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!
Monday, May 26, 2008
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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