 1 Corinthians 11:1
Say it out loud. “Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.” Now, say it like you mean it, “Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ!” Now, say it to someone you know. Does it become a difficult passage to repeat…out loud…TO SOMEONE? To be honest with you and with myself, this can be a hard thing to say to some people. It is not because we don’t want to be like Jesus because I am assuming that since you put your trust in Him you want to be like Him. It’s a hard thing to say because we may not be sure we are actually imitators of Him. Remember WWJD? It stands for What Would Jesus Do. We should really be saying WDJD, What DID Jesus Do! We have four gospel books that contain 89 chapters of the life, work and ministry of Jesus Christ. We have no excuses for our lack of desire to do the things Jesus did. He was a lover of sinners (that’s you and me, Romans 5:8). Colossians 1:15 says, “He (Jesus) is the image of the invisible God.” Jesus was a perfect representation of the Father. Later, in Colossians 3:10, we are called to be the image of Christ. So, as Jesus imitates the Father, we too are to imitate the Father by imitating the Son.
This is not the easiest of tasks considering we are such wretched sinners. It may seem to us that this was a much easier task for Jesus, but that would be wrong for us to think. Jesus was a man too. He operated His sinless life by the power of the Holy Spirit. If every time Jesus was faced with temptation, He tapped into His divine power to overcome the temptation, He would not be worthy to be the lamb that was slain. Hebrews 4:15 says, “For we do not have a High Priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.” Jesus faced the same temptations we face today, the temptations to sin. We know that God cannot be tempted, so it was not Jesus’ deity that was tempted, but His human side. Jesus did not sin in the face of temptation by the power of the Holy Spirit. That is why He is able to sympathize with us, because He has been there and offers to us the same road away from sin that He took, by tapping into the Holy Spirit.
It may not be easy to be imitators of Christ in our sinful nature, but Paul claims to have been able to do it, and we should too. Paul also operated by the same Holy Spirit that Jesus did and we too have that same access (Ephesians 3:12).
Beloved, let’s be imitators of Jesus Christ in such a way that we are able to boldly proclaim, “Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.”
Say it out loud. “Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.” Now, say it like you mean it, “Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ!” Now, say it to someone you know. Does it become a difficult passage to repeat…out loud…TO SOMEONE? To be honest with you and with myself, this can be a hard thing to say to some people. It is not because we don’t want to be like Jesus because I am assuming that since you put your trust in Him you want to be like Him. It’s a hard thing to say because we may not be sure we are actually imitators of Him. Remember WWJD? It stands for What Would Jesus Do. We should really be saying WDJD, What DID Jesus Do! We have four gospel books that contain 89 chapters of the life, work and ministry of Jesus Christ. We have no excuses for our lack of desire to do the things Jesus did. He was a lover of sinners (that’s you and me, Romans 5:8). Colossians 1:15 says, “He (Jesus) is the image of the invisible God.” Jesus was a perfect representation of the Father. Later, in Colossians 3:10, we are called to be the image of Christ. So, as Jesus imitates the Father, we too are to imitate the Father by imitating the Son.
This is not the easiest of tasks considering we are such wretched sinners. It may seem to us that this was a much easier task for Jesus, but that would be wrong for us to think. Jesus was a man too. He operated His sinless life by the power of the Holy Spirit. If every time Jesus was faced with temptation, He tapped into His divine power to overcome the temptation, He would not be worthy to be the lamb that was slain. Hebrews 4:15 says, “For we do not have a High Priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.” Jesus faced the same temptations we face today, the temptations to sin. We know that God cannot be tempted, so it was not Jesus’ deity that was tempted, but His human side. Jesus did not sin in the face of temptation by the power of the Holy Spirit. That is why He is able to sympathize with us, because He has been there and offers to us the same road away from sin that He took, by tapping into the Holy Spirit.
It may not be easy to be imitators of Christ in our sinful nature, but Paul claims to have been able to do it, and we should too. Paul also operated by the same Holy Spirit that Jesus did and we too have that same access (Ephesians 3:12).
Beloved, let’s be imitators of Jesus Christ in such a way that we are able to boldly proclaim, “Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.”
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Biblical Theology for Transformation - 8th Posting
“For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.” 1 Corinthians 3:11
If there is one thing I wish to communicate in any message I send; it is the absolute sovereignty of Jesus Christ. If we are to see Jesus as the sovereign ruler over ALL (Colossians 1:15-20, Hebrews 1:3, Romans 11:36), then He must be the target of our affection and desire. In order for that to happen, He must be the foundation, or beginning, of anything we do. Jesus does not desire to be in any place in your life but FIRST!
Paul, in his first letter to the Corinthians is charging them to change! The Corinthians were a bunch of believers who have not moved onto maturity as Christians. Paul calls them spiritual babies. In 1 Corinthians 3:2, he tells them that they were fed milk instead of solid food and that they still are not ready for the solid food. Paul is using food as a metaphor of their lack of spiritual growth. The author of Hebrews does this also in Hebrews 5:12-14.
The encouragement here is not that they need a new starting point. Paul makes it clear to them that the beginning of their teachings was Jesus Christ. He was and is the foundation for any sort of spiritual growth. Obviously there will be no growth if there is no initial relationship with Jesus. The Corinthians started with Jesus as their foundation but began to build upon that foundation with things that would not last for eternity. He tells us that what we build over the foundation of Jesus will be tested on that “Day”. This Day refers to the Day when we will have to give an account for the things we have done. For believers there will be no day of judgment, only a Day of rewards. These rewards will be granted to us according to what we have built on top of the foundation of Jesus Christ. Our works that do not honor and glorify Jesus will be burnt up as they are tested by fire (3:13). Our works that do honor and glorify Jesus will stand the test of fire and we will receive a reward for them (3:14).
Let me make clear that God is not telling us that we will not keep our salvation if our works don’t add up. But that our works are a reflection of our maturity IN CHRIST. So, though our salvation is secure (3:15), we will still be tested by fire for our works IN CHRIST.
My encouragement to you is this; first recognize that Jesus is our foundation and starting point. We must desire to glorify and magnify Him in our spiritual growth. Second, once we are aware of Christ as our foundation we should see that no matter the magnitude of our works, the foundation still stands through fire and we stand along side Him. Let me encourage you to seek to build upon that foundation with works that, in turn, reap for us rewards in heaven. Our desire should not be for the reward, but to see that Jesus Christ is our reward. Once we understand that, we will be better able to live our lives in a way that is most honoring and glorifying to Jesus. We will all be tested. Let our lives stand the test of fire and glorify Jesus as He should be.
If there is one thing I wish to communicate in any message I send; it is the absolute sovereignty of Jesus Christ. If we are to see Jesus as the sovereign ruler over ALL (Colossians 1:15-20, Hebrews 1:3, Romans 11:36), then He must be the target of our affection and desire. In order for that to happen, He must be the foundation, or beginning, of anything we do. Jesus does not desire to be in any place in your life but FIRST!
Paul, in his first letter to the Corinthians is charging them to change! The Corinthians were a bunch of believers who have not moved onto maturity as Christians. Paul calls them spiritual babies. In 1 Corinthians 3:2, he tells them that they were fed milk instead of solid food and that they still are not ready for the solid food. Paul is using food as a metaphor of their lack of spiritual growth. The author of Hebrews does this also in Hebrews 5:12-14.
The encouragement here is not that they need a new starting point. Paul makes it clear to them that the beginning of their teachings was Jesus Christ. He was and is the foundation for any sort of spiritual growth. Obviously there will be no growth if there is no initial relationship with Jesus. The Corinthians started with Jesus as their foundation but began to build upon that foundation with things that would not last for eternity. He tells us that what we build over the foundation of Jesus will be tested on that “Day”. This Day refers to the Day when we will have to give an account for the things we have done. For believers there will be no day of judgment, only a Day of rewards. These rewards will be granted to us according to what we have built on top of the foundation of Jesus Christ. Our works that do not honor and glorify Jesus will be burnt up as they are tested by fire (3:13). Our works that do honor and glorify Jesus will stand the test of fire and we will receive a reward for them (3:14).
Let me make clear that God is not telling us that we will not keep our salvation if our works don’t add up. But that our works are a reflection of our maturity IN CHRIST. So, though our salvation is secure (3:15), we will still be tested by fire for our works IN CHRIST.
My encouragement to you is this; first recognize that Jesus is our foundation and starting point. We must desire to glorify and magnify Him in our spiritual growth. Second, once we are aware of Christ as our foundation we should see that no matter the magnitude of our works, the foundation still stands through fire and we stand along side Him. Let me encourage you to seek to build upon that foundation with works that, in turn, reap for us rewards in heaven. Our desire should not be for the reward, but to see that Jesus Christ is our reward. Once we understand that, we will be better able to live our lives in a way that is most honoring and glorifying to Jesus. We will all be tested. Let our lives stand the test of fire and glorify Jesus as He should be.
Saturday, July 12, 2008
New Application
I have added a new application to my blog. At the bottom of this blog you will find my favorite books. These are all recommended reads. I will continue to put more books on this application as I read more and remember more of what I have read in the past. I hope you pick one up and give it a read! God bless you in Jesus Christ!
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
Jeff Williams Theology
I was having lunch last week with a couple pastor friends of mine, Grant Armstrong and Jeff Williams. I sat across the table form them as they shared with me some of their perspectives on ministry. Before I get into anything else, I want to share with you the extreme joy I receive while spending time with these guys. They are passionate about God's people and on fire for Jesus. They bless me everytime I meet with them and I am overjoyed to be involved with them at all. Grant is the kind of guy that you talk to and you immediately feel stupid because he is so smart. He doesn't want you to feel stupid, he is actually an incredibly nice guy who loves Jesus and his family. The way Grant processes things blows my thinking out of the water. And Jeff, well, once you meet him, he's just...Jeff. An experienced pastor with a shepharding heart and deep theological roots. You can now see why I am blessed in my time with them. While Jeff and Grant shared with eachother about a book that I have never heard of I began to think to myself; "Self, you don't read those kinds of books, maybe you should." I won't go into the full extent of our conversation. But in short, Jeff challenged me to read something other than what I had described as "theology only" type of books. Normally I only read non-fiction theological books or commentaries or greek lexicons and of course the Bible. Jeff told me I needed to get a hobby. I told him theology is my hobby.
As I now reflect on what Jeff was advising me to do, I have to wonder if his 8 years of youth ministry experience is any sort of indication that maybe I should listen to him. Well, clearly. Jeff was pushing me to expand my horizons. I look at someone like Jeff Williams and he is able to take time to read fables and fun stories and write interestingly fun blogs, and he is so theologically solid.
So I am really just spilling my heart here. I am at a place now where I want nothing more than to learn from God's word through the study of it and using resources that are directly pointing to it. However, I need to read something new! So Jeff, if you are reading this, I have ventured to read a book called "The Shack". I have heard some decent things about it, but mostly bad from men I trust. So I will read this FICTION book with scrutiny and just realize this is one step toward a Mark with a larger arsenal for ministry.
Jeff's blog site is linked at the bottom of this page...Please visit, he is an interesting writer with insight and he clearly communicates joy!
As I now reflect on what Jeff was advising me to do, I have to wonder if his 8 years of youth ministry experience is any sort of indication that maybe I should listen to him. Well, clearly. Jeff was pushing me to expand my horizons. I look at someone like Jeff Williams and he is able to take time to read fables and fun stories and write interestingly fun blogs, and he is so theologically solid.
So I am really just spilling my heart here. I am at a place now where I want nothing more than to learn from God's word through the study of it and using resources that are directly pointing to it. However, I need to read something new! So Jeff, if you are reading this, I have ventured to read a book called "The Shack". I have heard some decent things about it, but mostly bad from men I trust. So I will read this FICTION book with scrutiny and just realize this is one step toward a Mark with a larger arsenal for ministry.
Jeff's blog site is linked at the bottom of this page...Please visit, he is an interesting writer with insight and he clearly communicates joy!
Monday, July 7, 2008
The Joy of Family
Usually my blogs are centered on a theological thought or a specific Biblical text, but I wanted to take a moment of your time to give you my thoughts on the family.
Everyday I come home from a long day of ministry. Though ministry is an incredible joy for me, it still takes a toll on my physically, emotionally and spiritually. So the joy that is accumulated from a long day of studying, meetings, visiting and other various details, I am able to bring that home to my family. Coming home after spending my days in these different aspects of minsitry, has been one of my greatest joys. Everyday I walk in the door and I hear my wife say to my 3 month old son, "Daddy's home!". Those are the sweetest words to my ears. Those words give me a sense of understanding of what John writes in Revelation, when he says that the prayers of the saints are like a sweet smelling incense to the Lord. I can almost smell the pleasant aroma of love in my household.
One of the greatest joys I have experienced is that marriage is one of God's best ways to sanctify us. Sanctification is the process of us being transformed to be more like Jesus. Basically, it's spiritual growth. For anyone who is married, you know what I am talking about. There is no other relationship on earth that exposes us for who we truely are like marriage. My wife knows me better than anyone, and I know her better than anyone. Though this can certainly cause some problems sometimes, those problems are what makes us grow. However, it is such a joy to know that she knows me so well.
My son, Dante, who is quickly approaching 3 months of age, has been a wonderful joy and addition to our family. I now see my wife, not only as a wife, but as a mother. Having Dante has strengthened our love and marriage. I have seen too many marriages broken because parents focus more on their children than eachother. Certainly children need the love and care of their parents, but the security of a child grows strongest in the security of the marriage between the parents. That is why my wife and I often express to eachother that our marriage will always come before our children. That kind of thinking may sound a bit harsh towards the children, but when the parents are focused on eachother first, there will be security in the family in the minds of the children.
In our house, Jesus comes first, then our marriage, then our children, then our ministries. When those things are placed in order Jesus will strengthen your marriage, Jesus and your marriage will strengthen your children, and Jesus and your family will strengthen your minstry. That is why my family is one of my greatest joys!
Everyday I come home from a long day of ministry. Though ministry is an incredible joy for me, it still takes a toll on my physically, emotionally and spiritually. So the joy that is accumulated from a long day of studying, meetings, visiting and other various details, I am able to bring that home to my family. Coming home after spending my days in these different aspects of minsitry, has been one of my greatest joys. Everyday I walk in the door and I hear my wife say to my 3 month old son, "Daddy's home!". Those are the sweetest words to my ears. Those words give me a sense of understanding of what John writes in Revelation, when he says that the prayers of the saints are like a sweet smelling incense to the Lord. I can almost smell the pleasant aroma of love in my household.
One of the greatest joys I have experienced is that marriage is one of God's best ways to sanctify us. Sanctification is the process of us being transformed to be more like Jesus. Basically, it's spiritual growth. For anyone who is married, you know what I am talking about. There is no other relationship on earth that exposes us for who we truely are like marriage. My wife knows me better than anyone, and I know her better than anyone. Though this can certainly cause some problems sometimes, those problems are what makes us grow. However, it is such a joy to know that she knows me so well.
My son, Dante, who is quickly approaching 3 months of age, has been a wonderful joy and addition to our family. I now see my wife, not only as a wife, but as a mother. Having Dante has strengthened our love and marriage. I have seen too many marriages broken because parents focus more on their children than eachother. Certainly children need the love and care of their parents, but the security of a child grows strongest in the security of the marriage between the parents. That is why my wife and I often express to eachother that our marriage will always come before our children. That kind of thinking may sound a bit harsh towards the children, but when the parents are focused on eachother first, there will be security in the family in the minds of the children.
In our house, Jesus comes first, then our marriage, then our children, then our ministries. When those things are placed in order Jesus will strengthen your marriage, Jesus and your marriage will strengthen your children, and Jesus and your family will strengthen your minstry. That is why my family is one of my greatest joys!
Thursday, July 3, 2008
Biblical Theology For Transfomation - 7th Posting
“But we were gentle among you, like a nursing mother taking care of her own children…For you know how, like a father with his children, we exhorted each one of you and encouraged you and charged you to walk in a manner worthy of God.”
1 Thessalonians 2:7, 11-12
To all my fellow pastors out there, I offer to you an encouragement to take on the ministry of Christ in the way Paul explains in 1 Thessalonians. There is a double sidedness to our pastoral ministries. On one hand, we are to be like nurturing mothers, and on the other we are to be like fathers exhorting, encouraging and charging. There are plenty of opportunities to take advantage of both of these calls to ministry. I think part of the lack of strong pastoral ministry today comes in the form of a lack of balance. There are those who focus primarily on the soft, gentle care that the pastor is to give to his people. Then there are those who are strong in their charging the people and often forget about those who need a shepherds gentle care. I must be honest, I struggle with both of these. It can sometimes be hard to tell what kind of role to play in dealing with people. So, I write this with both roles in mind. I want to encourage you to be a charging pastor who cares for his sheep.
Notice in verse 7 how the “mother” is described as “nursing”. Mothers are generally known more for their loving tenderness more so than the fathers. But Paul does not just make the analogy of being a mother, but being a nursing mother. My wife and I had our first born son just over two months ago. As I see her care for him and compare it to the care my mother now shows for me, a 25 year old man, I see why Paul challenges us to be like a “nursing” mother. My wife has a desperate need to care for our son all day everyday. He needs milk, love, caring affection, he needs to be held and needs love all day. I, on the other hand, do not need all those things from my mother anymore. Of course I will always need her love, but my physical growth does not depend on her close comfort to me. So I see why Paul charges us not just to mothering our people but mothering with a sense of urgency and NEEDED care. And Paul say, “taking care of her OWN children.” We are called to love our people with desperate affection as if they were our own children who need the care of a nursing mother. This can be one of the most difficult things to do as a pastor. My son needs his mother and knows it, but people need the care of a shepherding pastor and sometimes don’t know it. That is why we need to seek them out to offer comfort. A baby will not seek out it’s mother, but the mother must seek out the child to care for it. This is what a shepherd does, seeks to find the lost sheep.
Then Paul goes on to charge us as pastors to exhort, encourage and charge our people like a father. Fathers are most well known, not for their soft comforting side, but for their strong guidance. The Greek word for encourage literally means to comfort. The Greek word for exhort actually shares the same root word as encourage. Along with these two we are also to “charge”. The Greek word for charge literally means to “scourge the sin, not the person.” So how does this make out to be a strong father role in the pastorate? We are to scourge the sin in the lives of people by charging them to change. We have seen pastors do this in ways that leave their people feeling hopeless and discouraged. Forcing people to change or they will end up wasted and worthless or even worse, in hell. That is why Paul first tells us to be comforting as fathers, because there is a sense of care and comfort that must accompany the charge. If people are feeling like they have been yelled at they will, as children often do, curl up in a ball and not respond. But when our charges to change our sinful patterns are addressed with care, concern and comfort, people respond. They will feel an actual concern coming from their pastor. I am not one to give fluffy messages or sissy care, but I do know that Jesus was one to truly care about the sinner as He told them to sin no more. In all this we will be better able to equip people to “walk in a manner worthy of God.” If our desire is to see Jesus glorified, then our method must be Biblical. Clearly our method needs to be two sided, comforting and charging. One without the other will leave your people confused and without direction toward true change.
Pastor, we need to care for our people in a nurturing, comforting way that demands change from their sinful lifestyles. We need to be like a nursing mother and a father with his children. In essence, we need to love our people in the most Biblical way possible.
1 Thessalonians 2:7, 11-12
To all my fellow pastors out there, I offer to you an encouragement to take on the ministry of Christ in the way Paul explains in 1 Thessalonians. There is a double sidedness to our pastoral ministries. On one hand, we are to be like nurturing mothers, and on the other we are to be like fathers exhorting, encouraging and charging. There are plenty of opportunities to take advantage of both of these calls to ministry. I think part of the lack of strong pastoral ministry today comes in the form of a lack of balance. There are those who focus primarily on the soft, gentle care that the pastor is to give to his people. Then there are those who are strong in their charging the people and often forget about those who need a shepherds gentle care. I must be honest, I struggle with both of these. It can sometimes be hard to tell what kind of role to play in dealing with people. So, I write this with both roles in mind. I want to encourage you to be a charging pastor who cares for his sheep.
Notice in verse 7 how the “mother” is described as “nursing”. Mothers are generally known more for their loving tenderness more so than the fathers. But Paul does not just make the analogy of being a mother, but being a nursing mother. My wife and I had our first born son just over two months ago. As I see her care for him and compare it to the care my mother now shows for me, a 25 year old man, I see why Paul challenges us to be like a “nursing” mother. My wife has a desperate need to care for our son all day everyday. He needs milk, love, caring affection, he needs to be held and needs love all day. I, on the other hand, do not need all those things from my mother anymore. Of course I will always need her love, but my physical growth does not depend on her close comfort to me. So I see why Paul charges us not just to mothering our people but mothering with a sense of urgency and NEEDED care. And Paul say, “taking care of her OWN children.” We are called to love our people with desperate affection as if they were our own children who need the care of a nursing mother. This can be one of the most difficult things to do as a pastor. My son needs his mother and knows it, but people need the care of a shepherding pastor and sometimes don’t know it. That is why we need to seek them out to offer comfort. A baby will not seek out it’s mother, but the mother must seek out the child to care for it. This is what a shepherd does, seeks to find the lost sheep.
Then Paul goes on to charge us as pastors to exhort, encourage and charge our people like a father. Fathers are most well known, not for their soft comforting side, but for their strong guidance. The Greek word for encourage literally means to comfort. The Greek word for exhort actually shares the same root word as encourage. Along with these two we are also to “charge”. The Greek word for charge literally means to “scourge the sin, not the person.” So how does this make out to be a strong father role in the pastorate? We are to scourge the sin in the lives of people by charging them to change. We have seen pastors do this in ways that leave their people feeling hopeless and discouraged. Forcing people to change or they will end up wasted and worthless or even worse, in hell. That is why Paul first tells us to be comforting as fathers, because there is a sense of care and comfort that must accompany the charge. If people are feeling like they have been yelled at they will, as children often do, curl up in a ball and not respond. But when our charges to change our sinful patterns are addressed with care, concern and comfort, people respond. They will feel an actual concern coming from their pastor. I am not one to give fluffy messages or sissy care, but I do know that Jesus was one to truly care about the sinner as He told them to sin no more. In all this we will be better able to equip people to “walk in a manner worthy of God.” If our desire is to see Jesus glorified, then our method must be Biblical. Clearly our method needs to be two sided, comforting and charging. One without the other will leave your people confused and without direction toward true change.
Pastor, we need to care for our people in a nurturing, comforting way that demands change from their sinful lifestyles. We need to be like a nursing mother and a father with his children. In essence, we need to love our people in the most Biblical way possible.
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Biblical Theology for Transformation - 5th Posting
1 Corinthians 2:2, 4:1
2:2-"For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified."
4:1-"This is how one should regard us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. "
First of all, it is important to understand what Paul means when he says "mysteries of God". Within the context of the first letter he wrote to the Church in Corinth, Paul is dealing with a Church that is completely out of control. They are not growing spiritually as they should and Paul charges them with this; "I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for it. And even now you are not yet ready, for you are still of the flesh." (1 Cor. 3:2-3a). With that thinking in mind, Paul addressess the "mysteries of God". This mystery is the gospel of Jesus Christ. Paul, whether he was speaking to those who are "babies" in Christ or those who are mature, always starts and ends with the gospel of Jesus Christ. He begins his first letter to Corinth by giving thanks to God for the gospel of Jesus Christ (1 Cor. 1:4) and end the second letter to Corinth explaining his personal experience of the power of the gospel (2 Cor. 12:9-10). Paul's message is clear: "For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified." (1 Corinthians 2:2). Paul, sets for us THE example of the Christian life. If we are saved by the gospel of Jesus Christ, then we must live by the same gospel. Imagine you are locked up in jail and someone comes to free you from jail. You bolt out of the jail and get to the street where the getaway car is waiting and the one who freed you jumps in the car and takes off leaving you at the sidewalk in front of the jail where the police are there to take you back. You are essentially left on your own. This is NOT what Jesus has done for us. He has not only freed us, but He sustains our walk. If it is His gospel that saves us, it must be His gospel that sustains us. And if it is His gospel that sustains us we must FIRST OF ALL consider ourselves to know NOTHING except the gospel of Jesus Christ and Him crucified. I encourage you, as well as myself, to live out our walk in a way that is centrally focused on the saving work of Jesus in our lives. There can be nothing good that is produced from starting anywhere else. If our beginning of everything is anything but the gospel, we are headed down a dangerous path that will only leave us with false doctrine and poor Biblical and Christian theology. Theology is the way we think of God. If we start our thinking of God without first thinking of Jesus, it is like trying to start our cars without gasoline. We either get nowhere or we stop short of the desired destination. So my encouragement to you is this; our understanding of God, our spiritual growth and our direction in life NEEDS to start with Jesus and Him crucified. CJ Mahaney wrote a book called "The Cross-centered Life" (one of the most influencial books I have ever read). In his book, he drives home the point that the main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing. The main thing is the gospel. As I reflect on my own life I notice that I do not always start my thinking with the gospel, and when that occures, I begin to fade from Biblical truth. God's Word, from Genesis 1:1 to Revelation 22:21, always points us to Jesus. So if Jesus is the desired outcome of our Biblical theology or our Biblical thinking, then we must START with the presupposition that Jesus is the desired outcome of ANY text.
As believers, we are indwelt with the Holy Spirit. Having this security(Ephesians 1:13), we can rely on the Holy Spirit to ALWAYS point us the Jesus. With that thought in mind, we HAVE TO ask for the filling of the Spirit in our lives. Ephesians 5:18 tells us, "be filled with the Spirit." The word "be" literally translated means, "be being", this is a continual state of being filled. It is by the power of the Holy Spirit we will see Jesus and have implanted in our hearts the gospel of Jesus Christ in all situations. Romans 8:30 says that we are justified and then glorified and the idea that we are sanctified is implied in the text. Let me help break this down. Justified is the single instantaneous act by God in which he declares our sins, past, present and future, forgiven and takes from us our sin and gives to us the righteousness of Christ (Romans 3:21-26). Martin Lloyd-Jones called this the "great exchange". Sanctification is the process that begins the moment after we are justified and continues until our physical death on earth. Sanctification is our spiritual growth, or God working in us to make us more like Jesus (Philippians 2:13). Glorification is what takes place after our lives on earth, when we are finally face to face with Jesus and He gives us our crowns of righteousness to glorify us and we will throw them back at His feet in complete recognition that He alone is worthy of ALL GLORY!(1 Corinthians 13:12). As we see this process played out in the Bible, and also in our lives, we can not help but see Jesus at the center of all three places! He saves us, He grows us and He glorifies us. By which we must respond, "All glory belongs to Jesus!" (Revelation 4:11, my paraphrase).
In Conclusion, this is to be an encouragement. That Jesus be the beginning, the middle and the end of our Biblical thinking, our practical life, and our world view. We, as Paul made clear of his own life and mission, must always carry the gospel with us in the forefront of our minds to see Him magnified and glorified!
"Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, equip you with everything good that you may do His will, working in us that which is pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amem." (Hebrews 13:20-21).
2:2-"For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified."
4:1-"This is how one should regard us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. "
First of all, it is important to understand what Paul means when he says "mysteries of God". Within the context of the first letter he wrote to the Church in Corinth, Paul is dealing with a Church that is completely out of control. They are not growing spiritually as they should and Paul charges them with this; "I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for it. And even now you are not yet ready, for you are still of the flesh." (1 Cor. 3:2-3a). With that thinking in mind, Paul addressess the "mysteries of God". This mystery is the gospel of Jesus Christ. Paul, whether he was speaking to those who are "babies" in Christ or those who are mature, always starts and ends with the gospel of Jesus Christ. He begins his first letter to Corinth by giving thanks to God for the gospel of Jesus Christ (1 Cor. 1:4) and end the second letter to Corinth explaining his personal experience of the power of the gospel (2 Cor. 12:9-10). Paul's message is clear: "For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified." (1 Corinthians 2:2). Paul, sets for us THE example of the Christian life. If we are saved by the gospel of Jesus Christ, then we must live by the same gospel. Imagine you are locked up in jail and someone comes to free you from jail. You bolt out of the jail and get to the street where the getaway car is waiting and the one who freed you jumps in the car and takes off leaving you at the sidewalk in front of the jail where the police are there to take you back. You are essentially left on your own. This is NOT what Jesus has done for us. He has not only freed us, but He sustains our walk. If it is His gospel that saves us, it must be His gospel that sustains us. And if it is His gospel that sustains us we must FIRST OF ALL consider ourselves to know NOTHING except the gospel of Jesus Christ and Him crucified. I encourage you, as well as myself, to live out our walk in a way that is centrally focused on the saving work of Jesus in our lives. There can be nothing good that is produced from starting anywhere else. If our beginning of everything is anything but the gospel, we are headed down a dangerous path that will only leave us with false doctrine and poor Biblical and Christian theology. Theology is the way we think of God. If we start our thinking of God without first thinking of Jesus, it is like trying to start our cars without gasoline. We either get nowhere or we stop short of the desired destination. So my encouragement to you is this; our understanding of God, our spiritual growth and our direction in life NEEDS to start with Jesus and Him crucified. CJ Mahaney wrote a book called "The Cross-centered Life" (one of the most influencial books I have ever read). In his book, he drives home the point that the main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing. The main thing is the gospel. As I reflect on my own life I notice that I do not always start my thinking with the gospel, and when that occures, I begin to fade from Biblical truth. God's Word, from Genesis 1:1 to Revelation 22:21, always points us to Jesus. So if Jesus is the desired outcome of our Biblical theology or our Biblical thinking, then we must START with the presupposition that Jesus is the desired outcome of ANY text.
As believers, we are indwelt with the Holy Spirit. Having this security(Ephesians 1:13), we can rely on the Holy Spirit to ALWAYS point us the Jesus. With that thought in mind, we HAVE TO ask for the filling of the Spirit in our lives. Ephesians 5:18 tells us, "be filled with the Spirit." The word "be" literally translated means, "be being", this is a continual state of being filled. It is by the power of the Holy Spirit we will see Jesus and have implanted in our hearts the gospel of Jesus Christ in all situations. Romans 8:30 says that we are justified and then glorified and the idea that we are sanctified is implied in the text. Let me help break this down. Justified is the single instantaneous act by God in which he declares our sins, past, present and future, forgiven and takes from us our sin and gives to us the righteousness of Christ (Romans 3:21-26). Martin Lloyd-Jones called this the "great exchange". Sanctification is the process that begins the moment after we are justified and continues until our physical death on earth. Sanctification is our spiritual growth, or God working in us to make us more like Jesus (Philippians 2:13). Glorification is what takes place after our lives on earth, when we are finally face to face with Jesus and He gives us our crowns of righteousness to glorify us and we will throw them back at His feet in complete recognition that He alone is worthy of ALL GLORY!(1 Corinthians 13:12). As we see this process played out in the Bible, and also in our lives, we can not help but see Jesus at the center of all three places! He saves us, He grows us and He glorifies us. By which we must respond, "All glory belongs to Jesus!" (Revelation 4:11, my paraphrase).
In Conclusion, this is to be an encouragement. That Jesus be the beginning, the middle and the end of our Biblical thinking, our practical life, and our world view. We, as Paul made clear of his own life and mission, must always carry the gospel with us in the forefront of our minds to see Him magnified and glorified!
"Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, equip you with everything good that you may do His will, working in us that which is pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amem." (Hebrews 13:20-21).
Biblical Theology for Transformation - 4th Posting
6/12/08
Ephesians 1:19 “And what is the immeasurable greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His great might.”
We can sometimes feel so weak in our Christian lives. Our feelings of inadequacy and inability to perform our Christian service keep us from making further attempts at serving Christ. Thoughts of self-doubt and self-worthlessness can often accompany the walk of a follower of Jesus. We look down on our own attempts of service and begin to tell ourselves that we are useless in this fellowship of believers. The result is Christians who do not serve and believers whose lives do not reflect the work of Jesus and His saving grace. I suppose by this time you are expecting me to hand out the encouragement you are being set up for. In your mind you might be expecting some sort of self-motivating scripture and an explanation of how we are supposed to get up in the morning, look ourselves in the mirror and say, “I’m smart enough, I’m good enough and gall-darnit, people like me!”. This is the sort of thinking our culture and world have imposed on those seeking a purpose in life. They want us to believe that real joy and peace come from within. This is where the downtrodden believer gets caught in the snare. If thoughts of self-doubt, self-worthlessness and inadequacy surround your mind, the last thing I want to do is tell you that is wrong. You should doubt yourself. You are worthless and you are completely inadequate to do anything on your own. This is the problem with American thinking, we try to convince ourselves that we are not these things and when we continue to fail at getting away from these downfalls, we think we might as well stop trying and we give up on serving Jesus.
Now that I have completely squashed your hopes of ever accomplishing anything in the name of Christ, the encouragement is this; Jesus is your confidence, Jesus is your worth and ONLY Jesus is adequate. We have to veer away from this self reflecting mentality and start doing some Jesus reflecting. Stop trusting in ourselves and start letting the power of Jesus take hold of our lives and our service. David says in 1 Chronicles 29:14, “But who am I, and what is my people that we should be able thus to offer willingly? For all things come from You, and of Your own have we given You.” David realized that His service to the Lord was not of his own power and strength but that the Lord worked through David to serve Him.
Ephesians 1:19 gives us great insight on why we need to stop trusting ourselves and start trusting Jesus. You will notice that I put in italics four words; power, working, great and might. These four words, though different in English and also in the original Greek, all mean the same thing: POWER!!!! The original word for power is dynameos. From this word we get our English word “dynamite”. Like dynamite, Jesus’ dynameos is an explosive power. The original word for working is energeian, which is where we get our English word “energy” from. These four different words show the immeasurable greatness of the power of Jesus. Notice that these words are attributed not to YOU, but to Jesus. However, His power is directed towards us. He invests His power into His believers for service to Him so that He may be glorified and magnified. Also notice that of these four words, they are all of immeasurable greatness. That means the magnitude of Jesus’ power goes beyond measure and cannot even be fathomed by our futile minds.
Your encouragement is this; stop the pity party and stop trying to find the answer inside of yourself. As I tell my kids all the time; you are not as cool as you think you are. When we look into ourselves for the answers we will only be disappointed and discouraged. It is when we realize the immeasurable greatness of the power of Jesus at work in us that we can begin to unravel the twisted mess of self-reliance we weaved for so long. Begin every morning with a simple recognition that Jesus is your strength (2 Corinthians 12:9, 10). If your service to the Lord is powered by your own will and power you will end up spinning in a spool of legalism trying your hardest to please God by your own power. YOU CAN NOT DO IT!!!! Jesus is the one who possess the power to do great things and we possess Jesus. Find your power to serve Him, in Him!
Ephesians 1:19 “And what is the immeasurable greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His great might.”
We can sometimes feel so weak in our Christian lives. Our feelings of inadequacy and inability to perform our Christian service keep us from making further attempts at serving Christ. Thoughts of self-doubt and self-worthlessness can often accompany the walk of a follower of Jesus. We look down on our own attempts of service and begin to tell ourselves that we are useless in this fellowship of believers. The result is Christians who do not serve and believers whose lives do not reflect the work of Jesus and His saving grace. I suppose by this time you are expecting me to hand out the encouragement you are being set up for. In your mind you might be expecting some sort of self-motivating scripture and an explanation of how we are supposed to get up in the morning, look ourselves in the mirror and say, “I’m smart enough, I’m good enough and gall-darnit, people like me!”. This is the sort of thinking our culture and world have imposed on those seeking a purpose in life. They want us to believe that real joy and peace come from within. This is where the downtrodden believer gets caught in the snare. If thoughts of self-doubt, self-worthlessness and inadequacy surround your mind, the last thing I want to do is tell you that is wrong. You should doubt yourself. You are worthless and you are completely inadequate to do anything on your own. This is the problem with American thinking, we try to convince ourselves that we are not these things and when we continue to fail at getting away from these downfalls, we think we might as well stop trying and we give up on serving Jesus.
Now that I have completely squashed your hopes of ever accomplishing anything in the name of Christ, the encouragement is this; Jesus is your confidence, Jesus is your worth and ONLY Jesus is adequate. We have to veer away from this self reflecting mentality and start doing some Jesus reflecting. Stop trusting in ourselves and start letting the power of Jesus take hold of our lives and our service. David says in 1 Chronicles 29:14, “But who am I, and what is my people that we should be able thus to offer willingly? For all things come from You, and of Your own have we given You.” David realized that His service to the Lord was not of his own power and strength but that the Lord worked through David to serve Him.
Ephesians 1:19 gives us great insight on why we need to stop trusting ourselves and start trusting Jesus. You will notice that I put in italics four words; power, working, great and might. These four words, though different in English and also in the original Greek, all mean the same thing: POWER!!!! The original word for power is dynameos. From this word we get our English word “dynamite”. Like dynamite, Jesus’ dynameos is an explosive power. The original word for working is energeian, which is where we get our English word “energy” from. These four different words show the immeasurable greatness of the power of Jesus. Notice that these words are attributed not to YOU, but to Jesus. However, His power is directed towards us. He invests His power into His believers for service to Him so that He may be glorified and magnified. Also notice that of these four words, they are all of immeasurable greatness. That means the magnitude of Jesus’ power goes beyond measure and cannot even be fathomed by our futile minds.
Your encouragement is this; stop the pity party and stop trying to find the answer inside of yourself. As I tell my kids all the time; you are not as cool as you think you are. When we look into ourselves for the answers we will only be disappointed and discouraged. It is when we realize the immeasurable greatness of the power of Jesus at work in us that we can begin to unravel the twisted mess of self-reliance we weaved for so long. Begin every morning with a simple recognition that Jesus is your strength (2 Corinthians 12:9, 10). If your service to the Lord is powered by your own will and power you will end up spinning in a spool of legalism trying your hardest to please God by your own power. YOU CAN NOT DO IT!!!! Jesus is the one who possess the power to do great things and we possess Jesus. Find your power to serve Him, in Him!
Friday, June 6, 2008
Christ-Centered Theology
There are many joys in ministry as well as many struggles. The greatest joy is to be Christ-centered or Christo-centric in our theology. I call it a struggle because we should toil and strain over every word of God. We should be investing all of our mind into every word of God(2 Timothy 2:15).
I am blessed to be involved in a new ministry through Grace Partners. We have created a ministry called "CCT" or "Christ-Centered Theology". The purpose of our ministry is exactly what it sounds like. We desire to be Christ-centered in our thinking about God. Through careful exegesis we desire, as sound theologians should, to see Jesus in ALL the texts. Our aim in our exegesis is not only to pull Christ out of the text but to see the text in light of Christ. We want to be wearing our "Jesus goggles" when we exegete the text. That is why are purpose statement reads; "Exegeting Jesus to see Him magnified and glorified". If Jesus is the purpose of ALL the texts, then we want to exegete Him through our study of His Word.
Our ministry will contains a few dimesions. We have and will continue to conduct phone interviews with renown pastors, authors and theologians. Currently, we have conducted phone interviews with Philip Graham Ryken and Thomas Schreiner. We have Mark Driscoll lined up for an interview on July 22, 2008 and John Piper on August 12, 2008. We are currently in contact with many more experienced pastors, teachers and theologians to have on the program.
Another aspect to our ministry will be conferences. We have Bruce Ware coming to speak at our conference in December and we will make the audio of that conference available on our website. Since our website is not currently up and running yet, we will temporarily have it on a blog site.
Our website will also contain our writings. They will range from short devotionals to longer theologically constructed articles.
We will attempt to have our sermons and teachings on our site as well.
We desire to equip pastors and those in ministry to be encouraged and built up for their ministry and therefore better able to equip their flock. We certainly gain from this experience ourselves and hope to pass this edification on to others. As young pastors, we want to glean from the knowledge of more experienced pastors and theologians.
Exegeting the text is our starting point and we want to make it our chief-end. We want to see Jesus glorified through careful exegesis!
I am blessed to be involved in a new ministry through Grace Partners. We have created a ministry called "CCT" or "Christ-Centered Theology". The purpose of our ministry is exactly what it sounds like. We desire to be Christ-centered in our thinking about God. Through careful exegesis we desire, as sound theologians should, to see Jesus in ALL the texts. Our aim in our exegesis is not only to pull Christ out of the text but to see the text in light of Christ. We want to be wearing our "Jesus goggles" when we exegete the text. That is why are purpose statement reads; "Exegeting Jesus to see Him magnified and glorified". If Jesus is the purpose of ALL the texts, then we want to exegete Him through our study of His Word.
Our ministry will contains a few dimesions. We have and will continue to conduct phone interviews with renown pastors, authors and theologians. Currently, we have conducted phone interviews with Philip Graham Ryken and Thomas Schreiner. We have Mark Driscoll lined up for an interview on July 22, 2008 and John Piper on August 12, 2008. We are currently in contact with many more experienced pastors, teachers and theologians to have on the program.
Another aspect to our ministry will be conferences. We have Bruce Ware coming to speak at our conference in December and we will make the audio of that conference available on our website. Since our website is not currently up and running yet, we will temporarily have it on a blog site.
Our website will also contain our writings. They will range from short devotionals to longer theologically constructed articles.
We will attempt to have our sermons and teachings on our site as well.
We desire to equip pastors and those in ministry to be encouraged and built up for their ministry and therefore better able to equip their flock. We certainly gain from this experience ourselves and hope to pass this edification on to others. As young pastors, we want to glean from the knowledge of more experienced pastors and theologians.
Exegeting the text is our starting point and we want to make it our chief-end. We want to see Jesus glorified through careful exegesis!
Monday, May 26, 2008
I Love My Wife!
I love my wife! Men, love your wives! Wives, respect your husbands. Paul charges us to have love and respect for each other in marriage. It is a picture of Jesus' relationship to us! Represent Him well! Love your wives!
I love you wife!
I love you wife!
Friday, May 23, 2008
Exspository Preaching and How It's Applied
The truth, the message, theology, and clear explanation of the text assembled by the sovereign hand of God are a few things left out of the pulpit in these last days. Part of the problem is that fact that there are “unqualified persons” filling the place of men who should be teaching God’s word. Among these “unqualified persons” are those who should not teach (James 3:1-12) and women (1 Timothy 2:11-14). These are issues that can be addressed on their own and must be given full attention in order to straighten out some of the disorder among the church of Jesus Christ. In order to experience the fullness of God’s word through the exaltation of Jesus Christ by preaching, the qualified teachers need to be addressed as well. For those who fit into this genre of “qualified teacher” (1 Timothy 3:2; “able to teach” and Titus 1:9), there is a huge burden on our shoulders. I read a story of a preacher who walked into the sanctuary one Sunday morning and immediately left the sanctuary, ran into his office, locked the door and hid under his desk as he began to cry. He was overwhelmed by the shear magnitude of the task before him of being called and used to proclaim God’s infallible word as a fallible man. I am not suggesting that we, as preachers, follow his response but I am suggesting that we come to grips with the same burden he felt.
Part of our responsibility as preachers is to proclaim the whole counsel of God. We are not to leave out the “hard texts” or only preach the text’s that are easier for His people to swallow. Our primary responsibility is to teach our people everything about our sovereign God and that requires teaching everything He has provided us in His word. The idea of expository preaching is one left out of the pulpit by even the qualified teachers. For those of you who are ignorant to expository preaching, it is the exaltation of God’s word by teaching through the text. An example would be teaching the entire book of Ephesians from Paul’s opening greeting in 1:1 to his final greeting in 6:24. Not skipping a verse or avoiding the “hard texts”, we are called to give God’s people every word. If we feel the weight of God’s call, like the aforementioned preacher, then we are responsible to how we teach his word.
Topical preaching, though not bad, is the nemesis of expository preaching. There is nothing wrong with preaching a topic at the pulpit as long as it is not done regularly. The problem with preaching topically on a regular basis is that you can easily fall into the trap of missing the context of your text. The context is the core of expository preaching. We had a motto at my old school; context is king. We have to understand the context of the text we are preaching and feed that to our people. There is only one interpretation of a particular text though many applications. In order to accurately preach the text there must be understanding of its context. Its context contains the surrounding passages, historical backdrop, cultural relevance of the time it was originally written, and understanding of the author’s perspective and situation as well the original readers. To abandon the context you are abandoning the interpretation. Once the interpretation is abandoned the application is misapplied. If our desire is to see transformation in the hearts and lives of our people then the application cannot be misappropriated. Which leads us back the beginning where it starts with understanding and teaching in light of the context of the text you are preaching.
I have seen to many topical preachers throw an array of verses at their congregation. The people leave hearing the main topic but have no solid text to stand on. You will find these people arguing their Biblical stances on many misinterpreted texts.
For example:
I had a discussion with a friend who grew up under topical preaching and defended his point of view that God desires everyone be saved using 2 Peter 3:9. The problem with his understanding stemmed from the preacher who tossed out this verse to his congregation while defending this same point without explaining that particular text in 2 Peter. Clearly upon understanding the context you can see that Peter is speaking to believers, he calls them “beloved” in verse 8. Verse 9 continues to say that the Lord is patient toward believers, and wishes that none of them should perish (eternally). If the context of the letter is written to believers then clearly God does not wish them to perish if He has chosen them before the foundation of the world (Ephesians 1:4). And as chosen ones, Peter is telling them that God is patient towards them and awaits His return for His chosen few to personally experience a regenerated heart in Jesus.
You can see the damage topical preaching has on the theology of God’s people. And when it affects our theology to that degree it also affects the way we live out our theology. When a preacher teaches topically and uses tons of verses to support his Biblical claim, he is, in essence giving his congregation pebbles for theology and life. He is throwing them stones and each verse he gives without context and or explanation is another pebble he gives into the hands of his people on which to build their theology. When we preach expositional, we focus on one particular text and in essence give our people one large stone on which to build there theology. You can see the problem rising as people build on top of many pebbles and the rains come down, their theology comes crashing down with it and most times there lives follow in catastrophe as well. But the storms of life cannot bring down a house that is built on a solid stone. When their theology is strong, and founded on the rock of well thought out understanding of God’s word by expository preaching, their house withstands the rain. There needs to be a call for preachers to examine, study and explain the text they are preaching. If we want to see true transformation in the hearts and lives of our people then we must give our attention the context of our texts. We must be expository preachers!
Part of our responsibility as preachers is to proclaim the whole counsel of God. We are not to leave out the “hard texts” or only preach the text’s that are easier for His people to swallow. Our primary responsibility is to teach our people everything about our sovereign God and that requires teaching everything He has provided us in His word. The idea of expository preaching is one left out of the pulpit by even the qualified teachers. For those of you who are ignorant to expository preaching, it is the exaltation of God’s word by teaching through the text. An example would be teaching the entire book of Ephesians from Paul’s opening greeting in 1:1 to his final greeting in 6:24. Not skipping a verse or avoiding the “hard texts”, we are called to give God’s people every word. If we feel the weight of God’s call, like the aforementioned preacher, then we are responsible to how we teach his word.
Topical preaching, though not bad, is the nemesis of expository preaching. There is nothing wrong with preaching a topic at the pulpit as long as it is not done regularly. The problem with preaching topically on a regular basis is that you can easily fall into the trap of missing the context of your text. The context is the core of expository preaching. We had a motto at my old school; context is king. We have to understand the context of the text we are preaching and feed that to our people. There is only one interpretation of a particular text though many applications. In order to accurately preach the text there must be understanding of its context. Its context contains the surrounding passages, historical backdrop, cultural relevance of the time it was originally written, and understanding of the author’s perspective and situation as well the original readers. To abandon the context you are abandoning the interpretation. Once the interpretation is abandoned the application is misapplied. If our desire is to see transformation in the hearts and lives of our people then the application cannot be misappropriated. Which leads us back the beginning where it starts with understanding and teaching in light of the context of the text you are preaching.
I have seen to many topical preachers throw an array of verses at their congregation. The people leave hearing the main topic but have no solid text to stand on. You will find these people arguing their Biblical stances on many misinterpreted texts.
For example:
I had a discussion with a friend who grew up under topical preaching and defended his point of view that God desires everyone be saved using 2 Peter 3:9. The problem with his understanding stemmed from the preacher who tossed out this verse to his congregation while defending this same point without explaining that particular text in 2 Peter. Clearly upon understanding the context you can see that Peter is speaking to believers, he calls them “beloved” in verse 8. Verse 9 continues to say that the Lord is patient toward believers, and wishes that none of them should perish (eternally). If the context of the letter is written to believers then clearly God does not wish them to perish if He has chosen them before the foundation of the world (Ephesians 1:4). And as chosen ones, Peter is telling them that God is patient towards them and awaits His return for His chosen few to personally experience a regenerated heart in Jesus.
You can see the damage topical preaching has on the theology of God’s people. And when it affects our theology to that degree it also affects the way we live out our theology. When a preacher teaches topically and uses tons of verses to support his Biblical claim, he is, in essence giving his congregation pebbles for theology and life. He is throwing them stones and each verse he gives without context and or explanation is another pebble he gives into the hands of his people on which to build their theology. When we preach expositional, we focus on one particular text and in essence give our people one large stone on which to build there theology. You can see the problem rising as people build on top of many pebbles and the rains come down, their theology comes crashing down with it and most times there lives follow in catastrophe as well. But the storms of life cannot bring down a house that is built on a solid stone. When their theology is strong, and founded on the rock of well thought out understanding of God’s word by expository preaching, their house withstands the rain. There needs to be a call for preachers to examine, study and explain the text they are preaching. If we want to see true transformation in the hearts and lives of our people then we must give our attention the context of our texts. We must be expository preachers!
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Biblical Theology for Transformation - 3rd Posting
Biblical Theology for Transformation 5/16/08
“In the same way, the Lord commanded that those who proclaim the gospel should get their living by the gospel.” 1 Corinthians 9:14
The most important truth, the gospel of Jesus Christ. Gospel, in Greek is evangelion which is where we get our English word for evangelism. It literally means “good news”. Think about the best news you ever received. I once asked this to a student in my youth group. He told me the best news he ever received was when he found out his mom no longer had cancer. I was like; “WOW!!!” that is good news! However, the greatest news we could ever receive will never compare to the message of Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection for our souls because that is the greatest news! Now, to you, who are reading this, you already know this great news and have received it. So let me offer this to you. Paul tells the Church in Corinth that those who serve in the temple get their food from the temple and those who serve at the alter share in the sacrificial offerings (v.13). So in the same way, those who proclaim the gospel should get their living by the gospel. The idea is to make the main point the main point. The gospel of Jesus should not be forgotten after we are converted but embraced upon conversion because it is the power of God to save us. We so often forget about the main point—gospel of Jesus. I am encouraging you to embrace, reflect and savor the gospel of Jesus Christ as the power that saved you from your putrid and disgusting sin. We Christians need not to forget the gospel but carry it with us so that the aroma of Jesus protrudes the nostrils of the unsaved world. They need to see that we STILL enjoy and love the gospel of Jesus. Why do we need to do this?
“For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” 2 Corinthians 4:5-6
If we do not let the glory of God be seen in us through the savoring of the gospel we will fall into what Paul calls, “proclaiming ourselves”. The mark of a Christian is that we LOVE JESUS! So as Jesus lovers we want not ourselves to be seen or magnified, but Jesus to be magnified and glorified through our love of the gospel.
“In the same way, the Lord commanded that those who proclaim the gospel should get their living by the gospel.” 1 Corinthians 9:14
The most important truth, the gospel of Jesus Christ. Gospel, in Greek is evangelion which is where we get our English word for evangelism. It literally means “good news”. Think about the best news you ever received. I once asked this to a student in my youth group. He told me the best news he ever received was when he found out his mom no longer had cancer. I was like; “WOW!!!” that is good news! However, the greatest news we could ever receive will never compare to the message of Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection for our souls because that is the greatest news! Now, to you, who are reading this, you already know this great news and have received it. So let me offer this to you. Paul tells the Church in Corinth that those who serve in the temple get their food from the temple and those who serve at the alter share in the sacrificial offerings (v.13). So in the same way, those who proclaim the gospel should get their living by the gospel. The idea is to make the main point the main point. The gospel of Jesus should not be forgotten after we are converted but embraced upon conversion because it is the power of God to save us. We so often forget about the main point—gospel of Jesus. I am encouraging you to embrace, reflect and savor the gospel of Jesus Christ as the power that saved you from your putrid and disgusting sin. We Christians need not to forget the gospel but carry it with us so that the aroma of Jesus protrudes the nostrils of the unsaved world. They need to see that we STILL enjoy and love the gospel of Jesus. Why do we need to do this?
“For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” 2 Corinthians 4:5-6
If we do not let the glory of God be seen in us through the savoring of the gospel we will fall into what Paul calls, “proclaiming ourselves”. The mark of a Christian is that we LOVE JESUS! So as Jesus lovers we want not ourselves to be seen or magnified, but Jesus to be magnified and glorified through our love of the gospel.
Biblical Theology for Transformation - 2nd posting
“Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.” Galatians 6:2
This passage does not need much exegesis being that it is quit clear in its meaning. HELP each other out! But there is a desperate need to reiterate this point. Burdens are the hard things in life that we carry. We try so hard in our lives to carry them on our own. God has NOT equipped us to be supermen and superwomen who carry all our own burdens. He has made us weak in our nature so that He can be strong through us (2 Cor. 12:9,10). Paul is writing to believers in Galatia; hence “Galatians”, and encouraging them in how they treat one another. In this context the “burdens” are those of past sins. For the believer, you and me, our past sins are most often the hardest to deal with and we still carry them around as if Jesus didn’t NAIL THEM TO THE CROSS. Galatians 5:1 says, “For FREEDOM, Christ has set us FREE, stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to the yoke of slavery.” The yoke was the neck harness they put around the animals that pulled the till on the farms. Once the animal was in the yoke he was a slave to the direction of the one who controlled it. Paul is saying, do not be a slave to sin since Jesus has set you free from sin! Release your old sin burdens that have been PAID FOR! I said earlier that He has made us weak so He can be strong through us, and one of the ways He is strong through us is through other believers, our brothers and sisters in Christ. Paul mentions that helping others bear those old sin burdens is so that we “fulfill the law of Christ.” John 13:34 says, “A new commandment I give you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.” The law of Christ is love! We show the love of Jesus to others to make much of Him! To be completely honest, I think because of our desperately wicked hearts, we, in some sick way, enjoy seeing others carry difficult burdens. That is why Jesus tells us to love one another, because we desperately need each other. John 13 goes on in verse 35 to say, “By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” This is one of the best ways to evangelize. Show the world the love of Christ by doing for others what Jesus did for us. He carried our burdens all the way to the CROSS and drove a giant stake through them. We had a shirt at the store that said, “Always share the gospel, and if necessary, use words.” Are we being the love of Jesus to our brothers and sisters who desperately need it? Are we showing the love of Jesus to the unsaved world? Will they know we are Christians by our love?
This passage does not need much exegesis being that it is quit clear in its meaning. HELP each other out! But there is a desperate need to reiterate this point. Burdens are the hard things in life that we carry. We try so hard in our lives to carry them on our own. God has NOT equipped us to be supermen and superwomen who carry all our own burdens. He has made us weak in our nature so that He can be strong through us (2 Cor. 12:9,10). Paul is writing to believers in Galatia; hence “Galatians”, and encouraging them in how they treat one another. In this context the “burdens” are those of past sins. For the believer, you and me, our past sins are most often the hardest to deal with and we still carry them around as if Jesus didn’t NAIL THEM TO THE CROSS. Galatians 5:1 says, “For FREEDOM, Christ has set us FREE, stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to the yoke of slavery.” The yoke was the neck harness they put around the animals that pulled the till on the farms. Once the animal was in the yoke he was a slave to the direction of the one who controlled it. Paul is saying, do not be a slave to sin since Jesus has set you free from sin! Release your old sin burdens that have been PAID FOR! I said earlier that He has made us weak so He can be strong through us, and one of the ways He is strong through us is through other believers, our brothers and sisters in Christ. Paul mentions that helping others bear those old sin burdens is so that we “fulfill the law of Christ.” John 13:34 says, “A new commandment I give you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.” The law of Christ is love! We show the love of Jesus to others to make much of Him! To be completely honest, I think because of our desperately wicked hearts, we, in some sick way, enjoy seeing others carry difficult burdens. That is why Jesus tells us to love one another, because we desperately need each other. John 13 goes on in verse 35 to say, “By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” This is one of the best ways to evangelize. Show the world the love of Christ by doing for others what Jesus did for us. He carried our burdens all the way to the CROSS and drove a giant stake through them. We had a shirt at the store that said, “Always share the gospel, and if necessary, use words.” Are we being the love of Jesus to our brothers and sisters who desperately need it? Are we showing the love of Jesus to the unsaved world? Will they know we are Christians by our love?
Biblical Theology for Transformation - 1st Posting
4/19/08
The idea of Biblical theology is to form your theology out of the study of Biblical exegesis. This is opposed to systematic theology, where you form your theology from systems of thinking and attempt to form a philosophy of Biblical thought. Systematic theology is a more broad study as oppose to Biblical theology which is specific to the text. Both are excellent ways of study, however, the need is NOT to impose our thinking into the text (eisegesis), but to impose the text into our thinking (exegesis). That is why I use the word “transformation”. Through careful Biblical analysis of the text in its original context and study of the original language we should strive to be transformed by the inerrant Word of God.
I will be putting together a new “Biblical Theology for Transformation” each week. My prayer is that it transforms our minds into a deeper and greater love for Jesus Christ and His glory! My purpose is to be as Biblically accurate as possible in the study of scripture and to pass this gift on to you. You are receiving this because I love you and care for your sanctification (spiritual growth).
Today’s Biblical Theology for Transformation… 4/19/08
Ephesians 5:25, 33 “Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her…let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.” (ESV)
There is an obvious point that Paul is making to the men of the church at Ephesus : love your wives. To the women: respect your husbands. But why? Because there is a more important point Paul is making in respects to the institution of marriage. That point is that there is a marriage that is greater than that which we share with our spouses: the marriage to Jesus Christ (Revelation 21:9). Marriage between a man and a woman is meant to serve as a picture of the relationship between Jesus and His church. To the world, we are to represent Jesus well with our marriage. Your marriage is a witness of Jesus’ love for His chosen people. That is why we despise Christian unmarried couples living together. They are not representing Jesus the way He set us up to represent Him. Jesus didn’t give His church half of His devotion; He gave her all His devotion. Jesus didn’t sleep with the church and leave her, He married her.
As you think of your love for your spouse, consider the love that Jesus has for His bride. But if you love your wife more than any other human (as you should, even more than your children), then you should have a greater understanding of Jesus’ love for us. Men, we are called to “love your wife” because we are a picture or representation of Jesus to her and to the world. Women, you are called to “respect your husband” because you are a picture or representation of Jesus’ church to him and to the world. If someone notices you disrespecting your husband, you are showing them that is how the redeemed people of Jesus treat their Savior. Represent Jesus well by representing your husband as a loving and respectful wife, who cherishes and respects the love she receives from her groom.
Get this: Your marriage is a picture of the churches relationship with Jesus Christ. How you act with your spouse and treat them is a manifestation of your relationship with Jesus. Represent Him well to the fallen world, and also honor and glorify Him with love and respect for your husband or wife.
In Christ,
Mark
The idea of Biblical theology is to form your theology out of the study of Biblical exegesis. This is opposed to systematic theology, where you form your theology from systems of thinking and attempt to form a philosophy of Biblical thought. Systematic theology is a more broad study as oppose to Biblical theology which is specific to the text. Both are excellent ways of study, however, the need is NOT to impose our thinking into the text (eisegesis), but to impose the text into our thinking (exegesis). That is why I use the word “transformation”. Through careful Biblical analysis of the text in its original context and study of the original language we should strive to be transformed by the inerrant Word of God.
I will be putting together a new “Biblical Theology for Transformation” each week. My prayer is that it transforms our minds into a deeper and greater love for Jesus Christ and His glory! My purpose is to be as Biblically accurate as possible in the study of scripture and to pass this gift on to you. You are receiving this because I love you and care for your sanctification (spiritual growth).
Today’s Biblical Theology for Transformation… 4/19/08
Ephesians 5:25, 33 “Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her…let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.” (ESV)
There is an obvious point that Paul is making to the men of the church at Ephesus : love your wives. To the women: respect your husbands. But why? Because there is a more important point Paul is making in respects to the institution of marriage. That point is that there is a marriage that is greater than that which we share with our spouses: the marriage to Jesus Christ (Revelation 21:9). Marriage between a man and a woman is meant to serve as a picture of the relationship between Jesus and His church. To the world, we are to represent Jesus well with our marriage. Your marriage is a witness of Jesus’ love for His chosen people. That is why we despise Christian unmarried couples living together. They are not representing Jesus the way He set us up to represent Him. Jesus didn’t give His church half of His devotion; He gave her all His devotion. Jesus didn’t sleep with the church and leave her, He married her.
As you think of your love for your spouse, consider the love that Jesus has for His bride. But if you love your wife more than any other human (as you should, even more than your children), then you should have a greater understanding of Jesus’ love for us. Men, we are called to “love your wife” because we are a picture or representation of Jesus to her and to the world. Women, you are called to “respect your husband” because you are a picture or representation of Jesus’ church to him and to the world. If someone notices you disrespecting your husband, you are showing them that is how the redeemed people of Jesus treat their Savior. Represent Jesus well by representing your husband as a loving and respectful wife, who cherishes and respects the love she receives from her groom.
Get this: Your marriage is a picture of the churches relationship with Jesus Christ. How you act with your spouse and treat them is a manifestation of your relationship with Jesus. Represent Him well to the fallen world, and also honor and glorify Him with love and respect for your husband or wife.
In Christ,
Mark
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Thinking Straight
With all that the internet has to offer, I have decided to take full advantage of it's popularity. So, from now on I will be posting my thoughts and such on my "Jesus Boastin'" blog. This will also be the place where you can find my "Biblical Theology for Transformation" as oppose to emailing it to you each week.
I will be back-posting all the old "Biblical Theology for Transformation" writings on this blog so you can catch up if you are uninformed!
Peace In,
PMB
I will be back-posting all the old "Biblical Theology for Transformation" writings on this blog so you can catch up if you are uninformed!
Peace In,
PMB
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