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Is This One Key Reason That Many Christians and Churches Today Are Weak?

June 24, 2013

Acts 15 and 20 record two instances of ministry in the early churches that many Christians and churches today think would not be proper for believers in most cases. In many churches, such ministry would be strongly unwelcome, and many people would not tolerate it if their pastors or other ministers would choose to minister to them in this way.

A close look at these accounts, however, suggests that such ministry would be highly profitable for all believers in every church. The following treatment of these passages examines whether the lack of such ministry is one key reason that many Christians and churches today are weak.

Acts 15

Following the Jerusalem Council, the church at Jerusalem sent Judas and Silas along with Paul and Barnabas to Antioch (Acts 15:22). They sent with these men a letter that related the Council’s determinations (Acts 15:23-29).

Arriving in Antioch, these men gathered with the congregation there and brought joy to them through the encouragement that the letter provided (Acts 15:30-31). Because Judas and Silas were also prophets, they further ministered to the brethren (Acts 15:32).

Luke specifies that these two men “exhorted the brethren with many words, and confirmed them” (Acts 15:32). Through proclaiming a lengthy message to the congregation, these ministers encouraged and strengthened them.

In many churches today, however, long messages are not welcome. Some church leaders even assert that if you cannot say what you have to say in a fairly short amount of time (for example, some say messages should be about 30 minutes long), you are not properly ministering the Word to people.

The example of Judas and Silas in Acts 15 refutes such viewpoints and supports holding that believers today need lengthy messages to encourage and strengthen them. An account of Paul’s ministry in Acts 20 confirms this assessment about what we need as believers today.

Acts 20

In Troas, Paul and eight other men who had accompanied him (Sopater, Aristarchus, Secundus, Gaius, Timothy, Tychichus, Trophimus, and Luke; Acts 20:4 cf. “we” in Acts 20:6) met with other believers on the first day of the week to observe the Lord’s Supper (“break bread”; Acts 20:7a). Paul began preaching to them, with the intent that he would leave the next day (Acts 20:7b).

Paul prolonged his message until midnight (Acts 20:7c). Undoubtedly, Paul, therefore, preached to them for at least more than an hour and probably for much longer than that.

A young man named Eutychus fell asleep during Paul’s lengthy message and fell out the window from the third floor (Acts 20:8-9). Although the believers thought that he had died (Acts 20:9), Paul “fell on him, and embracing him” assured them that he was still living (Acts 20:10; cf. 20:12).

Amazingly, Paul then returned back upstairs to observe the Lord’s Supper with the brethren (Acts 20:11a) and then continued to minister to them “for a long while, even till break of day” (Acts 20:11b) and then departed (Acts 20:11c).

In most churches today, if a preacher were to preach for an hour before observing the Lord’s Supper with the congregation, many people in the churches would complain about the length of the message and many likely over time would stop coming to those churches. Paul, however, did not just preach for more than an hour before observing the Lord’s Supper with them—he continued to preach to them for quite some time after eating the Lord’s Supper with them!

What’s more, the near tragic fall of a young man in the congregation who fell asleep because of the length of Paul’s initial message did not deter Paul from further ministering to the believers after the young man had fallen. In most churches today, the occurrence of something even remotely similar to what happened with Eutychus would be prime evidence that many believers would use to argue strongly that the preacher should not preach so long that young people in the church fall asleep because of the length of the message.

Christians Today Need Lengthy Messages to Encourage and Strengthen Them

The scriptural record in Acts 15 and 20 of preaching ministry in the early church shows that the apostolic company believed that Christians back then needed lengthy messages to encourage and strengthen them. Similar indications of an apostolic viewpoint that people need lengthy ministry include the following:

(1) “And with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying, Save yourselves from this untoward generation” [Acts 2:40], which shows that Peter continued preaching for a long time after preaching the message that we have recorded in Acts 2:14-39.

(2) “And I beseech you, brethren, suffer the word of exhortation: for I have written a letter unto you in few words” [Heb. 13:22], which reveals that the writer of Hebrews considered the entire book of more than 300 verses to be a brief message! What, then, must he have thought would comprise a lengthy message?

Based on this biblical data and the widespread consensus that the Church has great needs among its people today, I believe that a key reason that many Christians and churches are weak today is because they are unwilling to endure lengthy preaching of the Word. Let us allow these passages from Scripture to renew our minds so that we will eagerly embrace lengthy ministry of the Word to us from God’s appointed ministers whenever He directs them to minister in such a way to us!

In Exhortation, Exposition, Preaching

How Numbers 11:17 Helps Us Understand How to Bear One Another’s Burdens

June 21, 2013

Numbers 11:17 provides profound revelation about Moses that we are not given in any of the preceding accounts about Moses in the Pentateuch. It appears also to give us important insight about how we are to bear one another’s burdens.

God’s Provision of Seventy Elders to Assist Moses

Numbers 11 begins with a report of God’s judging His people for their complaining about some unspecified hardships that they were experiencing (Num. 11:1-3). Following that sobering account, Moses tells of how the mixed multitude and the Israelites complained about their no longer having some of the foods that they used to enjoy in Egypt (Num. 11:4-6).

After three verses describing the manna and what the Israelites did with it (Num. 11:7-9), Moses records how he himself complained to God about the difficulties he was having to endure because God had laid the burdens of all these sinning people on him (Num. 11:10-13). He told the Lord that he was unable to bear all these people alone because the burden of doing so was too heavy for him (Num. 11:14).

Moses even asked God to kill him because the strain was so great upon him (Num. 11:15)! The Lord responded by instructing him to gather unto him 70 elders from Israel and bring them into the tabernacle with him (Num. 11:16).

The Lord then made a striking statement about what He was going to do so that Moses would no longer have to bear the burden of the people by himself:

“And I will come down and talk with thee there: and I will take of the spirit which is upon thee, and will put it upon them; and they shall bear the burden of the people with thee, that thou bear it not thyself alone” (Num. 11:17).

Saying this, He revealed key information about Moses that merits close attention for several reasons.

The First Revelation in Scripture That the Holy Spirit Was Upon Moses

Scripture first speaks of Moses in Exodus 2. From Exodus 2 to Numbers 10, Scripture provides far more information about Moses than about any other person—Moses is mentioned by name 394 times in these 76 chapters.

In spite of that wealth of Scriptural revelation about Moses, we are not told that the Holy Spirit was upon Moses until the statement recorded in Numbers 11:17. Undoubtedly, the Spirit was upon Moses and others long before the incidents that are recorded in Numbers 11 took place (cf. Is. 63:9-14), but for reasons about which we have no information, God chose not to reveal that fact in Scripture until this point.

The Holy Spirit Was the One Who Had Been Enabling Moses to Bear the Burdens of the People

Numbers 11:17 does not just teach us that God’s Spirit was upon Moses; it also shows us that the Spirit was upon Him to enable him to bear the burdens of the people. Sound theological reasoning would imply this truth even if we did not have this statement, but these words make that truth clear.

Moreover, because God had decided that He would provide 70 additional people who would help Moses bear those burdens from this point onward, He said that He would take of the Spirit that He had put upon Moses and put Him on them as well. Through their also having the Spirit upon them, they would have the enablement necessary for them to help Moses bear the burden of the people so that he would not have to do so alone.

The Holy Spirit Is the One Who Enables Us to Bear the Burdens of Others

The teaching of Numbers 11:17 reveals that the 70 men who would help Moses bear the burden of the people would do so through the Spirit’s being upon them. Based on that teaching, the closely parallel New Testament teaching in Galatians 5-6 suggests the same is true for us, as follows.

At the end of Galatians 5, Paul commands believers to walk in the Spirit so that they will not fulfill the lust of the flesh (Gal. 5:16). He reiterates that teaching with a mutual exhortation to walk in the Spirit (Gal. 5:25).

He then commands those who are spiritual to restore anyone who is overtaken in a fault (Gal. 6:1). The flow of thought from 5:16-25 and the nature of this ministry to fellow believers requires spiritual in 6:1 to mean more than just a person who is a believer.

Rather, it means someone who is walking in the Spirit (Gal. 5:16, 25), being led by Him (Gal. 5:18), and manifesting His fruit in his life (Gal. 5:22-23). Only such a person is able to restore those who have yielded to temptation (implied in Galatians 6:1 by the words, “lest thou also be tempted”), even as the Israelites spoken of in Numbers 11:1-10 had fallen into complaining against God.

To such spiritual people, Paul further commands, “Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ” (Gal. 6:2). This command appears to parallel conceptually the role that the 70 elders had in aiding Moses.

Through the Holy Spirit, We Must Bear One Another’s Burdens

Numbers 11:17 in its context compared with Galatians 6:1-2 in its context points to the key to our being enabled to bear one another’s burdens—the fullness of Holy Spirit’s work in us. Let us actively care for those who have been overtaken in faults by being the people of the Spirit that God commands us to be (Gal. 5:16-6:5)!

In Discipleship, Exhortation, Exposition, Theology

Is Scripture Silent about Musical Styles That Are Inherently Unacceptable to God?

June 10, 2013

Many believers today hold that Scripture does not have any teaching about musical styles that are inherently unacceptable to God. This post treats several passages to assess the validity of this common viewpoint.

The Singing of Fools

Solomon declares, “It is better to hear the rebuke of the wise, than for a man to hear the song of fools [Heb. kesil]” (Eccl. 7:5). Many will argue that he does not say that it is wrong to hear the song of fools; it is just better to hear the rebuke of the wise. In addition, they will also argue that “the song of fools” refers to the foolishness of the people doing the singing and the content of what they sing, but it does not say anything about the style with which they sing.

We know from other Scripture that these fools [Heb. kesil] reject the truth that God hears and sees (Ps. 94:8-9). Thus, they sing without taking any heed to divine accountability for what and how they sing.

These fools hate knowledge (Prov. 1:22) and reject the reproof of God and His offer to pour out His Spirit upon them (Prov. 1:23). What they sing, therefore, certainly is not the product of the Spirit’s filling.

Doing mischief is like a sport to them (Prov. 10:23) and their hearts proclaim folly (Prov. 12:23). To depart from evil is an abomination to them (Prov. 13:19).

These fools rage and are confident in their evil ways (Prov. 14:16). The hearts of these fools are in “the house of mirth” (Eccl. 7:4), signifying that they are eager seekers of pleasure. We can be certain that such fools would pursue and employ perverse ways of singing and even seek to devise conspicuously evil music.

Based on the teaching of Scripture about fools, we can be certain that “the song of fools” is something that the Spirit would never produce in people whom He fills (Eph. 5:18-19). Any singing, therefore, that mimics or tries to adapt “the song of fools” somehow for Christian worship would clearly be unacceptable to God.

The Singing of Drunkards

David testifies that he was “the song of the drunkards” (Ps. 69:12). As with Ecclesiastes 7:5, some people will argue that this statement only speaks about those who did the singing and the unacceptable content of what they sang and not about the style of their singing.

Because being drunk, however, entails not having proper mental awareness and a lack of proper control of oneself, this statement does not just refer to the unacceptability of the people who sang and what they sang. Their style of singing was also unacceptable because it was produced by people whose minds could not properly control their bodies to sing acceptably.

Amos 6:4-8 records the musical improprieties of people who were in Zion who drank wine abundantly. Correlating Psalm 69:12 with Amos 6:4-8 points to the ungodliness of both what these drunkards (Ps. 69:12) sing and how they sing it. (For more on the teaching of Amos 6 about music, see The Relevance of Amos 6 for the Music Debates of Our Day.)

Obviously, “the song of the drunkards” was not the product of Spirit-filling (Eph. 5:18-19). Mimicking or adapting their style to Christian worship certainly would be unacceptable to God.

The Singing of a Harlot

Isaiah prophesied that Tyre would “sing as an harlot” (Is. 23:15). He provides further information about such singing by saying, “Take an harp, go about the city, thou harlot that hast been forgotten; make sweet melody, sing many songs, that thou mayest be remembered” (Is. 23:16).

A harlot, by biblical definition, engaged in immoral behavior. In keeping with the mercenary goal of her activities, she used every means possible to enhance her sensuality and seductive appeal to maximize her earnings (cf. Luke 15:13, 30).

To “sing as an harlot,” therefore, cannot be limited only to the identity of the woman and the sensuality of the lyrics (cf. Prov. 6:24; 7:21) that she sings. It necessarily entails as well the maximized sensuality of her dress (Prov. 7:10; Jer. 4:30; Ezek. 16:16) and her makeup/ jewelry/hairstyle/ facial expressions (Prov. 6:25; 7:13; Jer. 4:30; Ezek. 16:39; 23:40; cf. Is. 3:16-26).

Moreover, her bodily movements (cf. the unstated but clear sensuality of the dancing of Herodias’ daughter [Matt. 14:6-7]) and vocal techniques were specifically designed to maximize her sexual appeal (for an example of the sensual use of vocal techniques, listen to this audio of a woman who sings Happy Birthday sensually).

It also involved her playing a musical instrument (“take a harp”) and having an extensive repertoire (“sing many songs”). She was one who in fact was skilled “to make sweet melody.”

Thus, her singing was skillful and beautiful to hear, but it was also sensual to the core. Such music patently could never be the product of the Spirit’s filling a believer.

From this analysis of biblical teaching about harlots, we certainly can conclude that to “sing as an harlot” is a style that is unacceptable to God because of its sensuality. Any Christian music, whether traditional or CCM, that has even the slightest similarity to the music produced by those who “sing as an harlot” is unacceptable to God.

Conclusion

Contrary to much popular thinking among believers today, Scripture is not silent about musical styles that are unacceptable to God. The Spirit-filled music that God demands from believers who seek to worship Him corporately does not have any likeness to the songs of fools, drunkards, or harlots.

Those who have created and popularized worldly styles of music such as rock ‘n’ roll display numerous characteristics of the fools whose song Scripture refers to (Eccl. 7:5). Typically, the producers of these worldly styles are also given to drunkenness, and immorality abounds among them.

Christian churches should not imitate the musical styles that any such fools, drunkards, and harlots employ when they sing in ways that manifest the flesh at work in man (Gal. 5:19-21). Filled with the Holy Spirit (Eph. 5:18), those who have allowed the word of Christ to dwell in them richly (Col. 3:16), including the passages about music that were treated above, will sing in a style that is distinct from these reprobates and is acceptable to God (Eph. 5:19; Col. 3:16).

In CCM, Exposition, Music, Theology

Is God’s Blessing of the Rechabites for Abstaining from Alcohol Relevant for the Contemporary Alcohol Debate?

June 7, 2013

Jeremiah 35 records a fascinating account of God’s dealings with the Rechabites and with Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. Because the Rechabites’ abstention from drinking wine was a key reason for God’s blessing them, this post examines the issue of the relevance of this account for the contemporary debate among believers about the propriety of drinking alcohol.

Divine Initiative in Testing the Obedience of the Rechabites

God directed Jeremiah to bring the Rechabites into the house of the Lord and “give them wine to drink” (Jer. 35:1-2). Jeremiah obeyed and brought them all into a chamber of the sons of “a man of God” (Jer. 35:3-4).

He set before them a large quantity of wine and cups and told them, “Drink ye wine” (Jer. 35:5). They refused, saying that they would not drink any wine because “Jonadab the son of Rechab our father commanded us saying, ‘Ye shall drink no wine, neither ye, nor your son for ever’” (Jer. 35:6).

They also spoke of the other things that he had commanded them to do that they might “live many days in the land where [they were] strangers” (Jer. 35:7). They then affirmed, “Thus have we obeyed the voice of Jonadab the son of Rechab our father in all that he hath charged us, to drink no wine all our days, we, our wives, our sons, nor our daughters (Jer. 35:8).

They further related their total obedience to what their father had commanded them (Jer. 35:9-10) and how they now had come to dwell in Jerusalem (Jer. 35:11).

Divine Initiative in Rebuking Judah and the Inhabitants of Jerusalem Based on the Obedience of the Rechabites

Following the testing of the Rechabites, the Lord instructed Jeremiah to go to the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem and rebuke them (Jer. 35:13). Central in that rebuke was the Lord’s highlighting how the obedience of the Rechabites contrasted starkly with the disobedience of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem:

Jer 35:14 The words of Jonadab the son of Rechab, that he commanded his sons not to drink wine, are performed; for unto this day they drink none, but obey their father’s commandment: notwithstanding I have spoken unto you, rising early and speaking; but ye hearkened not unto me.

15 I have sent also unto you all my servants the prophets, rising up early and sending them, saying, Return ye now every man from his evil way, and amend your doings, and go not after other gods to serve them, and ye shall dwell in the land which I have given to you and to your fathers: but ye have not inclined your ear, nor hearkened unto me.

Because of their disobedience and because of the shameful contrast between the Rechabites’ obedience of their father’s commands and Judah’s disobedience of the Lord’s commands, the Lord pronounced fierce judgment upon His people (Jer. 35:16-17).

Divine Pronouncement of Blessing on the Rechabites

After pronouncing the Lord’s upcoming judgment on Judah and all Jerusalem, Jeremiah declared the Lord’s blessing on the Rechabites:

Jer 35:18 Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Because ye have obeyed the commandment of Jonadab your father, and kept all his precepts, and done according unto all that he hath commanded you:

¹⁹ Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Jonadab the son of Rechab shall not want a man to stand before me for ever.

Because they had obeyed their father’s directives, God promised to bless the Rechabites forever! Thus, the Rechabites who had abstained perpetually from drinking wine because their father had commanded them to do so were greatly rewarded for their obedience.

Is This Account Relevant for the Contemporary Debate about Alcohol Consumption?

This account relates how a group of people perpetually obeyed directives given to them by their forefather for their good (Jer. 35:7). The passage provides no clear indication for the specifics of why he had commanded them to do so.

Furthermore, stylistically, although it does mention and reiterate that there were several commands that the Rechabites had obeyed, the account focuses special attention in at least two ways on the command for them to abstain from drinking wine. First, God specifically tests their obedience concerning only this command (Jer. 35:1-11). Second, God refers specifically only to this command when He rebukes His own people (Jer. 35:12-17).

These observations suggest to me that this account that records divine blessing for obeying parental admonition not to drink alcohol provides biblical justification for fathers today to direct their children authoritatively not to drink alcohol. Moreover, the account also provides justification for children to heed that admonition regardless of how much pressure they may get from others who tell them that their parents’ instruction to them is “legalistic,” contrary to “the gospel,” unbiblical, and does not need to be followed.

If your parents have instructed you to abstain from alcohol consumption, you will honor God and bring blessing on yourself by doing so. Doing so for your entire life, you will bring them joy in their old age by having treasured their instruction that will preserve you from ever suffering the great harm that alcohol consumption has brought to multitudes of families in human history.

In Discipleship, Exposition, Theology

How God’s Amazing Protection of a Philistine King Should Affect Our Praying

June 1, 2013

Genesis 20 relates Abraham’s initial (recorded) encounter with Abimelech king of Gerar. Through studying the record of God’s confrontation of Abimelech after this encounter, we should learn how His amazing protection of this Philistine king should affect our praying.

ABRAHAM’S ENCOUNTER WITH ABIMELECH

Although this account involves God, Abraham, Sarah, Abimelech, all his servants, and even sheep and oxen, its main characters are God, Abimelech, and Abraham.

Abraham Lies to Abimelech about Sarah

Because Sarah, Abraham’s wife, was very beautiful (cf. Gen. 12:14), Abraham feared for his life as he traveled through pagan places (Gen. 20:11). He instructed Sarah to say that he was her brother (Gen. 20:13c), which was partially true because she was his half-sister (Gen. 20:12).

While they were staying in Gerar (Gen. 20:1), Abraham said that Sarah was his sister (Gen. 20:2a). As a result, Abimelech sent and took Sarah (Gen. 20:2b).

God Confronts Abimelech in a Dream

In a dream at night, God confronted Abimelech with the surety of his dying (Gen. 20:3; cf. 20:7) because of what he had done: “Behold, thou art but a dead man, for the woman which thou hast taken; for she is a man’s wife” (20:3). Abimelech, however, had not yet come near her and asked the Lord if He would “slay also a righteous nation?” (20:4).

Asking this question, he queried the Lord in a remarkably similar fashion to how Abraham had earlier pled with the Judge of the all the earth about His righteous dealings with the righteous and the wicked (Gen. 18:23-32). Through this inquiry, Abimelech asserted to the Lord that he believed that he was righteous in what he had done regarding Sarah.

Furthermore, he protested to the Lord that Abraham had said that she was his sister and that Sarah herself also said that he was her brother (Gen. 20:5a-b). Remarkably, he further asserted his uprightness in what he had done: “In the integrity of my heart and innocency of my hands have I done this” (20:5c).

God responded to him with an acknowledgement that he indeed had done what he did with integrity: “Yea, I know that thou didst this in the integrity of thy heart” (Gen. 20:6a-b). God did not, however, stop with this acknowledgement, for He added a profound revelation about His protection of him that he otherwise would never have known anything about: “For I also withheld thee from sinning against me: therefore suffered I thee not to touch her” (Gen. 20:6c-d). (Before considering this stunning revelation further, it is helpful to treat the rest of the account briefly.)

God then commanded Abimelech to restore Sarah to Abraham because he was a prophet, and informed him that Abraham would pray for him so that he would live (Gen. 20:7a). He also warned him that he and his entire household would surely die if he would not restore her (20:7b).

Abimelech Confronts Abraham

Following God’s dealing with him in a dream, Abimelech confronted Abraham about what he had done in bringing such a great sin on Abimelech and his kingdom (Gen. 20:8-10). Abraham explained that he thought that no one among them feared God and that they would kill him because of his wife (Gen. 20:11).

He added that Sarah actually was his half-sister and that she had become his wife (Gen. 20:12). He then explained the kindness that he had requested that Sarah would show him by saying that he was her brother wherever they would go (Gen. 20:13).

Abimelech Restores Sarah to Abraham

Abimelech did much more than just return Sarah to Abraham; he also gave Abraham sheep, oxen, and male and female servants (Gen. 20:14). Moreover, he gave him permission to settle in his land wherever he would like (Gen. 20:15) and 1000 pieces of silver on behalf of Sarah (Gen. 20:16).

God Heals Abimelech and His Household through Abraham’s Prayer

The account ends with God’s healing Abimelech and his entire household through Abraham’s praying for them (Gen. 20:17). They now bore children, after God had stopped closing their wombs because of Sarah (Gen. 20:18).

DISCUSSION

Several profound gems of truth are embedded in this otherwise somewhat obscure account. First, contrary to Abraham’s negative expectation, there was at least one person in Gerar (Abimelech) who did fear God and understood that it would have been sin for him to take another man’s wife. Long before the Ten Commandments had been given, therefore, even pagans knew that adultery was sin.

Second, somehow Abimelech knew and believed that the Lord was a righteous judge who would not slay a righteous nation. We are not told how this pagan king knew this information, but it is amazing that he knew it, believed it, and even appealed directly to God based on his belief of this truth!

Third, Abimelech protested to God his innocence in what he had done, and amazingly, God attested to his innocence. Yet, despite that divine attestation of his innocence, Abimelech had sinned by what he had unknowingly done.

Fourth, and perhaps most profoundly of all, this passage teaches us that God protected this pagan king from sinning against Him by keeping him from actually having relations with Sarah! We, therefore, learn that for His own purposes, God sometimes keeps even pagans from sinning against Him!

Furthermore, through God’s saying, “I also withheld thee from sinning” (Gen. 20:6), we learn that Abimelech’s not coming near Sarah was the result of both his integrity and God’s protection of him. Thus, the righteous actions of this lost man stemmed from a mysterious and fascinating interplay between human actions and divine working.

APPLICATION

The teaching of this passage suggests many applications, some of which I may treat in other posts. At this time, I would like to focus on its implications for our praying as believers.

God kept Abimelech, a Philistine, from sinning unknowingly against Him by committing adultery with another man’s wife. Because God does not tell us exactly how He prevented him from doing so, we should conclude that our knowing that information is not as important as our noting what God did on behalf of this pagan man.

On that reading, our learning about God’s keeping this pagan from sinning against Him should motivate us to pray that God would keep us from sinning against Him! I have no doubt God that would be very pleased with His people who allow this passage to shape their prayer lives in this way.

I have begun to make the request that God would keep me from sinning against Him a regular part of my prayer life and encourage you to do the same thing.

In Discipleship, Exposition, Prayer, Theology

Christian Blogging Principles from Psalm 45:1

May 24, 2013

Obviously, blogging did not exist when Psalm 45 was written. Nevertheless, the Psalm opens with a statement that suggests some key blogging principles for Christians:

^KJVPsa 45:1 <To the chief Musician upon Shoshannim, for the sons of Korah, Maschil, A Song of loves.> My heart is inditing a good matter: I speak of the things which I have made touching the king: my tongue is the pen of a ready writer.

^NKJPsa 45:1 To the Chief Musician. Set to “The Lillies.” A Contemplation of the sons of Korah. A Song of Love. My heart is overflowing with a good theme; I recite my composition concerning the King; My tongue is the pen of a ready writer.

^NAUPsa 45:1 For the choir director; according to the Shoshannim. A Maskil of the sons of Korah. A Song of Love. My heart overflows with a good theme; I address my verses to the King; My tongue is the pen of a ready writer.

1. A Heart Overflowing with a Good Matter – “My heart is inditing a good matter:” (Ps. 45:1a)

A Christian blogger, like all Christians, must serve God with all his might (Eccl. 9:10). With his heart filled and overflowing by the work of God’s Spirit (Eph. 5:18), he writes about whatever good subject God burdens his heart.

2. A Message about the King – “I speak of the things which I have made touching the king:” (Ps. 45:1b)

A Spirit-filled blogger writes everything with his King in view and when his subject legitimately permits, he writes about his King. Such blogging, however, does not artificially insert content about the King where it is not fitting. Just as not all Scripture is explicitly about the King, neither does the Spirit-filled blogger write every blog explicitly about the King. In fact, he need not even mention the King directly, but whatever he writes will seek to make his readers disciples of the King (Matt. 28:19).

3. A Message Skillfully Written by a Prepared Writer – “my tongue is the pen of a ready writer” (Ps. 45:1c)

A Spirit-filled blogger writes with whatever skill God has given him and does so with the eagerness and willingness of one who has been called and discipled by God to write for the sake of the kingdom. Having acquired skill through diligence and experience, he diligently researches his subject and ponders carefully what he says (Eccl. 12:9).

He sets in order his blog post so that it skillfully communicates words of truth and uses words that communicate his delight in his subject (Eccl. 12:9-10). Through such writing, he teaches God’s people knowledge (Eccl. 12:9) and goads them to serve their King (Eccl. 12:11).

Christian Blogging to the Glory of God

Through posts written by Spirit-filled bloggers who manifest these principles in their writing, God desires to advance His kingdom and righteousness (cf. Matt. 6:33). May God grace all of us who blog to honor and glorify Him in these ways with what we write (1 Cor. 10:31).

In Discipleship, Exposition, Theology

Beware of Calling Other Believers “Pharisees”!

May 18, 2013

Calling other believers “Pharisees” is a very serious matter. An examination of Jesus’ dealings with the Pharisees shows why you should beware of doing so.

Jesus’ Rebuke of the Pharisees

Mark 7:1-13 records an incident when Jesus sternly rebuked the Pharisees. The incident began with the Pharisees asking Jesus why His disciples did not follow certain traditions:

Mar 7:1 Then came together unto him the Pharisees, and certain of the scribes, which came from Jerusalem.

² And when they saw some of his disciples eat bread with defiled, that is to say, with unwashen, hands, they found fault.

³ For the Pharisees, and all the Jews, except they wash their hands oft, eat not, holding the tradition of the elders.

⁴ And when they come from the market, except they wash, they eat not. And many other things there be, which they have received to hold, as the washing of cups, and pots, brasen vessels, and of tables.

⁵ Then the Pharisees and scribes asked him, Why walk not thy disciples according to the tradition of the elders, but eat bread with unwashen hands?

Jesus responded initially by using Isaiah 29:13 to rebuke them for their hypocrisy:

Mar 7:6 He answered and said unto them, Well hath Esaias prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, This people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me.

⁷ Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.

He continued His stern dealings with them by charging them with neglecting God’s commandments in order to follow human tradition (Mark 7:8). He then rebuked them further for their invalidating God’s Word through their tradition (Mark 7:9-13).

A Closer Look at Jesus’ Response

Jesus did rebuke the Pharisees for following certain human traditions instead of keeping the word of God (Mark 7:7), but He did so based on His knowing that their hearts were far from God (Mark 7:6b). He had the supernatural ability to know their hearts, and thereby exposed them as hypocritical and vain worshipers of God.

He thus made known that they were not holding to these human traditions because they thought that they would help them honor God; they knew in their hearts that they were dishonoring God with what they were doing. Moreover, Jesus later explained to His disciples the solemn truth about the true condition of these Pharisees:

Mat 15:12 Then came his disciples, and said unto him, Knowest thou that the Pharisees were offended, after they heard this saying?

¹³ But he answered and said, Every plant, which my heavenly Father hath not planted, shall be rooted up.

¹⁴ Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch.

Jesus revealed that these Pharisees were not planted by His Father—despite their religiosity, they were unbelievers.

Only Someone Who Can Know the Heart Can Legitimately Call Another Believer a “Pharisee”

When Jesus rebuked the Pharisees for their following human traditions instead of God’s Word, He did so knowing that their hearts were far from God. He had the supernatural ability to know the true condition of their hearts and thereby excoriated them for being hypocritical unbelievers.

Because no believer has the ability to know the heart of another believer the way Jesus did, it is unrighteous for him to call another believer “Pharisee.” Before you call another believer a “Pharisee,” you should think carefully about your inability to know the heart of that person.

Beware of calling other believers “Pharisees”!

In Discipleship, Exposition, Theology

Are Churches Supposed to Be Judgment-Free Zones?

May 4, 2013

In the American political scene today, many believe in the merits of various places being gun-free zones. Many others, however, hold opposing views.

Although sorting out the truth about that disputed topic is important, of far greater importance is the belief by many in the American religious scene today that churches should be virtually judgment-free zones. Is this view valid?

Key passages help us to answer this question definitively:

1. Believers in Churches Must Judge Themselves When Taking the Lord’s Supper

1Co 11:27 Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord.

²⁸ But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup.

²⁹ For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body.

³⁰ For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep.

³¹ For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged.

³² But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world.

Every believer must partake regularly of the Lord’s Supper. When doing so, he must judge himself thoroughly by repenting of, confessing, and forsaking his sins. If he fails to do so and yet takes the Lord’s Supper, God will judge him to chasten him until he repents.

2. Believers Are to Judge Themselves So That They Do Not Cause Others to Stumble

Rom 14:12 So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.

¹³ Let us not therefore judge one another any more: but judge this rather, that no man put a stumblingblock or an occasion to fall in his brother’s way.

Every believer is going to answer to Jesus Christ one day (Rom. 14:20). Because that will be the case, Paul commands us all to judge ourselves to be certain that we not cause others to stumble. This teaching must guide everything that we do in our churches.

Furthermore, Paul teaches that believers must not give offence either to believers or to unbelievers:

1Co 10:31 Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.

³² Give none offence, neither to the Jews, nor to the Gentiles, nor to the church of God:

³³ Even as I please all men in all things, not seeking mine own profit, but the profit of many, that they may be saved.

1Co 11:1 Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ.

For an example that points to a serious way in which many believers in local churches may be failing in this aspect of judging themselves, see my previous post about the testimony of Meghan O’Gieblyn, Romans 14, and the CCM Debate.

3. Unbelievers or Unlearned People Who Enter Churches Are to Be Judged Through the Prophesying of the Entire Congregation

1Co 14:23 If therefore the whole church be come together into one place, and all speak with tongues, and there come in those that are unlearned, or unbelievers, will they not say that ye are mad?

²⁴ But if all prophesy, and there come in one that believeth not, or one unlearned, he is convinced of all, he is judged of all:

²⁵ And thus are the secrets of his heart made manifest; and so falling down on his face he will worship God, and report that God is in you of a truth.

Through the corporate prophesying of the entire congregation, God intends that unbelievers and unlearned people who enter a church come under conviction for their sins and become convinced that they will be judged for their sins unless they repent. Being judged by the ministry of the entire congregation, they are to repent and worship God.

A proper church service thus is not supposed to make such people feel good about themselves—God wants them to be convicted of their sins. They are supposed to become burdened about the judgment that they are under for not repenting of their sins.

4. Believers Are to Judge Unrepentant People in the Church

1Co 5:9 I wrote unto you in an epistle not to company with fornicators:

¹⁰ Yet not altogether with the fornicators of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or with idolaters; for then must ye needs go out of the world.

¹¹ But now I have written unto you not to keep company, if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such an one no not to eat.

¹² For what have I to do to judge them also that are without? do not ye judge them that are within?

¹³ But them that are without God judgeth. Therefore put away from among yourselves that wicked person.

Paul wrote a letter to the Corinthians to instruct them not to associate with evil people in the church (1 Cor. 5:10). He reiterated that command to them (1 Cor. 5:11) and made clear that they were not even to eat with those who call themselves brothers but are unrepentant of serious sins in their lives.

In explaining his teaching, Paul used a rhetorical question that demands an affirmative answer (1 Cor. 5:12) to make clear that believers in churches must judge unrepentant people who are among them. Such people must be expelled from the church (1 Cor. 5:13) until they are genuinely repentant.

A Local Church Is Not to Be a Judgment-Free Zone

These passages show that we must allow Scripture to renew our minds about this vital aspect of life in our local churches. Contrary to the seemingly widespread perspective of many believers today, Scripture shows that God does not want churches to be judgment-free zones.

Rather, God intends that our churches be places where we judge ourselves, where unbelievers repent because they become burdened about the judgment they are under for their sins, and where unrepentant professing believers are judged and, if necessary, expelled from the church until they repent. A local church must not be a judgment-free zone.

In Discipleship, Exposition, Theology

Is Jesus As the Judge "The Bad News" about Jesus Christ?

April 12, 2013

The world detests the message that Jesus is the Judge. Sadly, many believers also may often have a mindset that views the truth of Jesus as the Judge as “the bad news.” Is the truth of Jesus as the Judge “the bad news”? If so, how is it bad news and for whom?

John 5 is a key passage in the Gospels that emphasizes the truth of Jesus as the Judge. A close examination of this passage provides a clear answer to our question.

The Primary Truth about Jesus in John 5

John 5 records at length Jesus’ interaction with an impotent man and certain Jews in Jerusalem. Jesus healed the man on the Sabbath. He did so as the Son of Man with the authority to forgive sins on the earth.

Observing the man who was healed carrying his bed on the Sabbath, the Jews confronted him about his actions, which they regarded as unlawful (5:9-10). The man defended himself by saying that the One who had healed him also ordered him to take up his bed and walk (5:11). The Jews inquired who it was that directed him to do so (5:12).

The man did not know who it was because Jesus had left the location (5:13). Later, Jesus found him in the temple and sternly charged him, “Behold, you are made whole: sin no more, lest a worse thing come to you” (5:14). The man left and informed the Jews that Jesus had made him whole (5:15). The Jews, therefore, persecuted Jesus and sought to kill him (5:16, 18) because He healed the man on the Sabbath and because they rejected His saying that God was His own Father (5:17-18).

The entire conflict between these Jews and Jesus concerned what was and was not lawful to do on the Sabbath. The Jews judged Jesus as a lawbreaker and wanted to kill Him for what they regarded as His unlawful actions and for His stupendous assertion that they regarded as His making Himself equal with God (5:18).

Jesus’ response to them comprises one of the lengthiest records of His words (5:17; 19-47; 30 verses). The great length of direct discourse by Jesus that John records here stresses this passage greatly.

In effect, Jesus defended Himself before these Jews by making known that His actions were not unlawful because He is the One to whom the Father has given all judgment (5:22, 27). As the God-appointed Judge, He is thus the Lawgiver who decides what is and is not lawful.

Seen in this light, the entire passage (5:1-47) is primarily about Jesus as the God-appointed Judge. His explicit statement that what He said to these Jews was so that they might be saved (5:34) shows that this passage is an evangelistic account. Jesus’ profound emphasis on His judicial agency (explicit statements in 5:22, 27, 30; contextually throughout the passage) in His evangelizing these hostile Jews shows that Jesus held that His judicial agency was the central truth that He wanted them to receive in order that they might be saved (5:24).

John 5 Illumines What the Good News Is in Act 10

This analysis of John 5 provides help for us to rightly interpret Peter’s climactic statement at Gentecost that stated that Jesus is the One appointed by God as the Judge of the living and the dead (Acts 10:42). Far from being the bad news to the Jews (John 5) and to the people at Gentecost (Acts 10), the truth of Jesus as God’s judicial agent was the central truth that sinners had to hear and receive at these occasions to be saved.

How can this possibly be? A closer look at Jesus’ words to the Jews reveals just how this was the case.

The God-Appointed Judge Who Raises People to Eternal Life!

In brief, Jesus emphatically and repeatedly asserted His judicial agency with great solemnity (“Verily, verily”; three times, John 5:19, 24, 25). As part of His explanation of His judicial agency, He taught that an hour is coming when all who are in the graves would hear His voice as the Son of Man to whom the Father has given authority to execute judgment (5:27-28). Those who would hear His voice would come forth to one of two fates: a resurrection of life or a resurrection of damnation (5:29).

Jesus thus taught that He as the God-appointed Judge is the One who would raise all dead people and that they would thereafter enter into their eternal destiny (5:25-29). The ones that had done good would enter into the resurrection of life; the ones who had done evil would enter into damnation (5:29). He closed this section of His witness to them by yet another explicit statement of His judicial agency by saying that He could not do anything of His own self; as He had heard of the Father, He did (5:30a). He added that His judgment was just because He did not seek His own will, but the will of the Father who had sent Him (5:30b).

With this teaching, Jesus made known that He as the God-appointed Judge would decide the fates of all dead people. Some He would raise to eternal life and the others He would raise to eternal damnation. His judicial agency, therefore, is only “bad news” to those who have done evil and die refusing to repent of their sins and believe in Him.

For those who have done evil and then repent of their rejection of Jesus’ equality with God by believing in Jesus as the One whom the Father sent with all authority to execute judgment, His judicial agency is the greatest good news that they could possibly hear. He is the Judge who will raise everyone one day and give eternal life to those who do good by hearing His word and believing on Him who sent Him to be that Judge (5:24)! To do so is to do good because they thereby honor the Son even as the Father, which is the purpose of the Father’s giving all judgment to the Son (5:22-23).

They will not enter into condemnation because He as the Judge will not condemn them (5:24). They have passed from death to life (5:24) because He as the Judge has already quickened them (cf. 5:21) and will one day assuredly raise all of them who die to the resurrection of life (5:29).

The Good News of the God-Appointed Judge Who Saves Those Who Repent and Believe in Him!

Based on this analysis, we understand that Jesus as God’s judicial agent is not “the bad news of Jesus Christ” to sinners who repent and believe the good news that He is the One to whom the Father has given all judgment. His judicial agency is the central truth that both Jesus and Peter gave to sinners that they might be saved in the two accounts treated above.

The Jews rejected His judicial agency and were not saved. The lost people at Gentecost believed in Him as that God-appointed Judge (Acts 10:42) and were therefore forgiven their sins by Him (Acts 10:43). They were saved by believing in the name of the One whom the Father sent as the Son of God (John 5:25), the Son (5:26), and the Son of Man (5:27), His judicial agent (5:22, 27, 30)!

By virtue of the judicial authority that the Father has given Him (5:22, 27, 30), Jesus gives eternal life to as many as the Father has given Him (17:2). He does so for those who believe that He died for their sins and that God raised Him from the dead (1 Cor. 15:3-5; Rom. 10:9-10). Hear His own words about His judicial agency, acknowledge that you have done evil and are repenting, believe on the Father who sent Him with all judicial authority, and you will have everlasting life! You will never come into condemnation; you will have passed from death to life!

As the Son of Man, He has the judicial authority to forgive your sins (Luke 5:24; cf. Acts 7:56-60; 10:42-43) and to give you eternal life (John 5:24-29). He will save you by doing these things and much more (Heb. 7:25; 1 John 2:1). Believe the good news of Jesus Christ that includes the glorious truth that He is the God-appointed Judge and you will be saved!

In Evangelism, Exposition, Theology

Beware This Widely Overlooked, Deadly Type of Hypocrisy

April 8, 2013

In the thinking of most people, being a hypocrite probably means something along the lines of saying one thing but doing another. In Luke 12, we learn that Jesus challenged people about a much more deadly type of hypocrisy that is widely overlooked.

Jesus Instructs His Disciples and the People about Hypocrisy

Speaking to a vast multitude of people (Luke 12:1), Jesus warned His disciples about the hypocrisy of the Pharisees (12:1-13). On that same occasion, he challenged the people about hypocrisy by pointing out a glaring discrepancy in their lives:

Luk 12:54 And he said also to the people, When ye see a cloud rise out of the west, straightway ye say, There cometh a shower; and so it is.

⁵⁵ And when ye see the south wind blow, ye say, There will be heat; and it cometh to pass.

⁵⁶ Ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky and of the earth; but how is it that ye do not discern this time?

⁵⁷Yea, and why even of yourselves judge ye not what is right?

Jesus sternly chided these people because they capably assessed some indicators of their time but did not do so with others that were equally obvious. John A. Martin explains their hypocritical failure:

Jesus taught the crowds that they needed to be sensitive to interpret the things they were seeing. Though they had been observing His ministry they were not able to ascertain that He was truly the Messiah. He made the point that they, with no trouble, could interpret natural signs (western clouds and south winds—the appearance of the earth and the sky). But they could not discern spiritual signs. They should discern what was going on right in their midst—He was offering the kingdom and they were not responding properly to His offer.—BKC: NT, 239; emphasis in original

Jesus thus reproached people for being hypocrites by their rightly discerning specific weather indicators but not doing so with spiritual ones.

Darrell L. Bock summarizes Jesus’ forceful challenge:

Jesus then turns to the crowd. He rebukes them for not spotting the obvious. They can read the weather, but they are blind to what God is doing. Jesus clearly reveals the nature of the time; yet they do not respond. —Luke 9:51-24:53, 1200

Based on Jesus teaching here, Norval Geldenhuys gives this sobering warning:

To-day also there are for us all many signs pointing to the seriousness of life and to the necessity of right living. Especially those who have the opportunity of reading the Bible and listening to the preaching of the Gospel have the fullest opportunities of discerning the signs of the times and of knowing that Jesus is the Redeemer. He who is blind to this and who does not take heed, while the period of grace continues, to have peace with God through the Saviour, must await a dark future.—Luke, NICOT, 369.

These commentators reveal that Jesus challenges us all to be sensitive to judge rightly the valid spiritual information that we have been exposed to in our lives. Failing to do so, we will be guilty of a deadly hypocrisy that is much more serious than what people often complain about concerning the so-called hypocrisy of religious people.

Please take a few moments and read the good news that God has for all people and believe: The Good News for All

In Exhortation, Exposition, Quotes

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