When speaking about balanced preaching the subject can refer to a number of important ideas. By balanced some may think of paying attention to both the Old and New Testaments. Preachers may think of a balance between topical and expository sermons. Yet others may refer to complex versus simple lessons. Some may think of a balance between edification and admonition, or what some would call positive or negative. Recently I have become concerned with the balance needed between practical and doctrinal preaching. All preachers and elders should consider these things.

I have encountered congregations in which the teachers have focused all of their attention on the New Testament. Apparently this seems reasonable to many since we are no longer under the old covenant, but the new. Yet consider what Jesus says in John 5:39, “You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me.” Many of the wonderful things we learn about Jesus are found in the Old Testament. Never mind the fact that when we disregard the Old Testament we are ignoring about two thirds of the revealed word of God, things which He clearly wants us to know.

Too many preachers preach too many topical sermons. I once worked with a preacher, one who had been preaching for many years, who, after he had heard me preach a few expository lessons, asked, “What kind of lessons do you call those?” He wasn’t being critical, he had never really heard lessons based on the biblical text and context. The problem with topical lessons is that this approach has a tendency to use the scriptures as nothing more than a “proof text” to support an idea that may or may not actually be scriptural. It is not uncommon for passages to be lifted completely out of context and used to prove a point that the speaker wants to make rather than one God wants to make.

There is a time and place for topical lessons, yet care must be exercised to rightly divide the word of truth and make sure that we are teaching God’s will and not our own. Good expository preaching lets God communicate His will to us through His word. A good definition of expository preaching is found in Nehemiah 8:1-8. Verse eight says, “So they read distinctly from the book, in the Law of God; and they gave the sense, and helped them to understand the reading.”

Another point that is sometimes overlooked in Nehemiah 8:1-8 is found in verses four and seven. Two distinct groups are mentioned in each of these verses. We see in verse four that when Ezra stands up to read the word of God he is not alone. There are leaders of the people standing with him to his left and right. Why? What does it mean? It means that Ezra is not alone in his commitment to the word of God. The leaders of the people share in that commitment. It reminds me of Exodus 17:12 in which Aaron and Hur stood to the right and left of Moses to support him as Israel gained the victory over the Amelekites. Verse seven speaks of another group who helped Ezra in his teaching. The leaders of congregations need to stand and work together in their commitment to and teaching of God’s word, and this must be clearly so.

Occasionally one runs into the preacher or Bible teacher who feels it necessary to speak in the lofty multi-syllable language of self-important academia. It seems that the need to demonstrate their deep understanding of the subject matter outweighs the need of their audience to comprehend what they are saying. To this I would reply with 1^st Corinthians 14:19 where Paul says, “yet in the church I would rather speak five words with my understanding, that I may teach others also, than ten thousand words in a tongue.” Now that’s a little out of context, but the principle applies. Then again, there are leaders who believe that we must preach and teach to the lowest common denominator. It should go without saying that such a congregation will have, at best, a difficult time reaching any kind of spiritual maturity. Our preaching and teaching must be challenging yet easy to grasp and understand. That is the art of preaching and it takes effort. It is not for the lazy.

One time a wonderful sister in Christ approached me while I was speaking at a meeting. This sweet 80-year old woman came to me with tears in her eyes lamenting that every Sunday she leaves the assembly so beat down by the preaching that she had started to question her salvation. She couldn’t remember the last time the local preacher had given a lesson that lifted the congregation up. There are times when we need to be admonished. There are times when we need to be chastened and corrected by the word. I would say that there are times when God’s word should thunder from the pulpit, and this can be accomplished without even raising one’s voice. However, to encourage, to edify, to exhort, to lift up the spirits and fill with hope is what the Gospel is primarily about. What is so great about an invitation that simply seeks to blast us? Our preaching and teaching of the word of God should convict us, but also give us rest for our souls.

Not long after I began preaching I was chastised by an older gentleman for not preaching the Gospel. By that he meant Hear, Believe, Repent, Confess, and be Baptized. Many are of this mindset. Yet, there is much more to the word of God than just the plan of salvation. God gave us His word so that we might know how to live our lives, so that we can be Christians in every aspect of our life, not just in name or church affiliation. God wants us to be His children, not just act like them. So much of our preaching is reduced to do this, or don’t do that. Many of our children leave home and the church with an overwhelming desire to do all of the things that were forbidden to them because they were never taught to BE a child of God. They spend the first eighteen or so years of their life associated with the church, but leave it with no sense of Christian identity. We need to hear what God has to say about living our everyday lives. We need practical spiritual answers to the problems that we all encounter from day to day.

Having said that, we must absolutely pay attention to the doctrine concerning the church that Christ built. If what we preach and teach cannot be differentiated from the multitude of self-help books on the market we stand in danger of losing our identity as true worshipers of God. There are congregations in which this balance of preaching and teaching was lost. Lessons on the distinct identity of the Lord’s church, authority, the need for and the means of salvation, and the perils of worldliness fell by the wayside. This has led to the ruin of once sound and strong congregations. This balance must never be neglected. We must heed the words of Peter when he said in 2^nd Peter 1:12-13, “For this reason I will not be negligent to remind you always of these things, though you know and are established in the present truth. ¹³Yes, I think it is right, as long as I am in this tent, to stir you up by reminding you.”

Craig Bradley

rcbsjb@q.com

1. Sharing the gospel begins with a conversation. The conversation does not have to immediately center on Jesus or the Bible, but there needs to be a conversation. In fact, Jesus did not ask to do something for the woman, he asked the woman to do something for him. Jesus put himself in the position of the one who was in need so that he could supply the woman with a much greater need. Start a conversation. “Who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this” (Esther 4:14)?
2. Cultural barriers need to be ignored. No other Jew would have spoken to this woman much less have been willing to drink from her “unclean” container. Christians have too often limited their “contact” list to those who are like them. The result is local churches becoming a homogenous group of people that have excluded major portions of the community. This does not only have to do with racial boundaries. Churches that set standards of formal attire in worship will place artificial barriers to those who are poor or culturally different. Paul commanded moderate dress and warned against an emphasis on dress (1 Tim. 2:9-10). The same is true with churches that set a standard of sloppiness. Extremes push people away.
3. Jesus was content to teach one person. Too often evangelism is about doing something big. “Let’s go door to door.” “Let’s hand out tracts.” “Let’s have an advertising campaign.” “Let’s start a radio program.” “Let’s have an ‘invite-your-neighbor’ Sunday.” While some of these things can have limited success, for the most part these are labor-intensive methods that tend to be impersonal. How did first century Christians spread the gospel to the world in 30 years? They had conversations with friends and people they met. Nothing is more effective than one-on-one conversations that lead to Bible studies about the Lord.
4. Teaching one person can open many doors. Just one conversation and the whole city of Sychar heard the gospel. The people with whom we connect and share Christ open doors to a whole new circle of friends and opportunities. This is exactly how evangelism spread in the first century and how it spreads today. In contrast, Jesus’ disciples went into the town and bought food, but never taught one person. Jesus never entered the town, taught one person and converted the whole town.
5. Sin and obtaining ‘life’ is the key to a good conversation. The woman was obviously somewhat content living with a man who was not her husband, until Jesus pointed out that “living water” was not accessible while one continues in sin. Just as with the woman, most today “bury” their sin and live as if God does not see or care. The gospel is for sinners and until a person is convicted of sin the living water will not be attractive.
6. Sharing the gospel includes both sowing and reaping. As Jesus said, “One sows and another reaps” (37). The process of saving souls does not happen all at once. We must not expect instantaneous conversions, and in doing so, become pushy or overload a person with too much information. Jesus was direct, but he did not push. He allowed the woman to walk away and then come back for more. After Jesus did the sowing, the apostles entered into the harvest. Don’t do more harm than good by destroying an opportunity that another Christian at another time can use in the harvest.
7. Open your eyes to opportunities around you. Jesus challenged the disciples to “lift up your eyes.” The fact that they entered the city and had to interact with a number of people in order to buy food shows how they were thinking only of themselves and not of the spiritual needs of those around them. We are no different. We easily move through our day without even a thought or prayer for those with whom we are in contact. Our conversations are typically too shallow to be meaningful and our lives too self-centered to be effective.
8. Sharing the gospel is urgent. “Do you not say, ‘There are yet four months, then comes the harvest’? … See that the fields are white for harvest.” Opportunities slide by quickly. To wait or put them off for a “better day” is to invite eternal ruin for those who do not know Christ. I have had people I knew die without the gospel because I was waiting for a “convenient” time to talk to them. “Now is the accepted time; behold now is the day of salvation” (2 Cor. 6:2).
9. Sharing the gospel requires being inconvenienced. Jesus and the apostles were simply passing through Samaria. They had places to go and things planned. But when the opportunity arose, Jesus delayed his trip and stayed two days teaching the Samaritans. We have too often so filled our schedules with our own plans and with Christian friends that we do not have time to become a friend of sinners (Luke 7:34). Nothing in this world is a valuable as a soul and we best not put temporal things before that value.
10. Nothing will fill us like the enlightened eyes of a lost soul. Jesus said, “I have food to eat that you do not know about.” When Jesus described the disciples of his kingdom, he said, “You are the light of the world.” As humans, we tend to grasp at earthly pleasures seeking something to fill the void within. But saving lost souls gives us eternal purpose and makes an eternal difference. That is true food!

Berry Kercheville

berrykerch@gmail.com

[Look at the great song at the end of this post along with additional resources!]

[Last month I wrote a passionate plea for us to reignite our affection for God’s word [click here to read it]. In today’s post I explore some reasons why we so often choose other paths instead.]

Few of us openly dismiss the importance of God’s word. We gladly praise its truth and affirm its authority. Yet, in reality our minds are so easily drawn to human wisdom and our emotions are so quickly snared by spectacular events. As a result, we set the old venerable Book aside to make room for something more relevant and exciting.

Do not be fooled. This desire to set up shop without God wells up within each of us. It’s there in the religiously progressive and the traditionalist. It lives in our home and it follows us to work. We desperately seek to secure our own place in this world and control our own future, and we are just not sure God’s way is enough.

So we quietly ignore the voice of God for something that seems more fashionable, more tested—the contemporary wisdom of the world. “Surely,” we think, “there must be some substance to what so many are doing. After all, look at how successful they are. Their families are happy. Their churches are full. Their bank accounts overflow. God wouldn’t want any less for me.” The choice seems to be so sensible. Without even knowing it, the voice of God is muffled beneath the hand of worldly wisdom.

Why do we feel like we need to enhance God’s ways? Why are we so enticed by the message and methods of the world? Significant answers are found by visiting the plains of Shinar. There, beneath the ground, lay broken ruins which testify to the destiny of all those who trust in worldly wisdom. Travel with me to that place.

Our journey begins on the foothills of Mount Ararat. The population of the world is wiped out by a catastrophic flood, and Noah’s family finds themselves in the fearful position of being the only human beings on the planet. God calms their fears by making a covenant with them. He promises to protect them and provide for them. Then God gives them this charge, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth” (Gen. 9:1,7). Emboldened by the Lord’s care and command Noah’s family launches out into the world.

However, before long they discover that obeying the command was much more difficult than they realized. Fearful experiences stalked them around every corner. Ravenous predators, dangerous ravines, poisonous plants, and sharp thorns made them bleed, get sick and die. Before long the exhilarating command to “fill the earth,” didn’t seem so practical.

It was then they came upon the beautiful plain of Shinar. This is a place they could call home. So a group of civil engineers developed durable building materials and proposed they build a city and an indestructible tower to keep them safe (see Deut. 1:28). This seemed much more sensible than trying to “scatter over the face of the whole earth” (Gen. 11:4).

“After all,” some of the leaders proposed, “If we keep spreading ourselves so thin nobody will remember who we are. So, let’s make a name for ourselves. Our project will be so great we’ll call it, ‘The Gate of God’ ” (i.e. Babel; Gen. 11:4,9), and the masses set themselves to the work.

Yet, what man thought was sensible, God saw as rebellious. What man thought was high, was far beneath the glory of God (Gen. 11:4, “a tower whose top is in the heavens…” yet, 11:5, “The Lord came down…”).

However, God chose to act with graceful discipline. He knew as long as people worked together toward such selfish goals there would be no limit to the evil they would achieve (Gen. 11:6). So He confused their language and turned their ambitions upside down. They wanted safety by collecting everyone in one place on earth, but God scattered them all over the earth. They wanted to make a name for themselves, but God made it where they couldn’t even pronounce each other’s names!

This story is at the beginning of our Bibles not only to show how the earth was populated, but to reveal a fundamental problem of its inhabitants. Two interconnected attitudes caused them to elevate the wisdom of men above the word of God.

Fear Hinders Obedience

The first attitude was fear. “Go fill the earth” is a rather terrifying command. Few of us would relish the prospect of a decades long camping trip into unproven territory. I have no doubt Noah’s descendants struggled with fear and wanted the safety of a city and its tower. Fear is understandable, and yet disobedience is still inexcusable.

Yet, we often use our fears as a reason why we must abandon God’s word. For example, we are afraid our children will leave the Lord so we compromise with worldliness and modify Biblical teaching to keep them close. We are afraid the church won’t survive so we latch on to newest church growth strategy rather than developing a heart for the lost. We are afraid if we truly get serious about serving the Lord it will consume our time, change our relationships, drain our money, and steal our fun, so we settle for a more comfortable compromise. It all sounds so sensible, but God calls it rebellion.

God’s charge still induces fear today. He says, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel” (Mark 16:15). The world is a scary place. Yet, God does not call us to huddle in our holy huts in a futile attempt to withstand the moral tsunami which threatens to destroy us. He says, “Care about the lost.”

The charge to “deny yourself…and lose your life” is terrifying (Mark 8:34-35). It’s more sensible to play it safe and settle down with everyone else on the plains of Shinar. But, God’s disciples are more concerned with obedience than safety. They are confident that God is in control and is more than able to protect and provide. Our fears are hushed by our trust in God, which allows His voice to come through more clearly.

Pride Produces Disobedience

Closely related to fear is our desire for acceptance. We want to be known and respected. “Let us make a name for ourselves” is the anthem of our culture. It is what drives our ambitions at work, our actions at church, the clothes we wear, the cars we drive, the pleasures we seek. We’re crying out, “Remember me!”

No attitude slings us more quickly into sin than pride! The antidote to this spiritual toxin is to see the greatness of God. No matter how great a name we achieve or how high a tower we build it will be buried anonymously under the sands of history. Only the glory of God will endure. Only what is done in His name will be remembered. Our stubborn pride will only lose its grip on us when it lives in the presence of the Almighty God.

Fear and pride built a shrine to human wisdom on the plains of Shinar. It is a monument carved with confusion, emptiness, and futility, and it calls upon us to tear down our Babel and move on! To bury our pride deep beneath the glory of God and move on! To banish our fears beyond the gulf of God’s provisions and move on! God has a world for us to reach and a holiness to complete, it’s time leave fear and pride behind and move on!a

Tim Jennings
timj.theway@hotmail.com
“Let all that you do be done in love” (1 Cor. 16:14)

Additional Resources:

A Song: Heaven Medley (Favorite Hymns Quartet)

More Information About Babel:

#1 – When Did the Story of Babel Take Place? The story of Babel in Genesis 11 precedes and gives reason for the Table of Nations in Genesis 10 which records the time after the people were “separated into their lands, everyone according to his own language, according to their families, into their nations” (Gen. 10:5,20,31,32). Conversely, the story of Babel begins, “Now, the whole earth had one language and one speech” (Gen. 11:1).

Two hints in Genesis 10 lead us to the conclusion that the events at Babel likely took place within 100 to 300 years after the flood.  First, Babel seems to be founded before or during the days of Nimrod (“the beginning of his kingdom was Babel” Gen. 10:10).  Nimrod was Noah’s great grandson through Ham and lived only two generations after the flood.  Second, Noah had a fifth generation descendant through Shem named Peleg, whose name meant, “Division” the reason given for his name is “in his days the earth was divided” (Gen. 10:25). Then the story of Babel is given to describe that division.  Later in Genesis 11:10-26 we are given specific years in which each of Shem’s descendants were born.  The results are as follows:

Flood Ended – year 0
Shem had Arphaxad – 2 years after the flood
Arphaxad had Salah – 35 years later
Salah had Eber – 30 years later
Eber had Peleg – 34 years later
Total: 101 years

Peleg lived a total of 239 years.

Assuming Peleg received his descriptive name within his lifetime, this sets the events of Babel sometime between 101 and 340 years after the flood.

In either case, old Noah was still alive since he lived for 350 years after the flood. The point I take from all this math is how quickly people fall back into sin! If God had not intervened mankind would be back in the condition they were before where “the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually” (Gen. 6:5).

#2 – Why Is the Story of Babel Included in the Bible?  It helps us understand how people spread across the earth. It also shows us that national boundaries and language barriers are part of God’s plan to restrain sin in the world (Note: Life spans also begin to diminish at this time, which may have to do with environmental conditions, but it may also be a part of God’s desire to restrain sin in the world.  See a chart on Life Spans In Genesis Here: Life Spans In Genesis).

A Call To Humble Obedience.  But we must also remember its purpose for the original readers—the newly formed nation of Israel.  Allen Ross calls this story …

“… a rather ominous warning: Great nations cannot defy God and long survive.  The new nation of Israel need only survey the many nations around her to realize that God disperses and curses the rebellious, bringing utter confusion and antagonism among them.  If Israel would obey and submit to God’s will, then she would be the source of blessing to the world. Unfortunately Israel also raised her head in pride and refused to obey the Lord.  Eventually, she too was scattered across the face of the earth.” (Creation & Blessing. Allen P. Ross. Baker. p. 248)

That is a worthy warning for any country and any church to carefully consider!

An Illustration Of Worldliness. The name Babel means “Gate of God,” and the Greek form of the word is Babylon. From the beginning of the Bible to the end Babylon is the most dominate illustration of worldly wisdom and wickedness. The seeds of that wickedness are planted in the soil of pride and fear in Genesis 11. Isaiah uses Babylon as a  pattern of worldly pleasure, power, and pride (Isa. 13:19; 14:13; 47:8-13), and promised that God would bring her down.  He did.  Later Daniel wrote of the pride of the Babylonian leaders who God easily humbled (Dan. 4), and predicted the nation would soon fall (Dan. 2,5) and it did.  Then when the apostle John looked for a picture of the evil and arrogant powers which threatened to undo the believers in the first century, again he turned to Babel—the old Babylon (See Rev. 17-18).  The point is the seeds of rebellion which sprouted in Genesis 11 find new soil in every generation to germinate and bring forth an arrogant preference for the wisdom of men above the word of God.

A Longing To Be One People With One Language.  The story of Babel droops with sadness over a unity lost. Yet that longing for unity and understanding is fulfilled in Christ. On the day of Pentecost people from “every nation under heaven” heard the message of the gospel “in his own language” (Acts 2:5-6). In Christ all boarders disappear and we speak the same language of the gospel. “There is neither Jew nor Greek…for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Gal. 3:28).  Only God could turn the plain of Shinar into the church of Christ.

#3 – The Placement of the Story of Babel.  Why is the story of Babel placed after events of Genesis 10 when it clearly occurred before the events of that chapter?  First of all, it follows the literary pattern of Genesis where a summary is provided first then the specifics are given (See Gen. 2; Gen. 6).  In this case, the summary of nations is given first, then the reason why they divided into nations is provided. Secondly, this story brings a dramatic end to the Common History section of Genesis.  Genesis 1:1–11:9 describe the history that is common to all families. That history ends with an arrogant act of rebellion. So, God turns next to the Specific History of Genesis.  Genesis 11:10–50:26 describe the history of one family. That family God promised to use to bless the whole world. He did this through Jesus. The placement of the story of Babel says to us: In the face of arrogant rebellion God corrects the sin, but then He begins to work graciously for the sinner.  What a gracious God!

A Song: Babel Today!

I was watching the NBA Playoffs a few days ago and heard a song entitled “Hall of Fame” by The Script, which they are using to introduce the games.  You can go listen to it on YouTube if you wish.  When I looked up the words I found the spirit of Babel is alive and well today!  It is seen even in the way we play our games.  Here are some of the words of the song.

You could be the greatest
You can be the best
You can be the king kong banging on your chestYou could beat the world
You could beat the war
You could talk to God, go banging on his door

….

Dedicate yourself and you can find yourself…Standing in the hall of fame
And the world’s gonna know your name
Cause you burn with the brightest flame
And the world’s gonna know your name
And you’ll be on the walls of the hall of fame

Pride – ”go banging on God’s door” sounds like tower language to me.
Fame – ”the world is gonna know you name” sounds a lot like, “let’s make a name for ourselves” (Gen. 11:4).

Oh boy!  Dear believer, don’t buy into such bravado!  ”Pride goes before destruction” (Prov. 16:18).

     From time to time we hear the critic of faith or the believer facing doubts level the charge against God that He is inconsistent. The argument is that God makes laws for us, but violates those laws Himself. If this is true, so it is argued, God demands more of us than He does of Himself. Let’s explore this argument to test its validity.

Basic Elements of Law
1. Authority. Law, by its very nature, requires a few basic elements. First, there must be an established authority to make the law. In the case of federal law, the United States consists of branches of duly elected representatives of the people who pass and enforce laws. When it comes to natural law, there are no written ordinances, but the authority that established the principles that govern nature (i.e. God) put them in place by virtue of the fact that He created nature and so has the right to order it as He pleases (cf. Jer. 33:25). Divine Law that is given by revelation is higher than any human law. It is not set by man although many laws of man derive their authority from divine law—and thus from God Himself. Just as God made the elements of the natural world with the laws that govern them, God made man as a spiritual being and He alone holds the ultimate authority to regulate his behavior (Ps. 119:105).

2. Rules. A second element common to all law is some type of rules or regulations. All laws mandate certain things that must operate a certain way. A system without rules is said to be lawless. Any system that is governed by law operates within set rules and guidelines. It could be a speed limit. The law mandates “70 miles per hour” as the maximum speed at which a vehicle can travel on a certain road. It could be behavior. It is a crime to steal. The nature of the rules depends upon the nature of the thing regulated. In some cases the authority that enforces the rule is understood to stand outside of the rule. The highway patrolman who exceeds 70 miles per hour is not guilty if he does this to catch a driver who is speeding. The policeman that confiscates stolen property is not a thief. Part of their authority exempts them from some measure of accountability to the very laws they must enforce.

3. Jurisdiction. A third element of all law is jurisdiction. For law to have meaning there must be some realm over which a given law has dominion. The ancient laws of the Hittite empire may be curious relics of antiquity but they no longer hold any power because there is no longer a Hittite empire. The realm and the region over which these laws once held power no longer exists. In regional governments the issue of jurisdiction is paramount. The authority of one state cannot enforce its laws on the citizens of another because it does not have jurisdiction. By the same token, if I violate a practice that is considered criminal in another jurisdiction, but is permitted within the county, state, or country where I live I am not guilty. A good example of this is the burka worn by Muslim women. A woman in the United States is not a criminal if she refuses to wear a burka even though it is required by law in countries such as Saudi Arabia.

4. Subjects. Finally, in a very similar way, all law must involve subjects—that is, those who are under obligation to that law. I could write an imaginary law, for an imaginary jurisdiction, over an imaginary population of people but its force would remain just that—imaginary, because where there are no subjects there is no law. The region where the former Hittite empire once reigned still exists but its people no longer exist. On the other hand, as citizens of the United States we are obligated to obey the laws of our nation because we are properly subjects of the government which holds authority over us, and thus subject to its laws.

God’s Relationship to His Own Laws
1. Laws of Nature. Let’s start by looking at laws of nature. As we have already noted, God is the authority who established these laws. There are set rules that define these laws. Laws of gravity demand that a rock falls to the ground—it doesn’t float up into the sky. Is God within the jurisdiction of natural law? A key difference between the picture of the God of the Bible and the concepts of pagan false religions is what is called transcendence. The God of the Bible exists outside of the natural realm that He created. In other words, while Zeus, or Anubis, or Odin were themselves subject to certain laws of nature, the God of the Bible stands outside of the jurisdiction of natural laws. He is the “unmoved Mover.” He is the First Cause of all things! That means He can make an ax-head float (2 Kings 6:5-6). He can make time stand still (Josh. 10:12-13). He can make the shadow of the sundial go backwards (2 Kings 20:10-11). He is not under the jurisdiction of natural law, but very atom within this present universe, together with every soul made in His image is. They are subjects of the natural laws that God established over His creation. Because God transcends the natural universe, He is not a subject of His own creation, and is therefore not subject to the laws that govern it.

2. Moral or Religious Law. What about moral or religious laws? There is an interesting example that concerns the Sabbath commandment. The rules required that no ordinary work was to be done on the seventh day (Exod. 20:10). This was a law that was not given until the Law of Moses was revealed (Neh. 9:14). It was a law that was not restated under the Law of Christ (Col. 2:16). That means that those who worked on the seventh day before the Law of Moses, as well as those who now live under Christ, and even those who were not a part of the Mosaic covenant during the time of the Israelite commonwealth were outside of its jurisdiction and were not, therefore, subject to its regulation. What about God? This law was drawn from what was said about God’s creation (Exod. 20:11). The present universe was made in six days, but Scripture tells us that after this was done, God “rested on the seventh day from all the work which He had done” (Gen. 2:2). Even before this was given as a law to the Israelites, God is said to have “blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it” (Gen. 2:3). The Hebrew writer, in one sense speaks of God’s works being “finished from the foundation of the world” (Heb. 4:3-4), but Jesus, when criticized for healing on the Sabbath said, “My Father has been working until now, and I have being working” (John 5:16-17). Did God violate His own Sabbath law? No. He stood outside of its jurisdiction and like those before and after the Law of Moses, He was not subject to its regulation.

3. Genocide. This may seem reasonable when we are talking about things like the Sabbath law, but what is most frequently criticized is God’s treatment of His creation. That is, He commands us not to murder, but then He has commanded the extermination of the Canaanites, and Amalekites. Or, He commands us not to harm one another but He promises to punish the wicked throughout all eternity. Is He breaking His own laws in these examples? What are the basic elements of law in these examples? God is, once again, the established authority and He has set the rules that govern appropriate behavior. Yet, has God defined all taking of life as wrong? No! It is true that man is not to avenge himself (Rom. 12:19), and God condemns murder (Exod. 20:13), but He grants to the civil authority the right to punish even to the point of death those guilty of certain laws (Rom. 13:4). Is the executioner a murderer? No. Like the policeman who speeds to catch someone speeding, the executioner in his authority to carry out punishment is (to a measure) exempt from accountability to the law he is enforcing (cf. Num. 35:27). God on some specific occasions commanded Israel (in essence) to act as His executioner (Deut. 7:1-5; 25:17-19; 1 Sam. 15:1-5). The Canaanites and Amalekites were among some of the most wicked people that history has every known (Deut. 9:4; Ps. 106:34-37). God bore with their wickedness for a time in order to give them time to repent (cf. Gen. 15:16). When the time came, He used Israel as the vehicle by which He ended their ability to do any more wickedness. Did He violate His own law? No. First, because He was never under the jurisdiction of this law, nor a subject to obey it, but also because the people whom He used to carry out His punishment were not violating any divine law themselves. They were carrying out lawful punishment—in this case in the form of warfare.

4. Eternal Punishment. What about eternal punishment? The issue of jurisdiction is applicable to this question as well. God is not under the jurisdiction of the laws He has set for His creation. When Judgment Day comes the nature of the present jurisdiction will be changed. What rules will govern the age to come? The jurisdiction of the realm of the saved will not be the same as the jurisdiction of the realm of the condemned. For example, to some measure, in that age the present laws of nature will be changed. In the jurisdiction of the saved there will be no more death, nor sorrow, nor pain because for them “the former things have passed away” (Rev. 21:4). On the other hand, some of these things will exist for the lost—“the smoke of their torment rises forever and ever” (Rev. 14:11). Is it cruel for God to punish the wicked eternally? Let’s consider this from another angle. If I create something—a piece of pottery, a bird house, a painting, or a machine—what rights do I have over that thing I have created? Am I cruel to the pottery if I reshape it into another vessel? (cf. Jer. 18:5-6). Have I sinned against the bird house if I decide to use it for something else? If the machine turns out to be dangerous, am I a monster if I make certain it is kept away from ever causing any harm to anyone ever again? No.

     In our creation it is God that formed the molecules and synaptic responses that form our physical bodies (Ps. 139:13-16). We are His creation—He can do with us as He pleases. God asked Judah, “can I not do to you as this potter?” (Jer. 18:6). Above all other creatures in this universe, He has blessed us by placing within us a spirit that is said to be in His image (Gen. 1:26-27)—we are from this point onward eternal creatures (Eccl. 3:11). That is a blessing! But it is a blessing that demands responsibility. The nature and demands of God are such that all creatures that bear His likeness must conform to His law. For those who fail in this (which is to say all who are morally accountable in age and ability) He has made provision for this failure by the atonement of Christ. What is God to do with those of His creation whom He has made eternal who remain in rebellion to His authority and refuse His regulation? Since He is not a subject of His own law, and therefore not under the jurisdiction of His own authority we cannot even compare any action He takes to punish wrong with committing wrong—remember the executioner is not a murderer. Confiscation is not theft. Those who reject the gospel of Christ establish themselves as a type of eternally dangerous machine that must be forever put where it can never harm the subjects of God’s kingdom ever again—that is essentially what hell is. Is this cruel on God’s part? No, it is His right as Creator and the transcendent authority over His creation.

Kyle Pope
Amarillo, TX
kmpope@att.net

For Further Study:
Sermon: The Law of God   Audio | Powerpoint | Outline
Article: What is the Law of Christ?   Article

By the time of the first century, however, the people believed that God was about to act. Based in part on Daniel’s vision of the seventy weeks (Daniel 9:24-27), many Jews in the first century possessed a heightened sense of messianic expectation.  This is reflected in the questions posed to John the Baptist by the emissaries sent from Jerusalem in John 1:19-23.

And this is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?” He confessed, and did not deny, but confessed, “I am not the Christ.” And they asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” And he answered, “No.” So they said to him, “Who are you? We need to give an answer to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?” He said, “I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’ as the prophet Isaiah said.”

No, John says, I am not the Christ, Elijah (see Malachi 4:5) or the Prophet (see Deuteronomy 18:15-18). But I am the one preparing the way for the long-anticipated coming of the Lord to save His people, just as Isaiah promised in Isaiah 40:3.

This is how the fourth gospel sets the stage for the appearance of Christ. In very similar fashion, Mark’s gospel also cites the promise of Isaiah 40:3 in connection with the ministry of John the Baptist, moving directly into the story of Jesus’ baptism (Mark 1:1-11). Matthew’s gospel also draws on this same text from Isaiah 40, and prior to that, Matthew highlights the identity of Jesus as the king who would deliver His people from exile by arranging His genealogy in three groups of 14 (the sum of the numerical value of David’s Hebrew name), and by framing the genealogy on the birth of David in 1:6 and the deportation to Babylon in 1:11.

But it is especially in the opening of the Gospel of Luke that the theme of Christus Victor, the conquering Messiah, is most clearly expressed. When the angel of the Lord appeared to Zechariah to tell him that he and Elizabeth would have son, he said that this son would “turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, and he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared” (Luke 1:16-17).

Later, when Gabriel informed Mary that God had chosen her to bear the one who would reign on the throne of David, she magnified the Lord for acting to deliver His people:

He has helped his servant Israel,
in remembrance of his mercy,
as he spoke to our fathers,
to Abraham and to his offspring forever (Luke 1:54-55).

And when the aged priest’s tongue was loosed, Zechariah prophesied this:

Blessed be the Lord God of Israel,
for he has visited and redeemed his people
and has raised up a horn of salvation for us
in the house of his servant David,
as he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from of old,
that we should be saved from our enemies
and from the hand of all who hate us;
to show the mercy promised to our fathers
and to remember his holy covenant,
the oath that he swore to our father Abraham, to grant us
that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies,
might serve him without fear,
in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.
And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High;
for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways,
to give knowledge of salvation to his people
in the forgiveness of their sins,because of the tender mercy of our God,
whereby the sunrise shall visit us from on high
to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,

to guide our feet into the way of peace (Luke 1:68-79).

Incidentally, when you compare the songs of Mary and Zechariah to the traditional “Christmas carols” popular in our culture, two things stand out. First, based on the lyrics of many carols you would never even know Jesus is Jewish, much less that He was Israel’s king! Second, you would certainly never get the impression that Jesus came to deliver His people from their enemies, despite the explicit language of these passages.

But two people who did understand these truths about Jesus were Simeon and Anna. Both were aged and devout believers, and each was blessed to see the baby Jesus in the temple. Simeon, we are told, was “waiting for the consolation of Israel” (Luke 2:25). Holding the holy child in his arms, Simeon blessed God and prayed, “Lord, now you are letting your servantdepart in peace, according to your word; for my eyes have seen your salvation that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to your people Israel” (Luke 2:29-32). Likewise, Anna rejoiced at the birth of Jesus and spoke of Him “to all who were waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem” (Luke 2:38).

So all four gospels, and especially Luke, portray the coming of Jesus in unmistakable terms. He is the Lord’s Messiah, the one who has come to defeat Israel’s enemies and redeem the nation from its exile. But who is Israel’s true enemy? And how can that enemy be destroyed? Only if we answer that question correctly can we begin to understand the victory Christ came to win.

(Next time: “Binding the Strong Man”)

“Courage is fear holding on a minute longer” (George S. Patton).  “Courage is doing what you’re afraid to do. There can be no courage unless you’re scared to death” (Eddie Rickenbacker). Courage comes from the French word “couer,” which means, “heart.”  The core of Christianity is courage.

Courage enabled the martyrs to face death. Read this excerpt of courage from Fox’s book of Martyr’s: “A good example of the kind of courage we are to exhibit can be seen in the lives, and deaths of the apostles. Stephen was stoned by the Jews (Acts 7). Tradition tells us that James was beheaded in AD 36. So righteous was James at his final visit to  the Roman judge that the man who turned him in became a Christian and was beheaded with him. Thomas was murdered by a dart  while ministering in India. Simon was crucified. Mark was drawn with ropes into the fire, where he burned to death. Bartholomew was crucified and then beheaded. Andrew was crucified. Matthew was run through with a spear. Philip was crucified and stoned to death. James was pushed off a temple and then beaten to death. Paul gave his neck to the sword and Peter was crucified upside down. Together these men could agree with  Paul. ‘We are of good courage, I say, and, prefer to be absent from the body and be at home with the Lord.’”  They got their wish. “Courage is not simply one of the virtues, but the form of every virtue at its testing point” (C. S. Lewis.)  

Courage will enable us to change. Transformation is part of God’s plan for our lives. Transformation occurs in our lives whether we like it or not.  We like things set, but the life of a Christian is not like that.  God doesn’t intend for us to remain the same (Gen. 46: 3-4). We cannot become what we need to be by remaining what we are. So ask God who made us to keep remaking us (Col. 3:9-10).

Courage will enable us to stand for our convictions. Convictions hold us steady in the storm and help us to bear up under criticism. Courage moves us to keep on standing when no one else will. Courage empowers us to stand when others are sitting. Courage strengthens us to stand out when no else is speaking. “The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy” (Martin Luther King, Jr). Conviction gives us an emotion that will not allow us to fold into the crowd. When we stand for what is right we win, even if we lose. Our enemy is described as a roaring lion. He seeks you. It takes courage to stay in the fight It takes courage to do right when most are doing wrong.  

Courage will enable us to overcome obstacles (Jhn. 16:33).   “Courage is a special kind of knowledge; the knowledge of how to fear what ought to be feared, and how not to fear what ought not to be feared. From this knowledge comes an inner strength that subconsciously inspires us to push on in the face of great  difficulty. What can seem impossible is often possible with courage” (Anonymous).

Courage enables us to learn and to grow.  Seeking and accepting truth requires courage. Jesus said, “Ye shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free” (Jhn. 8:32). We also need courage to let truth freely work in our hearts.  Seeking truth is one thing; letting it work in our lives and change our lives is another.  Truth will change every fabric of our character. It will temper our attitude toward the weaknesses of others. Truth will also move us to hate error.  Truth will change us and courage is needed to let truth do her work.  It will change us whether we want to or not. It will make us hard hearted if we refuse it, or it will make us like Christ if we allow it. It takes courage to speak the truth in love. It takes courage to teach your neighbor.

Finally, courage enables us to take the high road (Mat 5:1-10). Translated, this means we need courage to intentionally admit our need (vs. 5); to give up our quest for personal rights (vs. 5); to maintain hunger and thirst for God (vs. 6); to practice an identity with people in need (vs. 7); to maintain a pure heart (vs. 8); to cultivate a peace in all relationships (vs. 9); to take a positive view of criticism (vs. 10). It takes courage to forgive. It takes courage to do the right thing.

Christians are called upon to show courage in order that we might enjoy an eternal freedom. May God strengthen us to give us that kind of faith to be what He wants and to do what He wants in order that heaven might be our home. Being a Christian and becoming a Christian requires courage of the highest order.

]]> http://focusmagazine.org/courage.php/feed 0 http://focusmagazine.org/where-elders-come-from.php http://focusmagazine.org/where-elders-come-from.php#comments Wed, 24 Apr 2013 18:00:28 +0000 Jacob Hudgins http://focusmagazine.org/?p=2078

Elders are all over the pages of the New Testament. When new churches are established, Paul and Barnabas quickly return to “appoint elders in every church”(Acts 14:23). Paul gives the elders at Ephesus a lengthy sermon of exhortation in Acts 20. Peter gives elders an outline of their work in 1 Peter 5. Timothy and Titus are given qualifications by which men are to be accepted as elders. The Hebrew Christians and the Thessalonians are told how to relate to their overseers. It is clear that these men, who have authority over a local congregation, are of crucial importance. So where do elders come from?

#1 They are taught. Paul sends Titus to Crete with the express mission of setting in order “the things that are lacking, and (appointing) elders in every city”(Titus 1:5). He outlines what God is looking for in such men, and gives one key qualification: “holding fast the faithful word as he has been taught, that he may be able, by sound doctrine, both to exhort and convict those who contradict”(Titus 1:9). “As he has been taught” means that elders do not grow on trees, but are produced by a long process of education and practice. An elder needs more than a surface knowledge of the word—he needs a deep intimacy with the things of God. Why? “that he may be able, by sound doctrine, both to exhort and convict those who contradict.” The elder has a responsibility to stop the mouths of the insubordinate who would question his authority and trouble the flock. He needs to do more than mouth good words about Jesus or give a book report on the Bible. He needs the kind of knowledge of the Bible that also prepares him to use it as the “sword of the Spirit”(Eph. 6:17) in combating error and evil. No amount of rapport with people, kind disposition, or worldly wisdom can make up for a lack of biblical knowledge. This originates with solid, sound teaching. Elders are taught.

#2 They are examples. “Remember those who rule over you, who have spoken the word of God to you, whose faith follow, considering the outcome of their conduct”(Heb 13:7). Because they have been taught well, these men begin to follow the sound teaching, and develop genuine faith. Over time, their firmness in following Jesus is noticeable, and others see that their conduct is beyond reproach. They are not perfect, yet their pattern of life is admirable. God tells us to look at them and “consider the outcome of their conduct”—see where their path is headed and follow! Elders shepherd “not as being lords over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock”(1 Pet 5:3). These verses show that elders are not simply men who reach a certain age and want to be in charge, but men whose lives produce a natural leadership that we all long to follow.

#3 They have disciplined themselves. Consider how many of these qualifications involve personal discipline: “temperate, sober-minded, of good behavior…not given to wine, not violent, not greedy for money, not quarrelsome, not covetous”(1 Tim. 3:2-3). Elders are men who vigorously attack their personal flaws and are trained to be in control. While they are not perfect, they also are not merely campaigning for an office and showing others what they want to see. They are men who have demonstrated the ability to control their tongue, and their desires, and their tempers over a long period of time. This discipline is essential, since they will have opportunity to misuse money, or become quarrelsome, or loosen their tongue. Yet these men have—through a life of hard work in their personal lives—gained the respect and trust of the flock.

#4 They have proven themselves as leaders. God has not put His local churches in the hands of men with good ideas and no experience. “one who rules his own house well, having his children in submission with all reverence (for if a man does not know how to rule his own house, how will he take care of the church of God?); not a novice, lest being puffed up with pride he fall into the same condemnation as the devil”(1 Tim. 3:4-5). Elders know what it is to lead—they have done it before, at home. They know what it is to have others in submission to them—and how to maintain that submission by example rather than by force—because they have done it at home. They know how to put others first and watch out for them—and so they are ready to “watch out for your souls, as those who must give account”(Heb. 13:17). God will not have any willful Rehoboams to lead local churches, and immediately divide them in their foolishness. God wants men who have proven themselves to be worthy leaders.

Where do elders come from? Elders come from men who have put the Lord first over many years. They have been taught the word of the Lord, followed it carefully, disciplined themselves after His image, and proven themselves as godly leaders. They did not simply do this to impress people for a month or two; it has become who they are. Over time, they have proven themselves.

But beyond simply submitting to our elders, we have an obligation to help make more! We must encourage our young men to pursue this noble goal early in life. We should stress a focus on personal understanding of Scripture. Young men must learn to demonstrate sincere faith rather than living for selfish pleasures or cozying up to sin. Flaws need to be addressed and discipline established. The home should be the focus of our young men because it is not only essential to their children’s spiritual life, but is also a proving ground for godly leadership.

Elders come from within the Lord’s church—where else would they come from? Are we working to become and encourage the next generation of God’s elders?

Jacob Hudgins
jacobhudgins@yahoo.com

Extras:

A Helpful Quote: “It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better.  The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly; who errs and comes up short again and again; because there is not effort without error and shortcomings; but who does actually strive to do the deed; who knows the great enthusiasm, the great devotion, who spends himself in a worthy cause, who at the best knows in the end the triumph of the high achievement and who at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly.  So that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat” —Teddy Roosevelt

A Great Link:  If you’re looking for a great link, Plain Talk is fantastic: http://theplaintalk.org/plaintalk/

Muscle Building Reading Schedule:  A Bible reading schedule which takes you through the prophets, poets, and N.T. epistles in about four months.  Check it out here: Muscle Building Reading Schedule

The prophet Isaiah speaks to the nation of Judah around 700 BC. His messages explain the problem of sin and the future hope to come when Christ arrives. The first chapter of Isaiah is the prophet’s cry against sin. This cry is instructive for us to know what God is looking for from his people.

The Lord’s Displeasure (Isaiah 1:10-11)

Isaiah begins with a serious insult to the nation, calling them spiritually Sodom and Gomorrah. The people had a Sodom-like offensiveness to the Lord. God said their sacrifices were not truly for him but for themselves. Listen to the threefold decrying of these sacrifices: “What are the multitude of these sacrifices to me?” — “I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams” — “I do not delight in the blood of bulls.” These sacrifices meant nothing to God, added nothing to God, and did nothing for God. This should amaze us because God commanded these sacrifices. Page after page through the book of Leviticus we read the commands for the sacrifices that God required. Consider what God is essentially saying: “You are giving the sacrifices I’ve commanded but I’ve had enough of them. I have no joy in these sacrifices you are bringing.” There is worship that God does not delight in, does not want, and will not accept. Worship that is for us, for our joy, and for our pleasure is not worship at all. Only acts that are for God, his joy, and his pleasure are worthy to be called worship.

The Lord’s Rejection (Isaiah 1:12-15)

Isaiah further decries their worship as nothing more than the noise of shuffling feet and clacking of hooves on the pavement. There is plenty of religious activity, but God is not pleased with their actions. Their worship was merely an incessant noise to the Lord. Their offerings were worthless. Their incense was an abomination. The Lord could not endure their iniquity and solemn assemblies. Why does God hate their worship? Isaiah explains that the people were coming to God in worship while their lives were happily continuing in sinful living. Their unconfessed, unrepentant sins made their worship intolerable to God. In fact, God was offended by hollow worship. God hates worship when we are not approaching with repentant hearts. Listen to verse 14: “Your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hates.” The equivalent statement in our time would be, “I hate with all my heart.” All God saw was their blood stained hands. Therefore, their prayers were blocked because they did not have repentant hearts (1:15). Their prayers were ineffective because they were not matched with godly lives. Even with many prayers, God will not listen because unrepentant sins block our relationship with God.

The Lord’s Requirements (Isaiah 1:16-17)

The Lord declared what he wanted the people to do to obtain his favor. Consider five requirements for setting oneself right with God:

First, “Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean.” Hearts need to be cleansed. God is calling for repentance in obvious ways. Clean up your lives. Stop thinking you can continue to practice your sins and still remain in God’s favor. God does not want our worship if it does not come from repentant hearts. Further, “remove the evil of your deeds from before my eyes.” Repentance not only removes evil deeds but also cleans up the residual evil and damage our sins caused. True repentance tries to make things right again. This is why Zacchaeus is held up as an example of repentance leading to salvation (Luke 19). He did not just stop the evil acts. He cleaned up the evil of his deeds. He decided to repay fourfold anyone whom he had defrauded. God wants more than sorrow. God wants hearts that correct the evil committed. Our worship becomes beautiful to God when we work to set right the evil we have done. This is what Jesus taught in The Sermon on the Mount:

“So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift” (Matt. 5:23–24).

God wants repentance driven worship. God wants us to desire clean hearts and clean hands.

Second, God wants us to abandon the old life. Stop the old lifestyle because God will not accept us if we continue in the old life.

Third, we must develop a new mind. “Learn to do good” (1:16). God’s people need to adopt a new way of thinking, not conforming their minds to the pattern of this world (cf. Rom. 12:2).

Fourth, we must set new objectives for our lives and have a complete change of priorities. “Seek justice” (1:17). Jesus commands us to seek first the kingdom of God (cf. Luke 12:31). God’s people must change their pursuit from worldly things to godly things.

Fifth, God specified what needed to be made right. They needed to correct oppression, bring justice to the fatherless, and plead the widow’s cause. Right the wrongs and do what God has called you to do!

The Lord’s Invitation (Isaiah 1:18-20)

As always, God is ready to meet us with grace and mercy when we turn to him. Listen to his beautiful invitation:

       “Come now, let us reason together, says the LORD: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool” (Isaiah 1:18).

This is a compassionate call. Let us resolve our differences. Let us settle the matter. There is hope. But the hope is found in God’s way, not in our ways. Your sins, which are like blood stained scarlet, can be made as white as snow. You can be made pure. You can be made clean. If you will present your sin-stained hands to God in confession and repentance, he will wash you clean and your worship will be acceptable again.

If we will be willing and obedient, we will receive life and blessings (1:19). But if we refuse and rebel, then we will receive death and judgment (1:20). The only thing that keeps us from renewal with God and cleansing of sins is our own stubbornness. God has not hidden the means for cleansing. God’s appeal is not unreasonable. God is asking us to be open and responsive to him. Stop the old life (cease), develop a new mind (learn), and set new objectives and priorities (seek). This is what makes worship acceptable to God. Our worship is unacceptable when it does not come from the overflow of repentance. Our hope is only found in God’s way.

Brent Kercheville

brentkerch@gmail.com

The story of the rich young ruler (Mark 10:17-25) is familiar to most Bible students. Conducting a Bible class on this text is usually fairly predictable. The facts are plain to see – this rich religious guy won’t give up his possessions to follow Jesus – how foolish! We all shake our heads in disbelief as we assure ourselves that we would have gladly dumped our possessions, slept on the ground with Jesus, and followed him wherever he wanted to take us. I’m sorry; I just have a hard time minimizing this story. I have a hard time passing over it so simply as if what Jesus said to this man is never repeated again or has little or no application to my life. If you want to just beat up on this guy, then go ahead. But before you do, you might want to keep in mind a few things that will make him a little more like you and me.

This man really wanted eternal life. He wanted it very badly. He wanted it as much as most people do. He ran to Jesus and knelt down. He had kept the commandments. He lived a good life, and was a moral upright man who wanted to know what else he lacked. I want to know who among us would tell such a man he would not go to heaven? When his funeral was preached, who among us would have questioned his salvation? Let’s face it, he may not be far different from you or me.

Jesus’ words to this ruler challenge us to make sure our commitment is where it should be. It may be that every one of us would have no problem giving up every possession we have in order to serve the Lord. But possessions may not be what the Lord asks us to give up.

What Commitment Meant to Different People

When Saul was converted, the Lord sent Ananias saying, “I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.” A number of years later, Paul gave an account of what he had suffered, and God wasn’t nearly through with him (2 Cor. 11:23-28). For me, just one 39-lash event and I would have been trembling to preach in the next city. If you knew ahead of time that becoming a Christian would mean all of those things, would you have still done it? Paul said, “But everything that was a gain to me, I have considered to be a loss because of Christ. More than that, I also consider everything to be a loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. Because of Him I have suffered the loss of all things and consider them filth, so that I may gain Christ” (Phil. 3:7-8).

Piece of cake? You’ve got that part down pat? The proof isn’t just in whether or not you would let someone beat you up for the cause of Christ. It plays out in the little things, things like reaching out to save your friend or neighbor, hospitality, and whether you bother to get to know, support, and encourage new Christians and those who are weak and struggling. So if the Lord told you that the life of Paul would be your life if you became a Christian, would you have obeyed the gospel?

If Paul’s life was too easy for you, what if you were told that when you became a Christian, you would have to go through what Job went through? All your children would die, all your possessions take away, all your friends would desert you, your wife would disdain you, and the only “blessing” you would have would be that you wouldn’t die – and even that would be a curse. Your choice, soft life, or the life of Job? Still want to become a Christian?

Well, what if becoming a Christian meant you had to live the life of Abraham? You will be required to move away from your family and friends, live in a foreign country your whole life. And get this; you never get to live in a house – just a tent. If that’s not enough, you will be told to kill your only son. Oh sure, that’s easy! Remember, you don’t know what we know. Abraham would have literally killed his son if an angel had not stopped him. Could you do that? C’mon, take the knife in your hand and raise it to cut the throat of your son or daughter. Let’s hear someone boast about how they would!

Now maybe you are thinking, you’re just throwing easy stuff at me. Is that the best you have? Well, okay, how about Jeremiah. God says if you become a Christian the commitment I will require is that of Jeremiah. “What’s that?” you say. Okay, you have to preach to wicked people all your life and they will never repent. Everyone will hate you. You will be starved, beat up, and repeatedly left for dead. Oh, and one other thing, God will command you to remain unmarried. None of that pleasure. You will do all of this alone. Anyone signing up for Christianity now?

Or maybe you would prefer the life of Ezekiel? In this case, your nation will be attacked and you and your family will be taken away as slaves never to see your home again. God will make you preach in captivity to a people who will have no regard for your message. As a result, God will put you through numerous trials, including not being able to speak for seven years just so your message will have a better chance of being accepted. And if that is not enough, God will cause your wife to die and then tell you not to mourn for her in order to make a point in your sermons. Now who would like to sign up for Ezekiel?

Maybe you would consider something that fits our day. What if you were in the position of King Herod or his wife Herodias when offered the gospel (Mark 6:14-20)? To become a Christian you have to get out of your marriage. It is unlawful. Marriage by Roman law, yes, but unlawful before God. This, unfortunately, is not an uncommon scenario today.

Here’s the final question. If before you became a Christian the Lord placed all of these lives before you as alternatives, which would you choose?

Rich ruler?

Paul?

Job?

Abraham?

Jeremiah?

Ezekiel?

Herod?

Funny, isn’t it? Most people today might have thought the plight of Herod would have been the hardest, that is until they looked at the others. It is actually one of the easier ones, isn’t it?

So how is your commitment? I think mine needs to be raised a bit.

Berry Kercheville

berrykerch@gmail.com

As I have come to a greater understanding of Paul’s letter to the Ephesians I have come to realize that man’s part and place in God’s creation is more about God than it is us. When I consider the book of Job, and the biblical references to Satan and his conflict with God, I begin to see that God’s plan of salvation does not revolve around us; it revolves around God. To me, this is a sobering and humbling realization. Our concept of the Bible, salvation, Christianity, the church, and religion should not be man centered, but God centered.

Paul makes it clear that we should be mindful of our part in a larger spiritual conflict between God and Satan and the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places (Eph. 6:10-20). But is our existence about more than some spiritual conflict in the heavenly places? Are we only pawns in some epic spiritual battle, or are we more to God than that?

Throughout the scriptures we are described as God’s children. In Ephesians 5:1, Paul encourages us to be “imitators of God as dear children.” As Paul reasoned with the philosophers at Athens in Acts 17:29, he stated that we are God’s offspring.

We often wonder why God created us. Why are we here? What is life all about? I have heard many say, and have said myself, “Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the whole duty of man” (Eccl. 12:13). I don’t buy it. I do not believe that the only reason God made us was so that He would have someone to respect Him and do what he says. That’s like saying the only reason my dad had me was to change the channels on the television set! (Which, in the days before remote controls, I often thought was the case.)

No, there is more to God’s creation of us than that. When confronted with the question of why God made us, the best answer I can offer is, for the same reason that we have children. I understand that there are exceptions to what I am about to say, but for the most part we have children to have someone to love and to be loved by. We have children to share our lives with and to be a part of their lives.

Consider the fact that God not only made us, but made us in His image. He also created a perfect environment for us to live, and before Adam and Eve sinned God had a close relationship with them. It was only after they chose to depart from God’s will that their fellowship was broken. Yet, God immediately set in motion His plan to draw them back to Himself (Gen. 3:15).

By the time we get to Genesis chapter six we read that God is sorry that He made mankind. He is sorry because they have completely corrupted themselves in the earth. This is no different than a parent being sorry that they ever had a child that had so completely turned away from them and destroyed themselves. The sorrow is because of the love and the realization of what could have been. This is God’s love for His children.

The ultimate evidence of God’s love and desire to have a relationship with us is expressed in Jesus. Far from being a trite saying mouthed by those who do not realize its full significance, John 3:16 is a stunning declaration of God’s love for us. When we read, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life,” He is saying that He loves you so much that He was willing to come and find you, and then die for you, just to give you the opportunity to come home. Not the certainty that you would, but the opportunity for you to do so. No matter how much we have grieved him, no matter how far we have gone from him, and no matter how much we have rebelled and rejected Him, He leaves the door to home open for us.

This is the love and desire of God that is so clearly portrayed in the parable of the lost son in Luke 15. It is the picture of a father longing for the return of his wayward son. When he sees him from a great distance coming home he runs to him and embraces him. I can imagine the tears of joy and relief in the phrase, “and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him.” I can easily see the father continually looking to that far country and yearning one day to see his son returning. If we would only consider how emotional and heartrending this story is we could never doubt God’s great love for us and His desire for us to be with Him.

Hosea speaks of this father-child relationship in Hosea 11:1-11. Listen to the phrases God uses:

“When Israel was a child I loved him.” – vs. 1

“I taught Ephraim to walk, Taking them by their arms; but they did not know that I healed them. I drew them with gentle cords, with bands of love, and I was to them as those who take the yoke from their neck. I stooped and fed them.” – vs. 3-4

“How can I give you up, Ephraim? How can I hand you over, Israel? How can I make you like Admah? How can I set you like Zeboiim? My heart churns within Me; My sympathy is stirred.” – vs. 8

When we turn away from God like a child from a mother or father it causes great pain and distress to Him. He says that His heart churns within Him. I am bewildered when I hear others say that we cannot hurt God or cause Him pain. To make such a statement denies the love that God has for us. You are not just some pawn in the spiritual conflict in the heavenly places. You are the beloved child of God. He is looking for you and longing for you to be with Him.

Craig Bradley

rcbsjb@q.com