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.”

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.

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!

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!

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!

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.