Biblical Guidelines for the Church: Authority and Accountability

                                                        Leadership and Authority

Leadership in the church is not based upon power, but upon authority. Therefore being a pastor/elder is not a position of power, but a position of authority. However, it is not an authority inherent in the person, it is a delegated authority because of the position held. It is delegated from God to the elders, and also delegated from the congregation to the elders.

It is God who has created the position of pastor/overseer/elder and laid out the qualifications for the office, and it is the recognition by the congregation of those who meet God's qualifications (I Timothy 3, Titus 1) that bring the man of God to that position. So God calls the pastor/elder to that office from the congregation with their approval.

The pastor/elder is to lead, not lord it over the people (Hebrews 13:7, I Peter 5:2-3); and the people are to voluntarily submit to his leadership and follow his example (Hebrews 13:7, 17; I Corinthians 16:16), just as a wife is to voluntarily submit to her husband.

As such, the man of God is accountable to both God and man, as both were instrumental in placing him in that office; and both delegated to him the authority which the office holds.

The Three Cords of Church Leadership

In Ecclesiastes 4:12 we learn that a cord of three strands is not quickly torn apart or easily broken. It is interesting to note how many times we see this principle applied in the Scriptures. One of the applications of this principle is in the requirements for the elders given in Titus 1:5-9.

In verses 6-7 we see he is to be a man of moral integrity. These verses are governed by the term above reproach, which means not that he is sinless, but that he is held blameless from the charge of moral impurity. What is stressed in these verses is what the man of God is not.

In verse 8 we see he is to be a man of spiritual integrity. What is stressed here is what the man of God is, with the word devout governing the verse. Devout means to be pious, clean, and pure. It also denotes devotion and loyalty to the Lord, and emphasizes that he lives his life in conformity with the word of God.

In verse 9 we see that he is a man of biblical and doctrinal integrity. What is stressed here is his biblical and doctrinal fidelity, which is demonstrated by what he holds to. His teaching and preaching are always in conformity with the body of doctrine given in the Scriptures. He does not deviate from the faith once for all delivered to the saints; and, just as he is a one woman man, he is also a one word, one doctrine, one faith, and one Lord man. He is a man of unwavering devotion to the faith that is contained and presented in the Scriptures and he will not teach anything that contradicts it.

Also of note in these verses are the three words describing the role of a church leader:

First is elder, which denotes dignity, maturity, and leadership. This word gives us a picture of his role and the gravitas of the office. It says this person is to be looked to for leadership, and his persona should be able to bear the weight of the mantle of leadership. Implicit in this word is the earned respect and trust of the people he leads.

Secondly, we see the term overseer. The word means superintendent, magistrate, or watchman; and gives us a picture of the authority and function of the office. This person is to be able to watch over, guide, and direct the church. This word shows us that the church leader is responsible for the protection and direction of the church.

Thirdly, we see the term God's steward. The word steward means house manager, one who manages the affairs of another, one who is in charge of another's property, including slaves; and he is usually a slave himself. This term gives us the understanding of the responsibility and accountability of the office. This man is responsible to God for the household of God, as the church is not his property but God's. It is the Lord's church, which is the people of God whom God has called out to be His possession. This means that the church leader is accountable to God for the wellbeing and the spiritual prosperity of God's people whom He has purchased with the blood of His Son. 

As leadership goes, so goes the church, which is why the Lord gives Titus these guidelines for the men who would be the leaders in the church. The church is only as strong as its leadership, and when leadership fails, or leads poorly then the church is weakened and the flock is left unguarded or misguided. It then becomes vulnerable and is at risk of being defenseless and directionless.  

In the three elements of integrity we see a strength and quality of character combined with commitment to the Lord and commitment to His word as given in the Scriptures. The combination of these qualities of integrity affirm and strengthen each other and make the church leader strong in resisting the attack of the enemy, who seeks to devour him. When possessing these strands of integrity the church leader will lead ethically, will lead spiritually, and will lead biblically. This is the type of man people will want to follow, who will be trusted to follow, and will be safe to follow.

In the three terms for church leader given here we see the strength of balance. These descriptive terms define role, function, authority, and accountability, with each of them governing the others. They not only define the role of church leader, but in defining the role give it its parameters and boundaries. An understanding of his role, function, authority, and accountability keeps the church leader from misusing or abusing his office; and it also gives the church a benchmark from which to evaluate and measure his ministry; and will give them the knowledge to keep themselves from being taken advantage of or abused.

Yes, a cord of three strands is not easily broken!  How wise is our God in His design for the leadership of the church.

Ministry Made Simple

 The task of spiritual leadership may

not be easy, but neither is it complicated.

When God called us to serve as leaders in

the church, He did not give us the 

responsibility to build the church. Instead,

He gave us the responsibility to proclaim

His word in order that people might be

transformed into the character of

Christ...

Ministry is really simple; it's a matter

of preaching the Word, loving the 

people, and living our lives as an

example for others to follow.

Glen Daman

Leading the Small Church

Page 224

                                                  

Spiritual Leadership

 

Spiritual leadership without character is only religious activity,

possible religious business or, even worse, hypocrisy......

The qualified leader is a man of the Book, using it not just

to prepare sermons and preaching notes, but, first and foremost,

to prepare himself.

James M. George

The Call to Pastoral Ministry

Pastoral Ministry

(How to Shepherd Biblically)

Page 91

Remember those who led you, who spoke the word of God to you;

and considering the result of their conduct, imitate their faith.

Hebrews 13:7

How important it is for those of us who occupy a place of spiritual leadership to be men of character, character forged by the Holy Spirit and formed by the Word of God. Providing spiritual leadership is a daunting responsibility, a responsibility that underscores the Lord's admonition in James 3:1 "Let not many of you become teachers, my brethren, knowing that as such we will incur a stricter judgment." This is why the Lord stresses Godly character in His requirements for those who occupy the post of pastor; and why Paul buffeted his flesh, so that after he had preached to others he would not be disqualified.

The landscape of the church is littered with the moral failures of those who failed to watch themselves.  In fact, it has become much too common.  And it is just not in the area of sexual immorality, as noted there is also the issue of the SBC having been taken to task by those within its own ranks for inflated membership numbers and an evangelastical (intentional spelling) way of counting baptisms. Speaking of the SBC, they have remained in the news due to plagiarism among high profile pastors, downplaying sexual immorality, and public non-repentant abuse of a pastor and his wife by a seminary staff. Other churches have dismissed pastors for abusive behavior. A well known megachurch in the DC area has its members filing lawsuits against the church amidst accusations of lying and manipulation by its leadership team.

These are the obvious, the news grabbing and headline making, but what about the ones that don't make the news, the ones that cause damage just as great? I read an internet article about how Peacemaker ministries worked to reconcile a church's pastor and elders after temper, egos, and innuendos had split them and the church. What about the detrimental effects of pride, stubbornness, selfishness, ambition, jealousy, unforgiveness, greed,  and gossip? What about those that fear man more than they fear God, those that are men-pleasers vs God-pleasers, and those who would compromise rather than confront? What about the small things that are done daily that add up over time?

I remember hearing Bill Bright, the founder of Campus Crusade for Christ, preach several years ago, and in his sermon he was stressing the need for moral integrity. He said that he had asked God to take him home before He let Bill commit adultery. Admirable, yes, but for most of us, we are on guard against the big A; but it is the perniciousness of the so called small sins that we ought to be on guard against as well. Is our prayer, "Lord, lead me away from temptation in the areas where I am weak and most easily tempted, and let not evil have any way with me. Please keep me from causing any of the brethren to stumble. Help me to adorn the doctrine I preach with the life that I live. Help me to do what is right, to love what is good, and to walk humbly with You. Let not anyone, saved or unsaved, look at me and cry hypocrite. Let me be at home what I am publicly."

Who is adequate for this? None of us outside of the power that God supplies. There is a greater burden, a greater responsibility, for those of us whom God has called into ministry; but there is a greater grace available as well. Let us be on our guard, empowered by the grace of God, so that sin will not have its way with us, not derail us, nor render us impotent in our efforts to advance the kingdom of God in our own lives, so that we will be effective in advancing His kingdom in the lives of those whom He appointed to our shepherding. Let not the sin in our own lives be an impediment, an excuse, for those in our flock in dealing with the sin in their own lives.

Father, guard our hearts and our minds. Work within us only that which is pleasing in Your sight. We are frail and weak in our own strength, so help us by the strength which You supply to live a life worthy of the gospel of Your Son, and a life worthy of the calling with which we have been called. Empower us to be an example to the flock, living a life worthy of admiration and imitation. Guard us from our own selves, and give us a sensitivity to the sin which so easily entangles us. Strengthen us to fight the good fight of faith and finish our course without disqualification.  AMEN.

Pastoral Leadership

But we proved to be gentle among you, as a nursing

mother tenderly cares for her own children.  Having

so fond an affection for you, we were well-pleased

to impart to you not only the gospel of God but also

our own lives, because you had become very dear

to us.  For you recall, brethren, our labor and hardship,

how working night and day so as not to be a burden to

any of you we proclaimed to you the gospel of God.

You are witnesses, and so is God, how devoutly and

uprightly we behaved toward you believers; just as you

know how we were exhorting and encouraging and  

imploring each one of you as a father would his own children.

...For this reason we also constantly thank God that when

you received the word of God which you heard from us,

you accepted it not as the word of men, but for what it

really is, the word of God, which also performs its work

in you who believe.

I Thessalonians 2:7-11, 13

italics and underlining mine

Remember those who led you, who spoke the word of God

to you; and considering the result of their conduct,

imitate their faith.

Hebrews 13:7

italics and underlining mine

There is much said and written about pastoral leadership and all that is required, even conferences and seminars dealing with this issue ad nauseum. I think understanding leadership and its principles is good, and even helpful; but when dealing with pastoral leadership there is a paradigm shift from the leadership model that is touted in our corporate and sports world, and unfortunately this model is what is suggested most often in the context of pastoral leadership.

I find it interesting that the Bible does not go into all the areas that the modern seminars do in talking about pastors as leaders, but what is does do is to lay out the basics for a pastor, which assume the pastor will be leading a group of people. The core requirements in the Scriptures are contained in I Timothy 3 and Titus 1, and revolve around demonstrated character, demonstrated management of his own home, and a demonstrated ability to teach that comes with a knowledge of and proficiency with the Scriptures. The reason for these requirements, and how they flesh out in the pastor's leadership is demonstrated in the Scriptures above. The pastor is to lead with the Word and by example. 

Notice how many times the gospel/word of God is used in the section of I Thessalonians. Notice the leaders who were to be remembered and imitated in Hebrews....those who spoke the word of God, whose conduct bore spiritual fruit. These, of course, fit in with the Lord's instruction to Peter to feed his sheep. The pastor must lead his flock with the word of God. After all the word of the Lord is a lamp to our feet and a light to our path (Psalm 119:105). Our first priority must be to lead our people with the word of God.

In addition to the Word, we must be leading our people by our example. To do this we must also be leading ourselves with the word of God. Again, listen to the Psalmist in Psalm 119:9 "How can a young man (or older man for that matter) keep his way pure?  By keeping it according to Your word."  It is the pure way, the Lord's way, that when lived out by the pastor is the example to his people....the example that is to be imitated. 

Why did the people in Thessalonica receive the Word as the word of God, and not the word of men?  Because they saw it lived out in the lives of Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy. Look at the underlined words above...they proved themselves, they imparted their lives, they behaved in a devout and upright manner. And this did not happen in a vacuum...the Thessalonians were witnesses, knew personally what Paul and crew had done and how they behaved, and were to recall these very facts. Also, we see that the Hebrews were to remember the result of the conduct of their leaders, in other words, the fruit born out of their lives, and then to imitate their faith.

The lives of the pastors give weight and credence to the words that they preach and teach. In essence you should not be able to separate the man from his message, they should be the same. This is the way that God has designed it, so that His people could be sure about both the message and the man. So when we think about our pastoral leadership, let's make first things first....let's put first things first....let's emphasize in our ministry what the Lord emphasizes, our handling of the Word and the life that we live. These should be the foundation of our pastoral leadership, and will provide a firm foundation for all else that is part and parcel of a gospel ministry. 

Salvation in Titus

Through the book of Titus, Paul weaves an overview of salvation. Today I want to give that overview.

The Author of Salvation

Vs (1:3, 1:4) (3:4, 3:6) (2:9, 2:13)

Notice how these are grouped in the letter.

The Appearing of Salvation

Vs 2:11, 3:4, 2:13 (its final appearing)

Appearing in the Greek is epiphaino.  It means to bring to light, to become clearly known, to show or reveal one's self. It is also the word from which we get our word epiphany.

The Availability of Salvation

Vs 2:11, 3:4

Notice to whom salvation is made available.

The Application of Salvation

Vs 1:1

Now notice to whom salvation is applied.

The Act of Salvation

Vs 2:14, 3:5-7

Notice who does the redeeming and the saving.

The Actions of the Saved

Vs 2:11-14

Compare these verses with verse 16 of the previous chapter. As Luther said, "We are saved by faith alone, but not by a faith that is alone."

Salvation and Eternal Life

Have you ever thought about where salvation comes from? Have you considered what salvation really is, what it really means? The concept of salvation is foreign to most people, but not the concept of eternity, of life after death. Every culture, ancient and modern, has some concept, some belief, some picture in their mind of what life after death will be like. Why is that so? Of course the Scriptures give us the answer for that and it is contained in Ecclesiastes 3:11"...He has also set eternity in their heart, yet so that man will not find out the work which God has done from the beginning even to the end." 

Where does the concept of eternity, life after death, come from? It comes from God, who has planted it within the human heart. So when you look at the different cultures and their different religions, you see their idea of eternal life and how to achieve it, or how to enhance its quality. For many of them there is no concept of salvation, but an assumption of eternal life that contains their vision and their version of what that eternal life will be like. 

When Nicodemus came to Christ in John chapter 3, he was coming with the question of how he might obtain eternal life. In fact, if you read through the gospel of John you will see eternal life, or one of its synonyms used 47 times. John even states in 20:31 that his reason for writing that book is so that we will believe and have life (eternal life) in His name. So what must man do to obtain eternal life?  Yes, he must believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God. He must turn from his sin and turn to God. He must depend wholly upon the finished work of Christ on the cross. He must receive Jesus Christ by faith. But what is done when man does this?  He is saved, by grace through faith. In other words, the Bible shows us that man must be saved to obtain eternal life (John 3:16). 


When you look at the first four verses of Titus chapter one, you see the promise of eternal life. This eternal life, is bound up in salvation and is promised by God, who calls Himself the Savior, along with His Son, Christ Jesus. Two other times in Titus, God lists both Himself and His Son as the Savior. In fact, the term Savior is used 37 times in the Bible, 24 in the OT and 13 in the NT; and is never used to denote anyone other than God or Christ. God states this in Isaiah 43:11, "I, even I, am the Lord, and there is no savior besides Me. In Titus 3:5-6 God states that it is He that saves.  


So what is God letting the Cretans and us know in the Bible, and in this letter?  He is the author of salvation, the only author of salvation. Salvation comes from Him and Him alone, and it is He who does the saving and in that salvation is the promise of eternal life. Man does not, has not, and cannot save himself.  So what must man do to obtain true eternal life? He must turn to the one who can save him and give him that eternal life, and that is God Himself in the person of His Son the Lord Jesus Christ. It is God alone who possesses eternal life, and it is His to give; and He only gives it to those whom He saves.


How about you, my friend? Are you under the deception that you can achieve eternal life all on your own? Are you mistakenly assuming that you will automatically have a good life after death, and that its quality will be enhanced depending on how well you have performed or how nicely you have behaved or on how many kind deeds you have done during your physical life? Be aware, do not miss the fact, that if eternal life is tied up in salvation, and if God has called Himself the Savior, then there is something that you must be saved from, something that you must be delivered from in order to obtain eternal life. And if you are not saved, if you are not delivered then you will not obtain eternal life.  


What must you be saved from, what must you be delivered from? It is the the second death (Revelation 20:11-15), the eternal death (The eternal state of dying, but never being dead. Isaiah 66:24) that is just the opposite of eternal life. It is not bliss, but torment (Psalm 11:6). It is not happiness, but sorrow. It is not joy, but anguish.  And all for eternity.  


God has revealed Himself as the author of salvation, as the One and only Savior. He alone possess eternal life, and it is His alone to give, and He only gives to those whom He saves. Come to Him today in repentance from your unbelief and rebellion against Him. Come to Him today in repentance from your depending on your own self for your eternal life, and place your faith in what He has done in His Son on the cross to provide eternal life for you. Don't forfeit your eternal life because of your own sinful pride and self reliance. Ask Him in faith for the eternal life that only He can give.

The God Who is for Us

 In Romans 8:26-39 we have the greatest section of Scripture that deals with the security of our salvation and our secure relationship with God through Jesus Christ. In this section of Scripture there is so much richness to meditate upon, so much great truth to let feed our soul and wash over our heart, but the high water mark of this passage is verses 31b-32, "If God is for us who is against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all (those who trust in Christ and His completed work on our behalf), how will He not with Him freely give us all things?"

Think about it, if God is for us, who can be against us? The truth assumed here is that God is for us, and since He is for us, who, in all the created universe both seen and unseen can stand against us with God on our side.

The God who is for us is:

The God who spoke all things into existence.
The God who upholds all things by the word of His power.
The God who owns the cattle on a thousand hills.
The God who has declared the end from the beginning.
The God who daily bears our burden.
The God who accomplishes what concerns us.
The God whose thoughts toward us are as numerous as His wonders.
The God who has stretched out the heavens, laid the foundation of the earth, and has formed the spirit of man within him.
The God who has fashioned the hearts of us all.
The God who removes kings and establishes kings.
The God who has determined the time and boundaries of the nations.
The God who has ordained our steps, and ordained the number of our days.
The God who delights in the way He has chosen for us.
The God who lifts us up on eagles wings.
The God who is our rock, fortress, shelter, and refuge.
The God to whom nothing is hidden from His sight, and to whose eyes all things are open and laid bare.
The God whose throne stands in the heavens.
The God whose train of His robe fills the temple.
The God who does not sleep nor slumber.
The God who keeps us.
The God who is the shade at our right hand.
The God who is the lover of our souls.
The God who makes us bold with strength in our soul.
The God who delights in the prosperity of His servant.
The God whose word is truth.
The God whose word stands forever.
The God who knows all the stars by name.
The God who tends us like a shepherd does his sheep.
The God who regards the nations as a speck of dust or a drop from a bucket.
The God for whom all the nations are as nothing before Him, and are regarded by Him as less than nothing and meaningless.
The God who is everlasting.
The God who does not become weary or tired.
The God who knows what we will say before the word is on our tongue.
The God who holds all things in the hollow of His hand.
The God who is the Almighty.
The God who is righteous and just.
The God who judges all things.
The God who knows all things.
The God before whom all must appear.
The God who acts and it cannot be reversed.
The God whose purposes cannot be thwarted.
The God who wipes out our transgressions, and does not remember our sins.
The God who stands with us as our Dread Champion.
The God who gives us grace.
The God who is merciful to us and compassionate toward us.
The God before whom there was no God formed, and after whom none will exist.
The God who is our Savior.
The God who delights in our salvation.
The God who causes rivers of living water to flow from our innermost being.
The God to whom we are His beloved.
The God who loves us with the same love with which He loves His Son.
The God who indwells us.
The God who abides with us.
The God who will never leave us or forsake us.
The God who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing.
The God who gives us all things richly to enjoy.
The God who will lavish the riches of His grace on us in the age to come.
The God who has loved us with an everlasting love.
The God who has in kindness drawn us to Himself.
The God who is good and does good.
The God who is holy, holy, holy.
The God who is the Giver of every good and perfect gift.
The God who never changes because from age to age He is the same.
The God whom we can trust and depend upon.
The God who has given us the gift of salvation.
The God who has redeemed us.
The God who has made us alive in Christ.
The God who has caused us to be born again.
The God who has given us a living hope.
The God who was in Christ reconciling us to Himself.
The God whose hand we cannot be snatched out of.
The God who has given us to His Son for safekeeping.


This is the God who is for us. So as we meditate on this great section in Romans, let us meditate in the light of who this great God is, this great God who is for us, this great God in whom our salvation and relationship is secure; and when we gather with others whom He is for, let us all joyfully, gratefully, and confidently open our hearts and our mouths to praise Him for who He is and what He has done.

Who is Good?

 

And Jesus said to him, "Why do you call me good?

No one is good except God alone."

Luke 18:19

The goodness of God is goodness in its original and untainted form. Since God is impassable and immutable, then His goodness is unchanging and unaffected by anything outside of Himself. Therefore God is good in a complete sense, in an absolute sense, not in a relative sense. His goodness is pure goodness, untainted, undefiled, unaffected, untempered, and without degrees. It permeates all that He is and all that He does, which is why the Psalmist declares that God is good and does good. Therefore, God's goodness is true goodness, the goodness by which all other goodness is measured, and goodness is defined in God Himself.

When men call each other good, we do it in a relative term, as compared to other men. What we see as goodness in men is the vestige of the image of God, as all men were created in the image of God (Genesis 2); and that image has been marred and defiled by sin, it has become compromised and disfigured. When what we call goodness in men is seen in the light of God and His true goodness, we see that what we call goodness is not really goodness at all, not goodness in its true sense, in its God likeness; but is a goodness of degree as compared to other men, as in contrast to what men would call bad or evil as related to the times or culture they live in.

When the Lord becomes our standard of goodness, our definition of goodness, as He should be, then how we use that term takes on a whole new meaning. All of a sudden we realize that we can't consider ourselves good in any way, and what we have called good in ourselves is not good at all; and we realize our dependence on this goodness as our ticket to heaven has been a false hope, a self-deceiving hope.

Because God is good, He came down and took upon Himself the mantle of man in the person of Christ. Christ as God and man was good, good in our stead, good in our place. His goodness has become our ticket to heaven, not for all men; but for all men who place their faith in Him and His vicarious life and death on their behalf. He becomes the ticket to heaven for all who renounce their own goodness and by faith cling tenaciously to His goodness and receive it as their own.

My friends, don't compare yourselves to other men, to the rest of mankind, to determine your own goodness. Compare yourselves to the only One who is truly good and see your goodness for the filthy and soiled rag that it is (Isaiah 64:6). Confess to God that your goodness is not good enough and that you will rely on it no longer, and by faith ask Him to cover you with the goodness of His Son, who was good in your place. And Christ, who took on the mantle of man, will place upon you the mantle of His goodness, and you will have the true ticket to heaven; and you will taste and see the goodness of God in His salvation of your very soul.

The Measure of a Church

The measure of a church is the measure of its people. As its people go, so goes the church. What is it that we as a people of God must possess and practice to be spiritually healthy, vibrant, and effective, so that our church(s) can therefore be the same way? In I Corinthians 13 Paul gives us three eternal spiritual qualities that I believe we must be strong and growing in as individuals so that the church we belong to will be strong and growing as well. These are faith, hope, and love. As believers we have these attributes, yet we may be weak in one or more of them. For example, the church at Corinth was spiritually immature and was especially weak in love (I Corinthians 13), and you can see the many problems it had as a result. The believers written to in II Peter needed to be diligent in developing their faith (II Peter 1:5-11) so that they would not be not only fruitful, but also not susceptible to the cleverly devised tales of the false teachers. The believers in Hebrews needed to leave behind the elementary teachings about the Christ and press on to maturity so as to anchor their hope more securely (Hebrews 6:19-20, 10:35). In his epistle to the twelve dispersed tribes James describes what real faith looks like.

Faith, hope, and love are mentioned in almost every New Testament book; and out of all the churches and groups written to there are only two that are commended for all three of these qualities. They are the churches at Colossae and Thessalonica. In the first chapter of both epistles Paul says that he is thankful for them and praying for them. He commends the Colossians on their faith in Christ Jesus, the love which they had for all the saints, and their hope laid up in heaven. He commends the Thessalonians for the work of their faith, the labor of their love, and the steadfastness of their hope. Also, in the first chapter of both epistles, he talks about the reception and power of the gospel, which is the tool God uses to develop faith, hope, and love in His children, and as His children are, so is the church.

Even though these attributes are spiritual and intangible, they are not inconspicuous. They are evident in the life, the attitude, and the actions of the people of God. They are the ground of our motivation, the core of our spiritual life, and the evidence of our salvation. So we in the church must look to make sure these qualities are ours and are increasing, and those of us who preach, teach, and lead the flock must be diligent to develop these qualities in the flock that God has assigned to us, so that the flock will be spiritually healthy, vibrant, and effective (I Timothy 1:5, Ephesians 4:11-16, Philippians 1:9, 25-27, I Thessalonians 4:1, 9-10, Galatians 4:19).

God's Greatest Joy

One of my favorite parables is found in Luke 15:1-7, as I believe it shows the true heart of God. In fact, this parable is located right before the parable of the prodigal son. The parable of the prodigal son is meant to illustrate the great truth shown in verses 1-7. Here are those verses. 

Now all the tax collectors and sinners were coming

near Him to listen to Him. Both the Pharisees and the

scribes began to grumble, saying, "This man receives 

sinners and eats with them." So He told them this parable 

saying, "What man among you, if he has a hundred sheep

and has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine

in the open pasture and go after the one which is lost until

he finds it? When he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, 

rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his 

friends and his neighbors, saying to them, 'Rejoice with me, 

for I have found my sheep which was lost!' I tell you in the 

same way, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner 

who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who

need no repentance."

What these verses tell us is that God's greatest joy is when someone turns from their sin and turns to Him. This great and wonderful truth is illustrated in the story of the prodigal son (vs 11-24) by the father who, from a distance, sees his lost son coming to him and runs to him in joy, embracing and kissing him, and holding a celebration for him.  

In a sense, this great joy of God should not surprise us, for because of His great love for us He gave His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, as a sacrifice on the cross for our sins. However, so many of us labor under a couple of popular misconceptions of God that veil our eyes from this truth. 

Misconception #1.

God is a God of wrath, who is eager and waiting to punish you, strike you down, and send you to hell because of your sin. We always hear the line about not standing to close to someone in case God zaps them for doing something wrong. You see, even using that line, which almost all of us have used, shows that we do have a sense that punishment for wrongdoing is right, and must be carried out for there to be true justice. Yes, if God is holy and righteous there must be and will be ultimate justice for any and all wrongdoing, but that doesn't mean that God just can't wait to get even or that He delights in some kind of barbaric punishment or that He chortles over the eternal damnation of anyone.

What the Bible tells us about God's heart and attitude toward men, all men, is just the opposite, not only do the parables mentioned above illustrate this truth, but here is what else the Bible (God speaking) reveals to us about it:

Ezekiel 18:23 "Do I have any pleasure in the death of the wicked," declares the Lord God, "rather than that he should turn from his ways and live."

Ezekiel 18:32 "For I have no pleasure in the death of anyone who dies," declares the Lord God. "Therefore, repent and live."

Ezekiel 33:11 "Say to them, 'As I live!' declares the Lord God, 'I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn back, turn back from your evil ways! Why then will you die?"

I Timothy 2:3b-4...God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.

II Peter 3:9 The Lord is slow about His promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing any to perish, but for all to come to repentance.

So what we see here in these verses is God's desiring for all men and women to turn from their sin and come to Him for salvation and forgiveness of their sins and eternal life. 

Misconception #2.

God is a benign God who is somewhat detached from this world, but loves us as we are, and lets us set our own moral code and use our own guidelines for entering heaven (whatever our version of that may happen to be). This misconception totally misconstrues what the real love of God is. Let's see what the Bible tells us about this:

Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Jesus Christ our Lord.

John 3:16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.

Ephesians 2:1-8 And you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest. But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in  Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no man may boast.

II Corinthians 5:21 He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. 

The real love of God is the love that moved God to have mercy and compassion on us by providing the means of forgiveness of our sins (the sacrifice of His Son Jesus Christ on the cross), and salvation (our acceptance by faith and our corresponding trust in the work that God has done on our behalf through Jesus Christ). God does not love us as we are, but loves us in spite of who we are (wicked, vile, disinterested, sinners, and His enemies). If God loves us like we are then there would have been no need to send Christ as the sacrifice for our sins.

The common thread that binds both of these misconceptions together is a faulty view of sin, not just sin in general, but our own sin in particular. Both views really downplay the heinous nature of all sin and how egregious sin is, all sin, any sin, to God. We all know what sin is, and we all know that we have sinned. However, have we grasped how serious even one sin is? Again, let's take a look at what the Bible says.

Leviticus 11:44 "For I am the Lord your God. Consecrate yourselves therefore, and be holy, for I am holy.

Romans 3:23 For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.

Ezekiel 18:4 Behold, all souls are Mine; the soul of the father as well as the soul of the son is Mine. The soul who sins will die.

Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Psalm 14:2-3 The Lord has looked down from heaven upon the sons of men to see if there are any who understand, who seek after God. they have all turned aside, together they have become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one. 

Because God is holy, any sin and all sin, is an affront to His holiness and is worthy of death. Because He is just, no sin can be overlooked or swept under the carpet. Because He is righteous all sin(s) will receive a just judgment, a right recompense, and a proper punishment.

Because of His great love He has placed all the sins of those who will come to Him in faith upon Christ, and Christ has born the punishment for those sins in our stead.

So, at the cross we see the justice of God, the mercy of God, and the love of God on full display.

Because of God's understanding of the justice and its right recompense that awaits all who sin, and because of God's love providing a way for the payment of the penalty due for every sin, God therefore takes great pleasure and has unbounding joy in the salvation of those who by faith in Christ and His finished work on the cross turn to Him for forgiveness and salvation.

Have you heard His voice calling you to come home to Him? Will you answer that call and turn to Him? Will you forsake all else for His salvation? Will you trust in what He has done to save you from the right and just consequences of a life that is lived apart from Him? Will you call your sin as that which it is and call out to the Lord for His forgiveness? For when you do there will be great joy in heaven among all its hosts for the salvation and preservation of your soul; and the Father Himself, the God and Creator of all that is, will run to meet you.

Truth--The Responsibility of the Pulpit

Truth, by its very nature, is confrontational. It is such because it is absolute and concrete. Therefore it is unassailable, unshakable, unrelenting, immovable, and unchangeable. Truth is always a force to be reckoned with. Truth is the most powerful moral force in the world; in fact, truth is what makes morality moral, as it is the under girding of all morality. Truth is discriminating as it reveals all that is not true.  

The inherent power in the Scriptures is that they are true, they don't merely contain truth, but are truth in and of themselves. Jesus asked the Father to sanctify His disciples in the truth, and then went on to say, "Your word is truth." (John 17). Psalm 119:160 tells us, "The sum of Your word is truth." Psalm 12:6 says, "The words of the Lord are pure words; like silver refined in a furnace on the earth, refined seven times."

Because it is truth is why the Bible is confrontational. It shows us the truth about God, the truth about ourselves, the truth about life, and the truth about eternity. Because it is confrontational, it is also controversial. It is why it is attacked, mocked, derided, and considered out of step with modern morality. 

Because of its confrontational nature, because it raises the ire of those on whom it shines the light of truth upon, because when confronted with the truth people will typically fight or flee (John 3:18-21). This is why many who occupy the pulpit will not preach the word in all its fullness, seeking to make it more palatable to those who hear. Such preaching neuters the word, and promulgates a form of godliness that denies the true power of the gospel. 

Those who occupy the pulpit have a responsibility to preach the whole counsel of God, to preach the word in all of its fullness, to preach so that the sharp edges of truth are not blunted, to preach so that the truth is not veiled, to preach so that the truth of God is brought to bear on the minds and the hearts of those who hear. This understanding, this sense of responsibility, this allegiance to the truth is the great need in the preaching of our day, and indeed, if you follow church history, this is the great need in the pulpit in every age. This has never been nor will ever be a position of great popularity; but those who preach the truth are beloved by those to whom they preach, as well as the One for whom they preach. 

Let those of us who occupy the pulpit pledge our allegiance, our fidelity, to the One who is the truth; and as such preach His truth...unashamedly and unapologetically.

The following is from Tom Ascol, in his blog at www.founders.org. I will let him have the last word.

"Discriminating, expositional preaching is a great need in our day. We must be willing to show from the text what God says is right and true and then distinguish that from all of the counterfeits that plague the world and church today. Failure to preach and teach like this leads to a mongrel religion that may fly under the banner of Christianity but has missed Christ altogether. It is a frightening prospect. Where there is no discriminating preaching, it has been and remains a tragic reality."

A Pastoral Prayer for Sunday

 

Lord, love Your people through our worship.

May Your truth be spoken in prayer and praise.

Attend Your word to their mind and heart;

And may mind and heart and soul be lifted

up to You.

Lord, love Your people through the preaching.

May Your truth be in every word spoken.

Attend Your word to their mind and heart;

And may each piece of dross be removed,

  each facet of godly character be refined, each godly

 motive be reinforced, and each stain

of soul be cleansed through repentance.

Lord, love Your people through Your presence.

May Your presence be in our prayer, and praise, and preaching.

Take away all other thoughts than You.

Make Yourself our only desire, and Your will

our greatest delight.

We Should Strive to be Faithful

In our roles as pastors/spiritual leaders we should strive to be faithful, not seek to be famous. There is a striving, a working, even an agonizing that is required in the pursuit of faithfulness. Striving is required if we are to remain faithful to the call of God upon our life. Striving is required because there will be obstacles to overcome in order for us to remain faithful. Striving is required in order for our faithfulness to be tested and measured. Striving is required in order for our faithfulness to be considered just that...faithfulness. Striving is required for us to be truly God glorifying.

On that day the Lord will say, "Well done my good and faithful servant." not "Well done my good and famous servant." as we enter into His joy.

Fellow pastors, let us strive together to be faithful, and may His joy be full in us.

A Monday Morning Word of Encouragement to Pastors

 

There is a sense in which putting together a sermon is much like editing a movie. Just like much of what is shot for the movie is left in the computer or cutting room floor, so it is for a sermon. After prayer and study a preacher almost always has to leave out thoughts, insights, and information either because they do not fit the context of the sermon, or he just doesn't have room to fit them in.

There is also the preaching moment, which sometimes is editing on the fly, in which the preacher adds things he did not intend to say and had not thought about, or leaves out things he had intended to say, things that he considered important and necessary,  things that were even in his notes or preaching manuscript.

In either of the above scenarios the preacher can always second guess himself, and get into the, "Oh, I could have said this...Oh, if only I would have said that... Oh, I should have said this...game with himself, and many of us do. Now, I am not saying the preacher should never examine his sermons or think critically about them, or that we should not get upset in those rare occurrences (and they should be rare) when we preach that uninspired and unaccompanied by the Spirit clunker of a sermon; BUT I am saying that at some point we have to trust the Lord with His superintending of the process of preparing the sermon and His superintending our preaching of the sermon. If we are working hard in the preparation and are praying for His illumination, His revelation, His guidance, His making His thoughts our thoughts and His words our words, then we must trust Him with what is left in the study and with what actually comes or doesn't come out of our mouth when we are delivering His word.

When we know that we have done the best we could, then we must trust the Lord that it was enough; and that just as the Lord took the fish and the loaves and fed the five thousand, He will take our meager thoughts and words and by His power multiply them to feed those to whom we preach.

The Pastor's Personal Life

Pay close attention to yourself and to your teaching;

persevere in these things, for as you do this will ensure

salvation both for yourself and for those who hear you.

I Timothy 4:16

Pastors, when you pray for your people, pray for yourself as well. Your prayers for the people under your watchcare should include you as well. Yes, we are shepherd's of the flock that the Lord has assigned to us; but we are undershepherds who have been called out from among the sheep to shepherd the sheep, so we share the same weaknesses and proclivities that our people do. So the admonition to pay close attention to himself that Paul gave Timothy goes for us as well.

Paul was not telling Timothy to be self-absorbed or narcissistic, but to be self-aware. It was a warning to be on the look out for his own spiritual well being, to be on guard for his own holiness, to be sensitive to his own weaknesses. He was telling Timothy not to be so focused on those he was ministering to, so as to miss his own sin.  

Our personal holiness not only affects us, but it affects our ministry as well. It affects those to whom we minister, and those whom we lead. The leaven that begins with us can affect the whole flock, and can have a ripple effect into the broader church. This is another area that James 3:1 speaks to.  

So how do you watch over yourself? Here are a few ways:

1.  Pray for yourself, just like you pray for your people. Pray for discernment. Pray for your own heart. Pray for sensitivity to sin. Pray for protection from temptation. Pray that evil will not ensnare you. Pray for your own spiritual growth and your own spiritual needs.  

2. Don't become enamored with your own holiness, or think that you are above sin. The admonition that he who stands should take heed lest he fall is particularly applicable to pastors. Humility regarding our own spiritual condition is a safeguard here, which means you must never think you are above temptation, never think certain sins will have no draw upon your flesh.  

3.  Never become content with where you are spiritually, never think you have arrived spiritually, but seek to be constantly growing. A growing faith is a flourishing faith, and a flourishing faith is more sensitive to sin, and therefore less prone to fall prey to temptation.

4.  Stay fresh in the word, so that the word will stay fresh in you. The continual treasuring up of the word in our heart, the continual exposure to the word provides a protective shield for our heart and mind against sin.

5. Be on your guard, and be aware of the schemes of the enemy. He is constantly on the look out for whom he can devour, whom he can cause to fall, so we must be constantly vigilant against his wiles. Do not let yourself be put into situations where temptation will lurk. Part of praying that you will not be led into temptation is the realization of the areas in which you can be tempted.

Fellow pastors, the bar is set high for us because the spiritual stakes are so high, not only for us, but for those the Lord has assigned to our care. So let us be diligent in our own spiritual life so that the example we set will be equal to the word we preach.

Reminded by God

 He who made the Pleiades and Orion

And changes deep darkness into morning,

Who also darkens day into night,

Who calls for the waters of the sea

And pours them out on the surface of the earth,

The Lord is His name.

The Lord God of hosts,

The One who touches the land so that it melts,

And all those who dwell in it mourn,

And all of it rises up like the Nile

And subsides like the Nile of Egypt;

The One who builds His upper chambers in the heavens

And has founded His vaulted dome over the earth,

He who calls for the waters of the sea

And pours them out on the face of the earth,

The Lord is His name.

Amos 5:8, 9:6-7

Two times in the midst of His dirge against Israel, God stops and reminds the Israelites of who He is and His great power. He not only does this in Amos, but this is a pattern throughout the Old Testament.  He starts this in Genesis 17:1 when He tells Abraham, "I am God Almighty, walk before Me and be blameless." He does this in the last few chapters of Job as He confronts Job with His power and majesty and starts off by saying, "Now gird up your loins like a man, and I will ask you and you instruct Me!"  There are myriads of other times in the Old Testament where God has to remind those with whom He is dealing of exactly who He is.  

Sometimes today, with us, He has to remind us of who He is. Sometimes it is to put us in our place as we have become a little too big for our spiritual britches, and we need to be brought back to reality.  Sometimes it is because we need to see that He is bigger than our situation, or the people we are facing.  Sometimes it is to remind us that He is more than capable of delivering what He has promised.  Sometimes it is to remind us that He is God and we are not, or that He alone is God. Sometimes it is to remind us that we are not the captain of our ship or the master of our fate, but He is, and as such we are answerable to Him. Sometimes it is for comfort and sometimes for correction. Sometimes it is to remind us that He is bigger than life and all that it holds. All the time it is to give us the proper perspective on life, His perspective. 

We are forgetful by nature, and are often deceived by sin; and sometimes we have to be reminded of what we already know. That is why daily devotionals or consistent bible study is so good for us.  Through His word He speaks to us to remind us of all that He is and all that He has done. It is refreshing to be reminded. It is soul stirring to be reminded. It is necessary to be reminded. It is good for us to be reminded. Thanks be to God that He has not forgotten that.

The Greater Holocaust

 I watched a short video from the Holocaust museum. It concerned an album of pictures depicting the lives of the officers over the Auschwitz prison camp, and covered the period of May through December 1944. Auschwitz was the place where thousands of Hungarian Jews were murdered by the Nazis, with much of that happening during 1944. The pictures showed ordinary looking men with their families at different functions as they were overseeing the mass destruction of so many other humans. This caused me to reflect on the horrors and atrocities committed against the Jews during WWII as over six million Jews (men, women, and children) were slaughtered by different methods. It makes your spirit shudder to think about it.

It also prompted me to reflect on what the Scriptures say awaits the nation of Israel in the end times. As horrible and nightmarish a time as the Holocaust was, it pales in comparison to what lies ahead for those who are of the nation of Israel, whether they live in Israel or not. The Lord warns about this in Matthew 24:15-22 ending in verse 22, "Unless those days had been cut short, no life would have been saved." We see a little more about this in Revelation chapter 12 where in verse 13 we see the vengeance of Satan upon Israel that starts after Satan is cast out of heaven at the mid-point of the tribulation. In Zechariah 12 and 13 we see this time described and in Zechariah 13:8-9 the word of God tells us that two thirds of the nation of Israel will perish, but that He will bring one third through the fire. This corresponds with Zephaniah 3:11-13, Joel 2:28-32, Jeremiah 50:20, Isaiah 4:1-3, Daniel chapter 8, and Romans 9:27-29. What a horrible time for the Jews as two thirds of all the Jews in the world will perish. The nation of Israel is still under the divine judgment of God for its forsaking God, breaking its covenant with God, and rejecting the Messiah. God will not completely forsake the Jews, but will save the one third that He refines through the fire. All of this is included in the divine plan of God and in the one eternal purpose mentioned in Ephesians 3:11 and further explained in Romans 9-11.

So a greater Holocaust is coming, a time of great tribulation, a time that happens after the fullness of the Gentiles has been completed. Let us not be indifferent to the plight of the Jews for the eternal plan of God revolves around them, and it includes us as we have been grafted into their rich spiritual life and heritage. In thinking about all of this I am brought to a state of humility before the Lord as I have pondered as Paul in Romans 11:33 "Oh the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways!"

Oh Lord, we can not attain to this as it is too high for us and too wonderful for us. Thank you Lord for including me in your eternal plan. Thank you Lord for selecting me and preparing my place in Your plan from all eternity. Strengthen me by Your Spirit in my inner man to faithfulness in carrying out the stewardship entrusted to me. Will and work in me Lord to completeness, lead me away from temptation, and let not evil have its way with me. Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth just as it is in heaven. Work out Your decrees until all Scripture is fulfilled, righteousness reigns, and You and You alone are glorified in Your saints in that day. Amen

An Old Word for the Current Day

 Nothing is more needed in our common life

to-day than recovery by the ordinary Christian

of the spiritual values of the Word of God. 

It is at once our Chart, our Lamp, our Food,

our Sword.  And in all these ways it may be known

by the humblest believer who yields himself to the

illumination of the Divine Spirit--its Author.

It was not given originally in order to make men

scholars, but rather that they should by its means

become sons and saints, servants and soldiers of

the Most High.  It is the glory of the Bible that

while its heights and depths are so great that no

human learning can scale or sound them unaided,

its Treasure-house is yet unlocked to the simplest

believer by the golden key of obedience.

J Stuart Holden

The Holy Gospels Opened

Page vi-vii

Circa 1900

Seven Things to Keep in Mind When Going Through Trials

It is not unusual for us to go through a season of trials and affliction. The Lord alone knows what all He is using those season(s) of trials to accomplish in our lives. However, I do know that so many times He is taking the knowledge we have about Him from our head into our heart, so that the knowledge ceases to be academic and becomes experiential; and, as such, becomes part of the fabric of our person, part of who we really are and how we really live. It is one thing to know about the fact that His grace is always sufficient, and then quite another to know the sufficiency of His grace because you have experienced it and lived it through a season of trial and affliction.

Being very obvious or even very subtle, all of us have a very strong strand of self-sufficiency, and are very good at taking care of things and getting things done for ourselves and by ourselves. Because of this the Lord has to get us in a situation where we are past the point of being able to handle it by ourselves, where the situation is bigger than us and our own abilities, and, to top it off, keep us there for a while. This shatters the popular, but false, "taughtism" that God will not give us more than we can handle. He will allow or cause us to be in situations beyond our limits because He wants us to understand that He is bigger than we are, and that He is absolutely in control, not us.

So many times the season of trial we are experiencing is comprised of many trials, sort of trials within a trial, and they are all related. During this time they tend to hit us like waves from the ocean, so as soon as we get our head up from the prior wave a new wave engulfs us. He wants us to not just become dependent on Him, but to learn to stay dependent on Him. Again, it is one thing to know that, and another to experience it to the point where it affects a permanent change in us. Also, in James 4, He tells us that He is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble. The root of self-sufficiency is a very subtle form of pride, a pride that says I can do this, I can handle this; and in essence says, “I don’t need the Lord.” So the Lord shows us that we do indeed need Him. He shows us that we cannot handle it, successfully, completely, and consistently without depending on Him...casting ourselves completely upon Him.

My wife and I were talking once, and she told me of a quote she had come across that day. It is “Circumstances are the expression of God’s will.” God is sovereign over your circumstances…all of them. Psalm 103:19 tells us, “The Lord has established His throne in the heavens, and His sovereignty rules over all.” He is ruling over what you are going through right now, and it did not come upon you without His will. A section in Psalm 119 gives us some insight into His purposes in times of affliction:

119:65 You have dealt well with Your servant,

According to Your word.

119:67-68 Before I was afflicted I went astray,

But now I keep Your word.

You are good and do good;

Teach me Your statutes.

119:71-73 It is good for me that I was afflicted

That I may learn Your statutes.

The law of Your mouth is better to me

Than thousands of gold and silver pieces.

Your hands made me and fashioned me;

Give me understanding, that I may learn Your commandments.

119:75-77 I know, O Lord, that Your judgments are righteous,

And that in faithfulness You have afflicted me.

O may Your lovingkindness comfort me,

According to Your word to Your servant.

May Your compassion come to me that I may live,

For your law is my delight.

1. Notice that God deals well (in a good and prosperous way) with us and that way is in accordance with His word. The word of God is an expression of the will of God, reveals the purpose(s) of God, guides us in the ways of God, and explains the means by which God brings us to the fullness of the stature of Christ, which is for our good and our spiritual prosperity. 

2. One of the purposes/spiritual benefits of affliction is that it brings us back to a state of obedience to God's word (I Peter 4:1,19) This is the goodness of God in action, as trials are a means of spiritual discipline, and all of His discipline is designed for our benefit, and ultimately is an expression of His goodness toward us (Hebrews 12:5-11).

3. The word affliction means to have hardships, to find oneself in a stunted, lowly, humble position; and it is also the means by which God brings us to that stunted and humbled position (James 4:6, Isaiah 66:2). All afflictions have a purpose behind them, and we are strengthened and gain hope when we can see past the afflictions themselves and see God's good purpose in them (Psalm 37:1, Proverbs 29:23).

4. It is during times of affliction that our heart is the most attentive to, receptive and desirous of , the word of God; and it is His word taken in and lived out that bears spiritual fruit (James 1:21-25, Psalm 119:1-4).

5. God is righteous in His afflicting us. He knows just what we need, when we need it, and how long we need it to remove the dross in our lives and  properly conform us to the image of Jesus Christ. As the master silversmith will not let the heat of the fire ruin the metal, He will not let the heat and pressure of our affliction be to our ruin, but to our glory (I Corinthians 10:13, Romans 8:18, II Corinthians 4:17, 

I Peter 4:12-14).

6. Our afflictions are a sign of God's faithfulness to us, as they are His means of completing the work of salvation which He started in us (Philippians 1:6, 2:13, Romans 8:28-31).

7. So when we pray, let us not just pray for relief from the circumstances, but also for all that God has for us in and through this time of trial and affliction…for we know His grace is truly sufficient, and His mercies are new every morning; and these truths become more precious to us when we experience their fullness during times of trial and affliction.

Preaching to the Mind

 This is a repost from an excerpt from an email I sent a friend of mine in 2008. Unfortunately, emotionalism is more of an issue now than it was then.

.....The line in your email where you quoted Joyce Meyers grabbed my attention and I have thought about it quite a bit. What she said about not teaching or speaking to the mind, but to the heart is not Scriptural. It sure sounds good, but it does not square with Scripture. Unfortunately, much of her teaching is designed to stir the emotion and play to the heart, but that is not what a teacher or preacher of the word is supposed to do. Yes, the heart is affected, and should be, but it is affected by what comes through the mind and what the mind dwells upon. Proverbs 23:7 tells us that as a man thinks within himself, so he is. In fact, it is what we allow our mind to dwell upon that affects how we feel. The Scriptures speak to this quite abundantly and I want to share some examples.

Hosea 4:1-6 details the effect on Israel because there was no knowledge of God in the land, and we see how this culminates in verse six, "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge, because you have rejected knowledge, I will also reject you from being my priest." Additionally, Isaiah 5:13 tells us that the nation of Israel went into exile because of their lack of knowledge of God. It is the lack of knowledge of God and the things of God that brought destruction upon His people. That destruction was a just consequence of them not knowing, therefore not following and abiding by, the will of God. Ephesians 5:17 tells us, "So then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is." We can not do that without knowledge, without an informed mind concerning the things of God. This is the plight of the church in America today. Most churches have services designed to appeal to the emotions, to pull on the heartstrings, instead of engaging the mind.

Look at what we are told to concentrate on as believers. II Peter 1:2-3, "Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord; seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence." So we see that grace and peace are not just given, but multiplied to the believer in the knowledge of God and Christ, and that everything we need for life (spiritual life) and godliness comes through the knowledge of Him. In 3:18 Peter goes on to finish this letter with the command to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. None of this can happen unless you speak to and teach to the mind; and where ever the mind goes the heart will follow.

We are not to be governed by our emotions, but by our mind, by what we know, especially what we know to be true. Romans 12:2 tells us not to be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of our mind, so that we may prove that the will of God is good, acceptable, and perfect. As the mind is engaged by the word of God the person is transformed into the image of Christ as he knows, understands, and conforms to the will of God.

Without knowledge there is no discernment as it is knowledge of the truth that brings discernment, and where is knowledge located, in the mind. Without knowledge and discernment the people can be led where ever the teacher or preacher desires, especially when they are taught to follow their emotions. Hebrews 5:11-6:3 tells us what happens when the people of God become dull of hearing, are not partaking of the solid food of the Word, and how it is that solid food and the practice of what they know that brings discernment. We do not hear with the heart, but with the mind; and the heart is reached, but it must go through the filter of the mind. This is why Paul gives us what to let our mind dwell on in Philippians 4:8, and in 4:6-9 he tells us that our heart and mind will be guarded in Christ by peace; and the heart is guarded by what the mind dwells upon, and the mind dwells upon that which it has been taught, that which it knows.

Finally, in Colossians 2:1-8 Paul talks about the heart and mind connection, and how the heart is encouraged by the full assurance of understanding that comes from the true knowledge of Christ Himself, in whom are all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. In this section he tells us not to be deceived by persuasive argument then goes on the tell us in verse eight not to let our mind be taken captive by the philosophy and empty deception of the traditions of men and the elementary principles of the world (one of which is emotionalism). This is what many in evangelicalism are doing today....appealing to the flesh and emotions, by what sounds good and normal, but is based upon the elementary things of the world.

In Biblical times the heart was considered to be not the center of the emotions, but the seat of the will. The kidneys and viscera were considered the seat of the emotions. The heart and mind were considered as one which we saw in Proverbs 23:7, as a man thinks within himself, so he is. In essence what we are doing when we teach and preach is engaging the mind with the knowledge of the truth. This knowledge of the truth affects the will, the will directs the decisions, the decisions direct the behavior, which many times will be in direct opposition to how people feel at the time. We want people to do what they know to be right in spite of how they feel about the situation or the person. This can only happen by teaching to the mind, giving them the knowledge of the truth.

There is much teaching that sounds good and biblical, but when you dissect it, it does not hold up to the light of the truth. The road that this particular teaching would eventually take someone down is fraught with disaster, and would lead to a faith based on the fickleness and surges of emotion instead of the stability and assurance of faith based on the knowledge of the truth.