Insight into Affliction from Psalm 119

Affliction, anah in the Hebrew, is to find oneself in a stunted, lowly, humble position; and it is also the means by which God brings us to that position.  It is be brought low, to have hardships.  Afflictions are a tool in the hand of God, and are never without purpose.  The Psalmist in Psalm 119 understood this very well and shares this understanding, this spiritual insight with us, and this teaching is concentrated in verses 65-80.  Let's take a look.

This section in Psalm 119 starts out with a poignant declaration in verse 65, "You have dealt well (tob, a good thing, benefit, welfare) with Your servant according to Your word."  So he sets the stage right here by letting us know that when God deals with us, He deals with us in a good way, for our welfare and benefit.  How has God dealt with the Psalmist?  By bringing affliction upon him.  Look at verse 67, "Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I keep Your word."  What had the Psalmist gone astray from?  The way of God, the path of life that the Lord would have Him take; and this path is taken by keeping the word of God.  It is no strange coincidence that Psalm 119:105 tells us, "Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path."  In other words, the word of God keeps Him on the right path, the path of God.

When we go astray from God's path, He is faithful, and good, and for our good and welfare will bring affliction to us so that we will return to His word, and walk according to His way; and returning to God's word and walking in His way is actually returning to God, Himself.  Let's look at a couple of examples from the OT.  First, look at Hosea 5:15 "I will go away and return to My place until they acknowledge their guilt and seek My face; in their affliction they will earnestly seek Me."  Next, look at II Chronicles 6:26 "When the heavens are shut up and there is no rain because they have sinned against You, and they pray toward this place and confess your name, and turn from their sin when you afflict them."  In both instances God brought the affliction upon the people so that they would turn from their sin and turn to Him.  In other words, they would no longer be going astray in their sin, but would return to God and walk in His way, not their own.

Now, notice how verse 68 follows up the verse on affliction.  It states, "You are good and do good."  The Psalmist declares this after saying that he has been afflicted, and that affliction has God as its source.  He is acknowledging God's goodness in bringing affliction upon Him.  He understood it was for his good, and God was good in doing it.  Which leads us to verse 71, "It is good for me that I was afflicted, that I may learn Your statutes."  What a perspective!  What Godly insight!  Through affliction we return to His path and learn His word, and by His word we walk in the path of righteousness.  This path is the path that leads to joy, and it is the path of spiritual blessing. 

This perspective and insight lead the Psalmist to this declaration in 119:75 "I know, O Lord, that Your judgments are righteous, and that in faithfulness You have afflicted me."  Wow, this man knows His God!  He knows that God's decisions regarding Him, God's dealings with Him, God's bringing affliction upon Him, are done in faithfulness...because God is faithful to him.  He understands affliction from God always has a purpose, and it is because of His faithfulness that He brings it about.

May we also have this perspective.  May we see God's faithfulness in our affliction.  May we, with the Psalmist say not only, "It is good for me to be afflicted," but Father, I know that in faithfulness You have afflicted me."  And may affliction accomplish its God intended purpose in our life.  Amen.

This I Know

The Lord has saved me,

this I know,

for His Spirit tells me so.

The Lord sanctifies me,

this I know,

for my life tells me so.

The Lord has changed me,

this I know,

my new heart tells me so.

The Lord is merciful,

this I know,

for His blood tells me so.

The Lord is faithful,

this I know,

His provision tells me so.

The Lord is coming,

to Him I'll go,

for His word tells me so.

So many times the best truths are the simplest ones.

God's Lovingkindness in Psalm 119

Lovingkindness, hesed in the Hebrew, is one of my favorite words in the Scriptures.  It is part of the Lord's self-revelatory declaration in Exodus 34:6, where not only does the Lord declare that He possesses it, but that He abounds in it.  It is a vastly rich and nuanced word, and has a depth of meaning and a breadth of application as you can see through its use in the OT.  Read through its definition in the Word Study or Vines dictionaries and you will see what I mean. 

What makes it this way, though, is pretty simple when we boil it down to its essence.  Lovingkindness is God's love in action.  It is His love exhibited in and through His actions towards His own.  It is His strength, mercy, compassion, grace, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, steadfastness, commitment, gentleness, benevolence, truthfulness, and favor towards His children, those with whom He is in covenant.  We see it expressed in the command in I John 3:18, "Little children, let us not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and in truth."  God loves in deed and in truth...His love in action...and we are to love as He loves; in other words, we are to express His love through our actions.  We also see an example of this in Ephesians 2:4-5, "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." His love for us moved Him to be merciful to us and make us alive in Christ, despite our sinfulness.  So we see His lovingkindness toward us in His saving us.  His love was put into action to bring about our salvation, and His love was expressed through His mercy toward us.

The Psalms, especially Psalm 136 are replete with the use of lovingkindness.  It is also used seven times in Psalm 119, and I want us to go through those and see how it relates to the Word of God.

Psalm 119:41...God's lovingkindnesses (notice the plural) come to us in salvation, and that salvation according to His Word.

Psalm 119:64...The earth is full, overflowing with the lovingkindness of God.  God has built His lovingkindness into the earth and all it contains, and all that is available to man in and through His creation.  The knowledge of the Word helps us understand and appreciate all He has provided for us in this world.  Reminds me of I Timothy 6:17...God supplies us with all things richly to enjoy, and He does this through His creation, and it is part of His lovingkindness towards us.

Psalm 119:76...The comfort that His Word brings to us, in any and all circumstances, is part of His lovingkindness to us.  God wants us to be comforted and has provided that through His Word of truth.

Psalm 119:88...God's lovingkindness renews, refreshes, and revitalizes us so that we will be strengthened to keep His word.

Psalm 119:124...Not only does God deal with us according to His Word (Psalm 119:65), but dealing with us according to His Word is also dealing with us according to His lovingkindness; and in His dealings with us, He teaches us His Word.  His teaching us His Word, the taking of the Word and making it part of the fabric of our life, is His love in action towards us.  Psalm 51:6 tells us that God desires truth in our innermost being and as part of His lovingkindness towards us He takes His truth and makes it a part of us.  Wow!  What a blessing!  What a God!

Psalm 119:149...His hearing our voice is due to His lovingkindness towards us.  In another Psalm it tells  us that He inclines His ear to hear our prayer.  God's response to our prayer is in accord with His lovingkindness, and in accordance with His Word through which we are refreshed, renewed, and revitalized.

Psalm 119:159...Here the Psalmist is saying, "Lord, in the exercise of Your love for me, take into account my love for Your Word, and deal with me accordingly."  What great faith and confidence the Psalmist has in the lovingkindness of God towards him.  This is a man who knows and trusts his God.  A great example for us.

In Psalm 34:8 we are exhorted to taste and see that the Lord is good.  In Psalm 119:68 we see that the Lord is good and does good.  His goodness is expressed toward us in His acts of lovingkindness, in other words, His lovingkindness is good, and He does not withhold it from us, but lavishes it upon us.  This begins with our salvation, and will be continued in the ages to come as He shows the surpassing (which means it is more than we can comprehend) riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 2:7). 

Father, help us to know and understand Your lovingkindnesses toward us.  Cause us to see them.  Help us to not take them for granted.  May we be grateful now and for all eternity for Your active love for us.

According to His Word...Psalm 119

Pslam 119 is a wonderfully rich Psalm, with its main theme being the Word of God.  Throughout this Psalm we are shown the benefits, the power, the richness, the faithfulness, the insight, the holiness, the value, and the significance of the Word of God in the life of the believer.  One of the key phrases in this Psalm is "according to Your Word" (or according to...one of the synonyms for the Word).  In this post we want to look at what we have "according to His Word."

119:9...His Word keeps our way pure.
Not only does it clean us when we believe (John 15:3, Ephesians 5:26) but it keeps our life pure when we obey it.

119:25...His word revives our soul.
When we are in dust spiritually, His Word renews, restores, and revitalizes our soul, and lifts us out of spiritual oppression and depression.

119:28...His word is a bulwark in times of grief.
His word is what gives strength to our soul in our times of spiritual grief, the spiritual grief that comes because of sin. (Please note that the issue in vs 25-32 is the consequence of sin; and the Word is the balm that not only heals and restores the Psalmist spiritually, but is also what puts him back on the right path.)

Psalm 119:41...His Word brings salvation.
God's lovingkindnesses are bound up in salvation, and His word is the means through which we receive the bountiful blessings of salvation. (Romans 10:17, II Timothy 3:15)

Psalm 119:58...His Word reveals His favor to us.
God is gracious to us according to His word, and we see and understand the favor He bestows upon us through that same Word.

Psalm 119:65...His Word gives us understanding of how He deals with us.
God dealings with us are always in accordance with His Word, and always for our good. (Micah 2:7)

Psalm119:76...His Word brings comfort to us.
True comfort of the soul can only come from the Word of God, and through His word we learn of His lovingkindnesses.

Psalm 119:89-91...Creations stands each day according to His command.
His Word is in command of all things, both seen and unseen. (Hebrews 1:3)

Psalm 119:107...His Word comes to our aid in time of affliction.
His Word keeps us alive, lifts us up, and strengthens us anew in times of great afflicition.

Psalm 119:116...His word sustains us.
We have hope in this life and for the life to come, because of His Word.

Psalm 119:149...God responds to our prayers according to His Word.
Spiritual renewal and rescue are granted in accordance with His word.

Psalm 119:156...His mercies are revealed through His Word.
He is the Father of mercy and God of all comfort (II Corinthians 1:3), and we learn of the greatness and innumerable number of His mercies through His Word.

Psalm 119:170...His Word is Word of deliverance.
God, who cannot lie, has given us the promise of deliverance from darkness, sink, and death; and we find this promise in His Word. (Psalm 121:7, I Peter 1:5, Matthew 10:28)

Lord, you have given us so much in Your Word, and You act in accordance with Your Word.  Help us, no, cause us, to believe it, to stand on it, to live it; and to those of us to whom You have given the charge to preach and teach Your word, may we do so with clarity, precision, and conviction.

Our Great Delight

Our great delight is knowing God.

Repentance, Confession, and Forgiveness

I John 1:9 gives us a tremendous and really marvelous promise, and it is that when we confess our sins, our heavenly Father is willing and able to forgive our sins, and in that forgiveness comes a cleansing from all unrighteousness. 

However, the catch here is our confessing our sins.  For to be able to really and truly confess our sins, we must also be willing to repent of our sins.  True confession is always accompanied by appropriate repentance.  And for us to truly repent of our sins we must be willing and wanting to turn away from that sin, to forsake that sin, and to put ourselves as far away as possible from that sin. 

Confession without true repentance is merely saying to God, "Oops, I messed up, please clean up my mess while I go about making it again."  Confession without true repentance is wanting to have the consequences of our sin done away with, without wanting to do away with the sin itself. 

True confession is seeing your sin, thinking about your sin, and talking about your sin the same way God would.  It is having the mind of God concerning your sin, and saying the same thing about it that God would.  In fact, until we truly see our sin as God sees it, we will never have victory over it. 

The promise of forgiveness and cleansing in I John 1:9 is true, as is every promise of God.  Let us not make light of this promise, but let us come to our God in reverence, awe, and true repentance to receive the blessing of being clean before Him.  For in our salvation we have been made clean, all we must do now is wash what is dirty through repentance and confession.

Made Worthy

We have been made worthy of heaven;

not by anything we have done, but by

the accomplishments of Christ. 

When we are baptized into Christ, His

accomplishments become ours and

we are deemed worthy because

we are united with Him.

The Cross, God's Righteousness in Salvation and Forgiveness

No explanation is adequate which does not see God as shown to be just or righteous, legally in the right, in the way in which He provides salvation for sinners....the way God saves sinful man accords with what is right.  God is just, not only in saving, but in the way He saves....The cross demonstrates the righteousness, the justice of God.  In the very act by which sin is put away decisively, the death of Christ on the cross, God is seen to be just.. It is not the fact that God forgives that shows Him to be righteous, but the fact that He forgives in a certain way, the way of the cross.  It is the cross that shows God to be righteous in the very act of forgiveness...

...God forgives in a way which accords with right.  God does not set aside the moral law when He forgives.  It can never be said that He forgives simply because He is too strong for the devil.  That would mean that in the end with God might is right.  The language of justification is a perpetual protest against any such view.  It provides an emphasis on the truth that our God is just, is righteous, that He has regard to moral considerations even when He saves people who do not deserve salvation.  God saves in a way which is not only powerful but which is right.

Leon Morris
The Atonement
Pages 194-195

Accepted by God

We are accepted by God on the basis of Christ's merits,

not on the basis of our own; and by placing us into Christ,

God has guaranteed His acceptance of us.

The Most Riveting Description of the Goal of Christian Living I've Ever Read

This is exceptional!

The Most Riveting Description of the Goal of Christian Living I’ve Ever Read

The Bible, Sex, and Pastoral Counseling

In regards to Mark Driscoll's latest book on sex, and Ed Young's sexploitation/exhibition, there has been much written by those more erudite and better communicators than me. However, I do want to address the topic, and address it from a more foundational level than I have seen addressed, yet.

This is not the first foray into the arena of sex for either of these two pastors; and I call them pastors, because that is the position they hold.  This is Mark's fourth book on sex, and Ed has preached a series on sex from a bed on his stage and issued a seven day sex challenge to those in his congregation, so they are not neophytes in this area.  But let's go a little deeper into the reasons they have openly stated are behind their books and sermons....their people are coming to them with questions concerning sex, what's taboo and what's not, how much is enough or too much, what does the bible say about these issues? 

The heart of the matter is that many who profess to be Christians are too sex obsessed.  You see, the world, not just our culture, but the world is sex obsessed; and if you are paying any attention at all you can see it is not just an American cultural issue but a world wide issue.  I John 2:16 tells us that all temptation falls under the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, and the pride of life.  Sex has its roots deeply in all three of these categories, and as a result is one of the most appealing and controlling sins...maybe the most appealling and controlling.   

My point is this.  As pastors, instead of answering the questions above, instead of playing sex therapist, instead of giving in to the world's influence in this area, shouldn't we look to and bring to light the root of the issue?  Should we not first tell our people that sex is not the most important thing in the world, that maybe they need to take a step back and realize they are not to be preoccupied with it, it is not to dominate their thinking, and they should not be mastered by it. Shouldn't we have them take a good look at themselves and ask themselves if because of their background, television and movie choices, books and magazines they read, internet habits, music they listen to, emails they share or pass along, or conversations they participate in, that they might have a spiritual stronghold in this area.  And maybe perform this same spiritual check-up on ourselves, so that we can be sure our own attitude and thinking in regards to this area has not been colored by the world.

In dealing with this issue, many people want to quote I Corinthians 6:12...the part about all things are lawful for me...but leave out the part about I will not be mastered by anything.  The context of this verse is Paul dealing with the issue of food, and sex both outside the marriage and inside the marriage.  Paul also tells us in Romans 6:12-19 that we are slaves of what we obey...and ends this section talking about the weakness of our flesh. Christ gave the admonition to watch and pray that we would not enter into temptation, for the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak. So it is obvious that even for Christians we can have ongoing issues because of the filthiness and wickedness (James 1:21) that is inherent in our flesh.  Pastorally we need to realize that this pre-occupation with sex is a hold over from our life before Christ, or, in some instances, an indication that they have never truly received Christ; and we should not respond in a way that panders to their natural fleshly inclinations, but respond in a way that sheds light on the true spiritual issue that is at its root.

The church has been too quick to give in the mind-set of the world; and I think that it is most pronounced in the area of sex.  Pastors, we need to take a stand against the mind-set of the world and tell our people and counsel our people that they are not to be sex-obessed like the world which has no control over its lusts, and is, in fact, controlled by those same lusts and indulges in the desires on both the flesh and the mind; and tell our people that this sex-obsession is not from the Lord, but from the world.  For knowing the truth is the key for them to be set free from the sex-obession that controls the world.

A Good Thing to Keep in Mind

As pastors, we cannot live the spiritual lives of our flock for them.

As parents, we cannot live the spiritual lives of our children for them.

But, however, we can model the spiritual life for them, so that

they can know what it is supposed to look like.

Wisdom from John Newton

Newton regarded it as of first importance for ministers to understand that grace matures slowly.  Few lessons were repeated more often to fellow ministers than this one.  It comes up repeatedly:

"God works powerfully, but for the most part gently and gradually."

"He does not teach all at once, but by degree."

"A Christian is not of hasty growth, like a mushroom, but rather like the oak, the progress of which is hardly perceptible, but in time becomes a great deep-rooted tree."

....For Newton, God's great patience in His people's slow progress in grace and truth was a lesson that ministers must ever remember.  Preachers are to teach, but they do not control the pace at which grace develops in their hearers.  They cannot give the experience that prepares a Christian for fuller light.  He concluded that it is a dangerous thing to hurry young believers into an acceptance of teaching they are not ready to receive....If pastors do not observe this principle and lack wisdom and gentleness in presenting the truth, they ought not to be surprised at bringing trouble into their churches.

Heroes
Ian Murray
Pages 101-103

Becoming Like Christ

In becoming mature or complete in Christ,
as we become conformed into His image,

what is true about Him becomes true about us.

What Our View of the Wrath of God Tells Us

Are we feeling like a multitude of people who have nothing but scorn for any ideas about hell and everlasting punishment?  Do we consider the wrath of God as a primitive or obscene concept?  Is the very notion of hell an insult to us?  If so, it is clear that the God we worship is not a holy God:  Indeed He is not God at all.  If we despise the justice of God, we are not Christians....If we hate the wrath of God, it is because we hate God Himself.  We may protest vehemently against these charges, but our vehemence only confirms our hostility toward God.  We may say emphatically, "No, it is not God I hate....God is altogether sweet to me.  My God is a God of love."  But a loving God who has no wrath is not God.  He is an idol of our own making as much as if we carved Him out of stone.

R. C. Sproul
The Holiness of God
Page 176

The Responsibility of the Pew

Nearly every Christian wants their church to be healthy. 

But few Christians have contemplated their part in

making their local church family spiritually strong and vibrant.

 ...overall there exists a desire for healthy churches

 but not enough thinking about the pews’ responsibility for it. 

Thabiti Anyabwile

2011

True Obedience

True obedience is an active submission to the

will of God, which is expressed in the

Word of God, which keeps you in the

way of God.

The Key to Freedom

...just as truth is in Jesus.
Ephesians 4:21

Through the knowledge of the truth

we are set free and kept free.

Action and Confirmation

Our actions will either confirm our unbelief,

or confirm the validity our faith.

The Gospel and Good Works

What is the relationship between the Gospel and good works/social justice ministries/mercy ministries?  This is one of the current intramural debates among Christians.  Paul actually addresses this issue in his epistle to Titus. The phrase good deed(s) is used six times in this short letter, and after dealing with the issue of establishing order-appointing elders-refuting and silencing false teachers (yes, they all go together), he emphasizes the role of good deeds in the life of the believer and therefore the life of the church.

In 1:16 we see that there are those who profess Christ but whose deeds deny him, and Paul calls them detestable, and worthless for any good deed.

In 2:7-8 Paul exhorts Titus, as the spiritual leader, to be an example of good deeds, which along with purity of doctrine, dignity, and soundness of speech, will put the opponents of the gospel to shame and give them no reason to malign Christians.

In 2:14 we see that Christ redeemed us from every lawless deed so that His people would be zealous for good deeds.

In 3:1 we see that we are to be in a state of readiness/preparedness for every good deed.

In 3:8 we see that we, as Christians, are to exercise thought in engaging in good deeds, and that these deeds are good and profitable for men.

In 3:14 we see that we must be in the habit of/accustomed to engaging in good deeds that meet pressing needs, so that as Christians we will not be unfruitful.

It is obvious that engaging in good deeds is a key theme in this book, something that Paul, speaking on behalf of the Lord, views as important. And if you follow the flow of thought concerning good deeds (from 1:16-3:14) you will see that deeds will either be contrary to and therefore contradict our doctrine and profession, or they (good deeds) will concur with and therefore confirm our doctrine and confession.

In reading this epistle we see that those who are not Christians are worthless for any (truly) good deed. We see that for Christians good deeds adorn the doctrine we preach, put the opponents of the gospel to shame and causes their maligning to fall flat. We see that, as Christians, we are to have a passion for goods deeds, to be always ready and prepared for good deeds, and are to thoughtfully engage in good deeds. These good deeds are beneficial to men, not just Christians but to men in general; and in performing these good deeds pressing needs will be met, and we will not be unfruitful (in other words, God will take them and use them for His glory...compare with John 15:1-11).  As Martin Luther said, "Justification is by faith alone, but not by a faith that is alone."

Paul doesn't define what these good deeds are...probably because He knows that Christians who have a heart for good deeds and give careful thought as to when, where, why, and how, will not only be guided by the Holy Spirit in their endeavors; but through the Spirit will also be given the opportunities for them as well, as the Lord always matches God-given desires with God-given opportunities (see Psalm 37:3-6).

I don't think there is a tension between good deeds and Gospel proclamation...they do go together. How can you love someone enough to give them the gospel to meet their spiritual need, and not be moved to provide for their physical needs, or vice-versa?  Doing one without doing the other tears the heart right out of the Gospel.

As is always the case, the Scriptures give us the mind of God concerning these issues.  So instead of debating one another, let's get busy and stay busy doing all that the Scriptures tell us to do.

Faith and Conformity

True faith always produces real conformity to Christ.

R. C. Sproul

The Holiness of God

Page 165

For His Glory Today

Father, today in Your church, from the rising

of the sun to its setting, make Your praise

glorious.  Give us lips and lives that will

will not only praise You, but will bring praise

to You.  Give us no other desire today than

to bring You praise, than to bring honor

to You in accordance with the greatness of

Your name.  Today, in Your church,

be glorified. 

Amen.

For His Glory Today

As we go forth this day, O Lord, may the

meditations of our hearts be acceptable in

Your sight.  Cleanse us as we begin this day,

and keep us clean throughout the day.  Guard

our hearts and minds with what is true, right,

honorable, beautiful, pure, lovely, and

praiseworthy; so that what comes out of

us in word and deed manifests the sweet aroma

of Jesus Christ.  Work out through us what You

have worked within us for the display of the

greatness of the glory of Your grace.

Amen 



For His Glory Today

As the Psalmist says, "Not to us, O Lord,

not to us, but to Your name give glory."

Use us today to fulfill the purpose for

which You have made us.  And in fulfilling

that purpose may we bring You great glory.

Manifest Your life through us.  Manifest Your

love through us.  Manifest Your righteousness

through us.  Manifest Your mercy and compassion

through us.  Cause the radiance of Your glory to

be seen in us as we live as Christ would live.

Amen.

For His Glory Today

Father, apart from glorifying You, apart from being

agents of Your glory and for Your glory, we have

no reason to exist.  Keep us mindful today, that

whether we eat or drink, whatever it is we do,

should be done for Your glory. Today, use Your

church, Your living body, to manifest Your glory

throughout this world.  Make Your matchless

worth to be seen through us, so that all the world

around us can truly say, "God has been in this place."

May it be so wherever we are in this world, so that

the world may be keenly aware of Your Divine glory.

Amen.



For His Glory Today

Today, O Lord, work in us that which is

pleasing in Your sight, so that we may

bring You glory.  Today, cause our salt

to be salty, our light to burn bright, so that

we might bring You glory in each and every

circumstance of our day.  Shine forth the

beauty of Your holiness in us, so that Your

glory may shine brightly round about us.

Let us, Your servants, be and do, so that

our very lives shout, "Glory to God, glory

to God, glory to God!"

Amen.

For His Glory Today

Father, may all that we say today, every word

that is on our tongue, every word that passes

through our lips, bring glory to You.  Make us

cognizant this day of bringing you glory by what we say. 

 Let no careless word, let no unwholesome word,

 proceed from our mouth, but only that which gives

grace to those who hear; so that whether they are

a believer or an unbeliever You will be glorified 

in their presence by our speech.  This day, make us, 

Your children, a people of purified lips.  Glorify Yourself

through what we say, and how we say it.

Amen. 

For His Glory Today

Today, let Jesus Christ be magnified wherever

a breath is taken, to the glory of God the Father.

The Seducing Spirit of Our Age

Following my last post on Francis Schaffer's quotes from The Great Evangelical Disaster, I thought I would repost this with a few updates.  This was originally posted in November 2006.

There is a seduction and deception going on in churchdom in America today. It is reminiscent of the admonition that Paul gave the Corinthians in II Corinthians 11:3-4. This seduction is to be relevant to the culture, to be radical or primal to win people to Christ. While these may sound good on the surface the reality is that the church is being deceived into accepting another gospel. Without going into all the ways this other gospel is being perpetrated on the church I want to give some keys so that people can recognize when their church, pastor, or leadership is succumbing to the seduction of this spirit of our new age.

1. When "evangelism" is touted over theology
2. When confrontation is traded for comfort
3. When results are more important than truth
4. When sin is relabled as poor choices, bad decisions, falling down, failure, shame,
     or having problems
5. When requiring commitment is exchanged for providing convenience
6. When preaching/teaching becomes speaking or conversation
7. When pastorisms are substituted for Scripture
8. When doing it because it is right is replaced by doing it because it works
9. When research and response dictate the church service instead of Scripture
10. When fellowship becomes community
11. When the sacred becomes like the secular
12. When being relevant is more important than being righteous
14. When being distinct gives way to blending in with the culture
14. When books, or movies, or current events are sermon topics instead of the Bible
15. When it becomes all about life change instead of becoming like Christ
16. When worship becomes man-centered entertainment instead of
      God-focused exaltation
17. When offending the saints is okay, but offending the sinner is not
18. When the church corporate is put ahead of the church as a body of believers
19. When individual Christians are deemed expendable for the sake of the
      church corporate
20. When sin is ignored or tolerated among church members by its leadership
21. When more emphasis is put on telling people that God loves and accepts
      them like they are, instead of telling them that Christ died because of their sin
22. When video clips of movies, television shows, or youtube spots are used to
      make a point in the sermon instead of the Scriptures, therefore elevating secular
      entertainment to being equal with Scripture
23. When secular songs are used as worship music
24. When attendance numbers are used to justify what is being done or to bless
      what is being done
25. When there is an attitude of good riddance when people leave, instead of remorse
26. When there is no thought about God liking what is happening, but every care
      given to the seeker/unchurched/community liking what is happening
27. When the staff/leadership substitutes pleasing God with pleasing men

The thing that is disturbing is that all of this is being done in the name of Christ while He is being denied His rightful place of preeminence.

A Word from Francis Schaffer

If you have not read any of Francis Schaffer, you should. He was probably the greatest prophetic voice in evangelicalism in the last century. Even though he has been with the Lord for a number of years, his is still a prescient voice today...maybe because he had his finger on the humanness of evangelicals and their weaknesses, but nevertheless his voice still rings true, and issues he pointed out are still with us today.

I read his last book, The Great Evangelical Disaster, in 1984, the year he went home. It was one of the defining books that I have read, and I have been re-reading it the last few weeks. I am going to quote some of it as he draws the book to a conclusion, as it hits the church where it lives today.

"We need a revolutionary message in the midst of today's relativistic thinking. By revolutionary or radical, I mean standing against the all-pervasive form which the world spirit has taken in our day. This is the real meaning of radical....We need a young generation and others who will be willing to stand in loving confrontation, but real confrontation, in contrast to the mentality of constant accommodation with the current forms of the world spirit as they surround us today, and in contrast to the way in which so much of evangelicalism has developed the automatic mentality of accommodation at each successive point.....the evangelical accommodation has constantly been in one direction--that is, to accommodate with whatever is in vogue with the form of the world spirit which is dominant today. It is the same world spirit which is destroying both church and society. Balance must be considered constantly. But the accommodation we have been speaking of has constantly taken the form of giving in to the humanistic, secular consensus which is the dominant destructive force of our day.'

'It does seem to me that evangelical leaders, and every evangelical Christian, have a very special responsibility not to just go along with the "blue-jean syndrome" of not noticing that their attempts to be "with it" so often take the same forms as those who deny the existence or holiness of the living God.  Accommodation leads to accommodation--which leads to accommodation..."

A true prophetic voice is timeless. This was written in 1984, but we see the same issue alive and well in the church today. As Solomon said, "There is nothing new under the sun." We see the same accommodation today, as so many pastors/churches/Christians have fallen into the "we must be relevant to the culture" trap. The pursuit of relevance has led to accommodation. It is only when we are truly counter cultural, truly radical to the culture that we have any true impact. We are not salt and light by accommodating the world spirit of our times, but only when we are stopping the corruption of the world spirit, and exposing the corruption of the world spirit can we call ourselves truly radical; and you cannot be relevant and radical at the same time. 

I would recommend that you read this book.  Think about what Francis Schaffer has to say, and see how he recaptures the true meaning of living the radical Christian life.

Making the World a Better Place

I think it is safe to say that wanting the world to be a better place would be common sentiment the world over.  In many places it is even a popular sentiment.  And we see great efforts from many quarters of society to achieve this goal, from breast cancer awareness, to clean water initiatives, to homeless shelters, to aids research and education, to disaster relief, to famine relief, to refugee aid, to save the whales, to anti-abortion measures, to racism awareness, to anti-poverty campaigns, to enviromental concerns, to soil conservation, to water conservation, to energy conservation, to operation Christmas child, to no child left behind, to school drop-out initiatives, to Unicef, to UN peace keeping, to Mid-East diplomacy, to anti-terrorist measures, to social justice concerns, to mercy ministries, to the Salvation Army, to food banks, to welfare, to...whew, the list goes on and on.

All of us, who inhabit this world, want it to be a cleaner, safer, nicer, peaceful, friendly, beautiful, and even loving place to live.  But, alas, it is a sentiment doomed to failure, and a desire that will never come to fruition.  Why, you might ask?  Because the root issue of all of the problems in this world, sin, is ignored by the world; and all the attempts that those in the world make to make the world a better place to live, treat the symptoms, not the disease. 

Man is a slave to sin, he is blinded by his sin, he is deceived in his sin, he loves his sin, he is an inventor of sin, he is an encourager of sin, he flaunts his sin, he feeds his sin, he exalts his sin, he is incapable of not sinning, he excuses his sin, he justifies his sin, he promotes sin, he uses sin to accomplish his purposes, he won't give up his sin, he cherishes his sin, he worships his sin, he speaks sin, he thinks sin, he acts sin; in other words he is thoroughly permeated and dominated by sin.  He is born in sin, and sin is inescapable.

The earth is cursed because of sin.  All creation groans because of sin.  The world and all that is in it is passing away because of sin.  Man is condemned because of sin.  Since man rules over the world and sin rules over man, therefore sin is the ruling and guiding force in this world.

Enter the church, the greatest sin-fighting agent in the world; and not the corporate or organized church, but the church as the body of Christ, the church as represented by each individual Christian as they live out the life of Christ in their daily affairs.  Christ told us in the Sermon on the Mount that we are salt and light.  Salt stops the corruption of sin in its tracks (Matthew 5:13), light exposes sin and causes it to flee (John 3:18-21, Ephesians 5:8-13).  In addition to this, through the church the gospel is proclaimed; and it is the gospel, the living Word of the living God, that brings cleansing to sinful man (John 13:8-10, John 15:3, Ephesians 5:25-27).

The church has been given the mandate to go into all the world and make disciples, and the church does that by preaching and sharing the gospel, the Word of God.  It is the gospel that cleanses man from sin, it is the Word of God that keeps man's way pure, and keeps him from sinning (Psalm 119:9, 11).  True believers do not practice sin, but practice holiness (I John 3:7-10), and as they do they are salt and light in the world.  It is the gospel that deals with the sin that dominates and controls man; first by cleansing him from sin and freeing him from the bondage to sin, and then by empowering him to have victory over ongoing sin as he is obedient to the Word of God. 

So, what is the most important thing the church must do to make the world a better place?  What is its mandate from its head, the Lord Jesus Christ?  It is to preach, teach, and live the gospel.  So as we, the living body of the living Lord, go about our daily affairs, sharing the gospel and living the gospel, the world is made a better place, literally one Christian at a time.  But if all of God's people, those that are truly His, would make this their focus; we would see the world become a better place, not a perfect place...that is yet to come (Revelation 21-22).  So as we minister to those around us, our neighbor, let us make their world a better place by introducing them to the One who has overcome the world and all of its sin, the Lord Jesus Christ.

The Crushing Weight of Glory

An excellent post by Tim Challies on having an eternal perspective on suffering.

http://www.challies.com/christian-living/the-crushing-weight-of-glory#more

Great Last Words

"I am going to the three Persons, with whom I have had communion...My bow abides in strength.  Is Christ divided?  No, I have the whole of His righteousness; I am found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is of the law, but the righteousness which is of God, , which is by faith of Jesus Christ, who loved me, and gave Himself up for me.  Christ cannot love me better than He doth.  I think I cannot love Christ better than I do; I am swallowed up in God...Now I shall be ever with the Lord.

These are the last words of Thomas Goodwin
Banner of Truth
November 2011
Page 3

In our final hour, may we all have this confidence spawned from a life that has experienced the fullness of communion with the triune God.  May we all be swallowed up in God.

Preaching and Relevance

...we have to face the fact that the pursuit of relevance as being constantly timely is a mirage.  When relevance is invoked as self-authenticating concept, it becomes meaningless and dangerous because it begs the questions, Relevance for what?  Relevance to whom? 

Such questions are commonly ignored in today's headlong rush after the unholy trinity of the powerful, the practical, and the profitable.  But if we don't ask them, the constant appeal to relevance becomes an idol, a way of riding slipshod over truth, and a means of coralling opinion deceptively.  Until, that is, we finally deceive ourselves.

The fact is that nothing is finally relevant except in relation to the true and the eternal....Only truth and eternity give relevance to "relevance."  To think or do anything simply "because it is relevant" will always prove to be irrational, dangerous, and a sure road to burnout.  It may tast like unpleasant medicine to our practical modern thinking, but in fact it's a powerful antidote to perpetual folly.....God has broken into our silence.  He has spoken and has come down Himself.  And in His written and living Word we are given truth from outside our situation, truth that throws light on our little lives and our little world.  This word of God is the only true Archimedean point to gain the leverage to raise us above the forces of gravity in our human condition.

Os Guiness
Prophetic Untimeliness
Pages 106-107

Preaching the Gospel

People are brought to faith in Jesus Christ

not because a preacher happens to be exceptionally

dynamic one Sunday morning, or because he finishes

his sermon with a spellbinding story.  Rather, in a

mysterious work that is both sovereign in expression

and divine in origin, the power of God unites with the

proclamation of the word of God and produces effects

that are in keeping with the purposes of God. 

Arturo Azurdia III

Spirit Empowered Preaching

Page 44

Then the Lord said to me, "You have seen well,

for I am watching over My word to perform it."

Jeremiah 1:12



Being Boudreau

This is a repost.

As you can tell, Boudreau is a Cajun name. Boudreau lived in southern Louisiana, close to the coast, near New Orleans. When hurricane Katrina was approaching, being a good Christian, Boudreau started praying to the Lord and asking for protection and deliverance from the storm. In his spirit Boudreau sensed the comfort and confirmation that the Lord had heard His prayers and he would be delivered from the storm. As the storm grew closer, the tide began to rise, the rain was falling hard, and the area near his home started to flood. At that time the county sheriff came by in his Jeep and told Boudreau to get in and he would take him to a higher area, safe from the storm. Boudreau told the sheriff no thanks, for the Lord would deliver him safely from the storm. Several hours later the storm was stronger and not only was the area near Boudreau's home flooded, but the waters had entered his house, causing Boudreau to climb up on his roof. At this time the sheriff came by in a boat, and asked Boudreau to get in, but Boudreau refused, telling the sheriff that the Lord would indeed deliver him from the storm. The storm became so severe and the water so high and powerful, that Boudreau was swept off of his roof and was being taken by the waters down toward the bayou when he was able to grab hold of the top of a tree. Once again, the sheriff came by, this time in a helicopter, and yelling over the storm, told Boudreau to seize the rope he had thrown down to him. Boudreau again declined, telling the sheriff the Lord would indeed deliver him. A few minutes later, when the sheriff could no longer stay over him and had left, Boudreau was swept off of the tree by the raging waters and went under.

Suddenly, Boudreau was absent from his body and present with the Lord. He gazed at the Lord in astonishment, and said to Him, "Lord, you promised to deliver me from the storm, what happened?" To which the Lord responded, "Boudreau, I sent you a Jeep, a boat, and a helicopter. All you had to do was get in."

Many times, probably too many times, Christians are like Boudreau. We have prayed for guidance, for deliverance, for wisdom, and God's answer to that prayer is right in front of us; but we are waiting for that dramatic deliverance, the hand writing on the wall, or the skies to part and the Lord's voice to sound, instead of looking at what he has given us through ordinary means to answer our prayer.

Are you being Boudreau, having prayed to the Lord, but ignoring the facts right in front of your face because they are not how you expect or want the Lord to answer your prayer? Are you afraid to step out in faith on the obvious? Are you holding on to something you should not be holding on to, waiting for the Lord to pick you up and put you where you should be? Are you letting the things of your flesh stand in your way hoping the Lord will "miraculously" give you what you prayed for? Are you afraid of the difficulty, the rejection, the pain or discomfort you might suffer and, as such, are waiting for the Lord just to make it happen so that you will not have to pay the price of obedience? Is it going to take some spiritual gumption on your part, and you are not willing to step up to the plate? Are you more afraid of man than you are of God?

My friends, look at the obvious, look at the facts, look at your situation, consider the actions and attitudes of others. God may have already answered your prayer, and be waiting for you to follow Him.

Making the Main Thing the Main Thing

Biblical preaching must always occupy the leading place of influence in the life of any church.  At the core of any healthy congregation is a vibrant exposition of God's Word.  Unfortunately, though, many pastors are turning away from the central role of expository preaching and doctrinal teaching.  But in so doing, they fail to realize that new converts, first and foremost, need to be taught God's truth.  As a result, many other things are competing with--and even replacing--the primary role of biblical preaching in the church.  Christian concerts, drama, pageants, festivals, musicals, talk shows, and religious movies are establishing a greater foothold in the life of the contemporary church.  Some of these activities may have a place in the church, but they must never compete with nor overshadow the Spirit-energized proclamation of God's Word within a church. 

In diagnosing the ills of emphasis on these auxiliary methods, Martyn Lloyd-Jones lamented, "All this at best is secondary, very often, not even secondary, often not worthy of a place at all...The primary task of the Church and of the Christian minister is the preaching of the Word of God."  He echoed the words of the chief pastoral voice of the Great Awakening, Jonathan Edwards, who declared, "The primary importance of the pastor is to be an expository preacher." 

Evangelical churches desperately need to return to the primacy of the apostles' teaching.  Preaching is the foremost responsibility of the preacher and the church.

Steve Lawson
Famine in the Land
Pages 33-34

The Most Profound Change in the World

The most profound change in the world, is the change in a man or woman because they have been born again. 

They go from being dead to being made alive in Christ.

They go from being children of the devil to children of God.

They go from hating God to loving God.

They go from reveling in sin to hating sin.

They go from being held captive to being made free.

They go from dwelling in darkness to being light in the Lord.

They go from being of the world to being aliens in this world.

They go from being mastered by sin to overcoming sin.

They go from being enemies of God to being friends of God.

They go from practicing evil to practicing righteousness.

They go from desiring to please themselves to desiring to please God.

They go from having a hard heart to having a soft heart.

They go from following their own ways to following God's ways.

They experience of all this because of the rebirth of the soul, as a new man has been born within them and they can no longer remain the same. Yes, they may look the same, but they are different.  They are no longer the person they used to be as old things have passed away, and new things have come.

Have you experienced the new birth?  Have you had the life transforming rebirth of the soul?  Are you somehow different in your inner man?  If you claim to be a Christian, and yet have not been changed, then you have not truly been born again and are still lost in your sins, still under judgment, and still a child of wrath as the rest who do not know Him. 

Ask God today to save you, to have mercy upon you, to be compassionate to you, and turn from your ways and your sin, and turn to Him with all your heart.  Seek Him and He will let you find Him, and He will restore your soul and make you whole.

Thought for the Day

We must practice truth,

not just speak about it.

Francis Schaeffer

The Great Evangelical Disaster

Page 81

Holiness

Holiness, God and God alone possesses it.  God and God alone is holy.  Holiness is His most Divine attribute.  It is what sets God apart from all of His creation.  It is what makes Him distinctly God.  It is the power inherent in His presence.

It is safe to say holiness is God's most defining attribute.  It embodies all that He is and all that He does.  It is intricately woven into all His other attributes, and as such separates them from the carnal, the corrupt, and the mundane.  If we think of His attributes as a crown of jewels, holiness would be the most brilliant of all the jewels in the crown, and we would see it reflected in the lustre of all the others.  It is the outshining of holiness through each of the other jewels that provides the brilliance and purity of their color.

We cannot truly understand God apart from understanding His holiness.  The place to start in knowing God is His holiness.  Understanding His holiness is the springboard of the knowledge of God, it is the platform from which we must start.  It is the platform for our understanding of all His other attributes, His actions, His motives; and is the backdrop against which we should view them.

The holiness of God is the least known, least understood, least appreciated, and therefore the least valued of all His attributes; but, yet, it is His most important attribute. God always acts in accordance with His holiness; and how often is that overlooked or misunderstood.

The foundation of our reverence for God is our understanding of His holiness.  We revere (or fear) Him to the extent that we view Him as holy.  We only understand the sinfulness of our sin in light of our understanding of His holiness.  The issue of man's separation from God is due to the fact that He is holy and we are not, and it is God's requirement for man (Leviticus 11:44, I Peter 1:15-16, Psalm 5:4-7).

Oh, the abounding grace of God, that we would be made clean through the washing of water by the word, and clothed in the perfect righteousness of His Son.  Though our sins are as scarlet, they shall be made white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they will be like wool...all through the blood of the Lamb.

Father, show us your holiness, so that we will treat You as holy.  Show us Your holiness so that we may properly revere You and Your name.  Give us understanding, O Lord, so that we may appropriately order our lives.  Teach us about Your holiness, O Lord, so that we may worship You as You and You alone deserve.  Amen.

The Church

The Church should not accommodate man,

it should, however, accommodate God.

Understanding the Gospel

For people to know when they hear another gospel they must first know and understand the true gospel.  For us as pastors, that means we need to be preaching the gospel well enough, often enough, and thoroughly enough so that our people will be grounded in the gospel.  As Hebrews 5:14 indicates, it is the knowledge and practice of the truth that gives discernment.

The gospel is the message of salvation, what God has done in the person of Christ to provide for forgiveness of sins and reconciliation to men.  The gospel is not having our problems fixed, dealing successfully with stress, being a better _______, overcoming addictions, or overcoming our past; it has nothing to do with health or wealth, prosperity or poverty, unleashing the champion inside every person, thinking positive thoughts, or feeling better about ourselves; and it does not include anything that man can, must, or should do to add to what God has accomplished through Christ. 

Overcoming addictions does not save.  Being a better _________, does not save.  Feeling better about yourself does not save.  Making peace with your past does not save.  Only one thing saves, and that is placing the entirety of your trust on what God has already done in Christ as complete and sufficient for the salvation of your soul.  Anything less does not save, and anything more does not save. 

The Scriptures are saturated with the gospel.  Preach and teach through them, in context, and the gospel in all its richness and fullness will be presented; and your people will come to know, understand, and appreciate it.  People who know and understand the gospel are the ones most likely to share it, and they will be rooted and grounded in their own spiritual life. 

Redeeming the Time

How then do we redeem time, and how are we redeemed from time?  On the one hand, we rdeem the time by living out our lives according to our gifts and callings, thus serving God's purposes in our generation.  Those who live out their lives in this way do justice to the best of their time; and they live before all time because they live before God.

On the other hand, we redeem time by trusting the end of our time to the Lord and redeemer of time.  Ultimately, we redeem the time and are redeemed from time only through the One who is the redeemer of everything--He who is, the God who is the Lord of time and history and yet is  "the same yesterday today, and forever."

In St Augustine's description, God relates to us in time in ways that are "once for all [semel], all at one [simul], and always [semper]."  He is before our time, outside our time, and at the end of our time.  We can therefore each pray Augustine's celebrated prayer, which applies to time as much as any part of life:  "You have made us for Yourself, and our hearts are restless until they find their rest in You."

Thus until the day of our homecoming arrives, we continually trust that the Lord of time will redeem us at the end of time.  And in the meantime that is our lives, we live out our callings in the thick of things, and so set about redeeming time actively though imperfectly, as timely as untimely people can ever be.

Os Guiness
Prophetic Untimeliness
Pgs 118-119

A Little Weekend Humor

This lady reminds me of my grandmother on my Mother's side.  Pulls no punches.  A little fuzzy, but worth the read.

The Aim of Our Preaching

But the goal of our instruction is

love from a pure heart and a

good conscience and a sincere faith.

I Timothy 1:6

Is the goal of your preaching to give the shallow

feel-good that is fleeting at best; or is it to bring

the conviciton of sin, righteousness, and judgment,

that leads to the deeper feel-good which is permanent?

There is a preaching that promotes the feel-good of the flesh,

which is primarily emotional, and as such is a 'passing pleasure'. 

There is also a preaching that produces the feel-good of the spirit,

the peaceful fruit of righteousness, that comes about from being right

  with God, because the true issues of the soul have been dealt with.

Means of Sanctification

Sanctification, again, is a thing which depends greatly on a diligent use of scriptural means.  When I speak of 'means', I have in view Bible reading, private prayer, regular attendance in public worship, regular hearing of God's Word, and regular reception of the Lord's supper.  I lay it down as a simple matter of fact, that no one who careless about such things must ever expect to make much progress n sanctification.  I can find no record of any eminent saint who ever neglected them.  they are appointed channels through which the Holy Spirit conveys fresh supplies of grace to the soul, and strengthens the work which He has begun in the inward man.  Let men call this legal doctrine if they please, but I will never shrink from declaring my belief that there are no "spiritual gains without pains'.  I should as soon expect a farmer to prosper in business who contented himself with sowing his fields and never looking at them till harvest, as expect a believer to attain much holiness, who was not diligent about his Bible reading, his prayers and the use of his Sundays.  Our God is a God who works by means, and He will never bless the soul of that man who pretends to be so high and spiritual that he can get on without them.

J. C. Ryle
Holiness
page 20

Preaching Jesus

We must not underpreach Christ,

but we can never overpreach Him.

Al Mohler

Expositor's Conference

2011

The Value of Christ

Again, the kingdom of Heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls,
who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it.
Matthew 13:45-46

Jesus, the One thing worth everything!

Preaching Consecutively and Expositionally

My first exposure to Bible teaching after I became a Christian was through our Sunday School teacher who taught through the Bible, book by book and verse by verse; even though the pastor preached topically.  My greatest anticipation each Sunday was not the service, but the Sunday School class, because I knew I would hear from God through His word.

This experience, and listening to other expository preachers and comparing their sermons against the topical kind, led me to my personal conviction about following a consecutive exposition format in my own preaching and teaching.  Yes, I occasionally preach a topical message or even a topical series, but the overwhelming majority of the time I preach expositionally.  Attached below is a link to a post on why to preach consecutive expositions, and the author explains each point well.

http://thegoodbookblog.com/2011/sep/07/7-reasons-in-support-of-consecutive-exposition-of-/

The Cross and The Resurrection

Because of the resurrection:

The Cross is not a symbol of grief, but a symbol of joy.
The Cross is not a symbol of defeat, but a symbol of victory.
The Cross is not a symbol of despair, but a symbol of hope.

Gospel Tears

One of the great themes running through the Scriptures is joy.  The words joy, rejoice, and rejoicing are used 349 times in the Bible.  This theme of joy, as all other themes, is subservient to and draws its life from the greatest theme in the Scriptures, the redemption of unworthy men and women by God, through Christ.  It is the reflecting upon this greatest theme and understanding this greatest theme that should bring us joy.  There are occasions when our reflection and understanding bring about such a profound appreciation and joy that we are moved to tears, tears of joy and celebration and thanksgiving.

Also, in considering the greatest theme, we should be moved to compassion, compassion for the lost, the other men and women with whom we have shared that lost condition that is common to every person ever born on the planet.  In considering their lostness in light of the understanding of our salvation we are moved to tears; tears of compassion that move us to plead with God...them too, Lord, them too.  I was once as vile they, once as wicked as they, once as much a God-hater as they, once as much a sin-reveler as they; so in having mercy upon me, have mercy upon them.

May we all reflect upon our great salvation, the greatness of our Savior, and be moved to gospel tears.

The Oversight of Souls

Of this church I was made a minister according

to the stewardship from God bestowed on me

for your benefit, so that I might fully carry out

the preaching of the word of God.

(And how does he fully carry out the preaching

of the word of God, that stewardship?)

We proclaim Him, admonishing every man

and teaching every man with all wisdom,

so that we may present every man complete

in Christ.  For this purpose also I labor,

striving according to His power, which

mightily works in me.

Colossians 1:25, 28-29

"If pastoral ministry is going to thrive in our churches we need to regain an understanding of the centrality of the oversight of souls.  In fact, I will argue that the heart of pastoral ministry is this attentive care of souls....The renewed emphasis on substantive preaching in many quarters is to be celebrated, but preaching is not the heart of pastoral ministry; rather, preaching is an outflow of oversight.  We do not guard souls in order to preach.  Rather we preach as one means of guarding souls.

Our central task is not managing good programs, drawing large crowds, or even delivering powerful messages ( to these I would add, even vision-casting).  Our central task is shepherding souls as they depart the City of Destruction and hazard their way toward the Celestial City.

It is so easy to forget this or to miss it altogether.  When we do, all else is skewed.  Ministry to masses can overshadow the needs of individuals, programs can replace people, and sermons can become lightweight pep talks or, even when soundly biblical, they can end up abstract lectures which fail to provide real guidance for people as they struggle with sin, self, and Satan."

Ray Van Neste

The Care for Souls:

Reconsidering Pastoral Ministry in Southern Baptists and Evangelical Contexts

Southern Baptists, Evangelicals, and the Future of Denominationalism

Pages 114-115

As preachers we can preach in order to pastor, or we can be a pastor in order to preach.  There is a substantive difference in the two, both in focus, and in outcome.  We must focus on preaching and teaching pastorally, with an outcome that is focused on the individual souls that God has put under our care.  The quality of our sermons will ultimately be manifested and measured by the completeness in Christ likeness of the souls under our charge.  So are we preaching to preach, or our we preaching to pastor?  A good question for us all.

All Italics Mine

The Great Revealer

But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage

that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper

will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you.

And He, when He comes, will convict the world

concerning sin, righteousness, and judgment;

concerning sin, because they do not believe in Me.

John 16:7-9

...but that the proclamation of Christ is the great revealer of sin, the great distinguisher of men.  When Christ is preached, the touchstone is applied, and men are convicted of being sinners and of the depths and hideousness of their sin by their exhibited attitude toward the Son of God....There is no revelation of character so accurate, so powerful, so unmistakable, so inevitable, as that wrapped up in the simple question, "What think ye of Christ?" ...And all who come not are demonstrated to be sinners, and the depth of their sin is thus revealed.

Benjamin B. Warfield
The Person and Work of the Holy Spirit
Page 20

The Gospel-the Message of Evangelism and Discipleship

...we should recall that Paul did not write any evangelistic works.  He addressed all his writing to Christians who already believed the gospel.  He did not write to make converts, but to teach disciples who already believed.  Each church had a different set of issues.  Groups within churches had different issues.  Whether the issues involved worship, doctrine, leadership, ethics, stewardship, spiritual gifts, marriage or anything else, Paul always rooted his teaching in the gospel.  The gospel is not only the message of how to be saved, it is also the message of how to be saved.  It is the message of both evangelism and discipleship.  All Christian doctrine and practice have their basis in the gospel.  Practices and beliefs of Christians that are not rooted in the gospel are not Christian.  They may be cultural or personal, but all Christian belief and practice comes as an implication of the gospel.

Harry L. Poe
Recovering the Gospel for the Twenty-first Century
Southern Baptists, Evangelicals, and the Future of Denominationalism
Page 157

An Established Purpose

Remember this, and be assured;

recall it to mind, you transgressors.

Remember the former things long past,

for I am God, and there is no other;

I am God, and there is no one like Me,

declaring the end from the beginning,

and from ancient times things which

have not been done, saying,

 "My purpose will be established,

and I will accomplish all My good pleasure."

Isaiah 46:8-10

If God has declared the end from the beginning,

then He must be working all things together

toward that end.



Hatred of Christ

He who hates Me hates My Father also.

...but now they have both seen and hated

Me and My Father as well.  But they have

done this to fulfill the word that was written

in their Law, "They hated Me without a cause."

John 15:23-25

Nowhere is the awful depravity of fallen man

more evidenced than in his hatred of that which

is pure, lovely, good, and holy.

A. W. Pink

Our Focus for Daily Living

Is Christ the focus of your faith, not just

 for salvation, but for daily living as well.?

Being Justified

We can never be more justified

than what we have been declared

to be by God.  There is nothing we

can do to make ourselves more justified

in His sight, nothing we can do to add

to our justification. 

Being Fulfilled

Our spiritual lives will not be fulfilling

unless we are consistently overcoming sin.

The Gospel and Sanctification

A clear understanding and appropriation of

the gospel, which give freedom from sin's

guilt and sins grip, is, in the hands of  the

Holy Spirit, a chief means of sanctification.

Jerry Bridges

The Discipline of Grace

Page 110

Making a Disciple

Training up a disciple is imparting--molding--developing.

It has to do with character, knowledge, attitude, desires,

.....a way of thinking and viewing life.

Speaking the Gospel

For our people to be able to speak

the gospel, they must know the gospel;

and to really know the gospel, they must

consistently hear the gospel.

The Emphasis in Church Planting

Jesus did not command His church to go plant churches--

even biblically sound ones; He commanded us to make

disciples and teach them to observe all that He has

commanded.  Certainly, planting churches is a natural

part of the process, but the emphasis is on  making

disciples and teaching them.

David Sills

Reaching and Teaching

Page 149

Contextualization or Marketing?

Some people mistaknely believe that contextualization means changing aspects of Christianity to make it look like the culture, but contextualization is simply the process of making the gospel understood.  To ensure that our hearers understand the gospel, we must use their language rather than our own, if ours is nonsense to them.  However, this does not mean that mimicking the profane vocabulary or lifestyles of the unchurched is an appropriate use of contextualization.  The only reason to communicate in this way would be if the local culture communicated so much in this manner that no message would make sense otherwise.  Television programs without such inapproprate language would require subtitles for them so people could understand the message.  Of course, there is no culture where this is the case.  In fact, much of what many call contextualization is simply an effort to be trendy and edgy.  It may be effective, it may even attract a hearing among a certain demographic, and it may not be offensive to all hearers, but that is not contextualizing the gospel; that it marketing.

David Sills
Reaching and Teaching
Page 195

A Thought on Prayer

What is prevalent in our thinking,

will be prevalent in our praying.

Matthew 6:25-34

No Joy in that Day

In the book of Revelation, the word joy never occurs.  However, the word wrath is used eleven times.

The Heart of Lostness

What we must constantly remember is that this human inability to understand spiritual things is a culpable inability.  It is not that God makes us constitutionally unable to understand Him, and then toys with us for His own amusement. Rather, He has made us for Himself, but we have run from Him.  The heart of our lostness is our profound self-focus.  We do not want to know Him, if knowing Him is on His terms.  We are happy to have a God we can more or less manipulate; we do not want a God to whom we admit that we are rebels in heart and mind, that we do not deserve His favor, and that our only hope is in His pardoning and transforming grace.  We certainly cannot fathom a powerful Creator who takes the place of an odious criminal in order to save us from the judgment we deserve.

Don Carson
The Cross and Christian Ministry
Page 58

Presenting the Gospel

In presenting the gospel, if we leave out all that

 God has done in effecting and securing our

  salvation, then salvation becomes a work of

  man--something man does on his own.
(Thus a man-centered gospel)

Saving faith is not having confidence and

dependence on something we have done as

if something we do is the genesis of salvation;
but saving faith is an active acquiescing to, and an
 active acceptance of, what God has done in Christ.

So when presenting the gospel we must present

what God has done, what God has accomplished,

as the object of faith.  The object of saving faith is

not what we can do, but is what God has wrought
(brought to completion) in Christ.
(Thus a God-centered gospel)

Understanding the Cross

"We cannot get a glimmering of an understanding

of what the New Testament understands by

Christ's atoning work unless we see that God

is hostile to every evil thing and every evil person."

Leon Morris

The Atonement

Its Meaning and Significance

Page 138

Peace and Unity

This is another repost.

As believers we are to "Let the peace of Christ rule in our hearts," (Colossians 3:15). So often we see this verse either ignored or misapplied, and it is because of a misunderstanding or a false assumption of what this peace is. So let's see if we can garner a better, a correct understanding of what the peace of Christ is and how it is manifested in our lives.

First off, this verse is in the middle of a section where Paul is talking about our common ground in Christ because He is all and is in all (3:11), and how this is manifested in our life in the church in how we treat and respond to one another in the body. So its primary application is for believers in the context of church life. So this peace of Christ is to rule, act as arbiter or umpire, in our dealings and interactions with other believers, especially those in our local body.

Secondly, what is this peace that Christ has, that is to be the umpire of our hearts, and how did we come to possess it? In John 14:27 Christ says, "Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you." So we see that it is Christ, Himself, that has given us His peace, and we have this peace because He has come and taken up residence in our heart; and we have become partakers of the divine nature (II Peter 1:4). The peace of Christ is the peace between Him and the Father. There was no enmity between the Father and the Son because Jesus always did the things that were pleasing to the Father (John 4:34, 5:30, 8:28-29, 8:42, 12:49, 14:10, 17:4, Matthew 3:17). Because of His perfect obedience to the Father there was unity and harmony between them with peace being the by-product of that unity and harmony. Christ had the same unity and harmony with the Father in His life here upon the earth that He had with the Father in eternity past. This is why Jesus could say, "I and the Father are One." (John 10:30, 17:11, 22-23). The body of Christ is to have and manifest the same unity and harmony within itself that exists between Christ and the Father (John 17:20-23).

Before salvation we were at enmity with God, we were His very enemies (Romans 5:10), but God reconciled us to Himself through His Son (Romans 5:10, II Corinthians 5:18-19). The Father and the Son were at perfect peace, so that, "Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." (Romans 5:29). So when we let the peace of Christ rule in our hearts it means that we are not to do anything that would disrupt our peace with our heavenly Father. Our peace with Him should guide our decision making and govern our responses. Within the context of this section of Colossians we see this worked out in our compassion, gentleness, kindness, humility, patience, forbearance, forgiveness, and love within the body of Christ. We have peace with God and one another as we practice these Christian graces mentioned here; and it should then be a part of our life so that, "As far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men." (Romans 12:18).

However, this peace, the peace of Christ, is not a peace at the expense of righteousness, or peace at the expense of the truth. It does not compromise righteousness or truth, but instead it is a peace at the expense of the self, at the expense of personal "rights", at the expense of personal desires, at the expense of personal comfort. It is a peace at the expense of personal ambitions, personal glory, at the expense of personal achievements, or personal recognition. It is peace because we have given up ourselves, and is part of taking up our cross daily and following after (living in like manner) Him, who gave Himself up.

So, first, be sure that you are at peace with God through faith in His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. Then pray a prayer of thanksgiving to God for establishing peace with you, His enemy, and reconciling you to Himself through the blood of the cross. Now live a life of peace with God through how you live your life with others in the body, and in the world; but not at the expense of righteousness or the truth.

Love and Unity

This is a repost.

Biblical love is far deeper than a love dependent merely on feelings and emotions. Rather, it is a love that flows from the very soul and character of the individual. It comes from the person's decision to love, not from his feelings. In fact, many times the decision to love will run contrary to the feelings one possesses. Biblical love is the love of God that has been poured out into the heart, and then given from that heart to others.

This kind of love is the basis of unity as true unity does not come from a denial of differences, but from a forebearing with one another in spite of the differences. It is the love that gives, that covers, that bears, that endures, that believes. This is the love that overwhelmingly conquers. This love then enables us to be united one with another; not due to a common cause, but because of a common love.

Ephesians 4:1-3

Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk

in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called,

with all humility and gentleness, showing forebearance to one another

in love, being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

Doing Church

When how we do church is culturally determined

rather than biblically prescribed, we will tend to

depend on the rightness of our methodology

instead of the righteousness of our lives.

The Book

For you to truly master the Scriptures,

they must first master you.