Sermons – Bethel Primitive Baptist Church: Recent Episodes
Bethel Primitive Baptist Church - McMahan, TX
Subjects in this world vary from absolute to situational to personal. Most of our problems come when the wrong application is attached to the wrong subject type. For example, right and wrong are absolute and should not be looked at as situational or personal choices. It is never ok to engage a little idolatry or a wee bit of covetousness. However, potentially disastrous outcomes can ensue when we treat a situational subject as absolute or enforce our personal choices absolutely on others. For example, how someone chooses their diet, daily routine, and deals with personalities can be very situational and personal in choice rather than unchanging execution. Emotions are one of those subjects that should be viewed as very situational and at times personal to our makeup and preference. Solomon wrote about different times and seasons under the heaven in Ecclesiastes 3, and many of those subjects evoke either direct or connotative emotion to them. However, the best way to understand where emotions are acceptable and certain boundary lines exist is to look at the Absolute One and see where and how emotions are exhibited by Him.
Not About Good vs. Evil: One of the biggest misconceptions about emotions is that they are inherently good or evil. Anger, happiness, sorrow, etc. by their very nature are not good or evil. We are told to be angry but not to sin (Ephesians 5:24-25). Therefore, it is not the anger itself that is good or bad but the execution of it. God Himself is angry and every time His execution is perfect. His anger towards sin and hatred toward abomination are the perfect execution of righteous fury and indignation. When God’s anger is coupled with hate (Psalm 5:5), that execution is perfectly just. Likewise, our anger can be righteous in its fury and just in its execution. David expressed hatred towards God’s enemies (Psalm139:21-22), and while unpleasant, that anger is just. On the other end of the spectrum, we are told to sorrow, but also to be careful how we sorrow. We shouldn’t sorrow hopelessly (I Thessalonians 4:12) nor should we do it overmuch (II Corinthians 2:7). It is perfectly just to sorrow over sin, loss, and the other maladies of life. However, the problem becomes when it is done too much or in the wrong fashion. Jesus Himself wept while on earth showing us the right ways, times, and means to do so.
Intent: Many of the non-absolute subjects in life get to a very specific and fine point: what is the intent for which they are being done? For example, Jesus cautioned about the manner of prayer and doing alms in Matthew 6. Clear observation shows that the Lord is pleased with prayer and alms giving (Acts 10 with Cornelius). However, He cautioned about the intent of those actions. Pharisees do them to be seen of men, and their intent is mirrored in the way they execute those things. However, if someone is praying to literally talk with their God about what is on their heart and mind, that intent is a good one. If someone is giving alms to simply help those that are less fortunate than they are, God is pleased with that action because the intent is noble. Philippians 4:8 tells us that a right intent is true, honest, pure, just, lovely, and of good report. These are the things that attend good intentions from thought all the way to practice. So, if our emotions are borne from a good intent, they will be done nobly and without just accusation.
Actions: Just as a noble act done with the wrong intention should be avoided, so also should the right intention with the wrong action be equally by-passed. Many of the best intended people ended up failing the execution for one reason or another. Peter was passionate about going to death with Jesus, and his swordplay in the Garden of Gethsemane showed that passion had action to back it up. However, fear overcame him just a little later in his moment of trial. Sometimes anger and fury goes too far, and is followed by the tearful “I didn’t mean to” or the heinous “I couldn’t help it.” Parental instruction and correction is a good example of this. Parents should justly correct their children, and the Biblical method of correction is a rod (Proverbs 22:15). However, good intention of correcting children can go too far into abuse if not measured and calibrated. By the same token, ministers are charged to correct and rebuke the flock when needed, but if those noble intentions of instructing the flock end up leading to pulpit bullying and sheep abuse, the best intention is not backed by the right actions. The action and the intent should fit hand-in-glove, and again, the thing with its associated emotion is not the good or bad thing in and of itself. Rather, the whole situation should be evaluated. Pieces of it may not be pleasant, but that doesn’t mean they are wrong. Other elements may be pleasant in the moment, but that doesn’t necessarily make them correct.
When looking at our Great God, there has never been a wrong intention as everything He does is out of the “good” pleasure of His will (Ephesians 1:4-6). Good in this sense means that it is right and pure every single time. Likewise, His actions are always measured perfectly (Deuteronomy 32:4), making the whole of experience with God’s emotions good and perfect every time. When He is angry, He is right be, and the manner in which He moves is correct in every course. So also does His happiness, sorrow, laughing, tears, etc. follow in perfect intention and execution. Friends, we have our ups and downs. Emotionally, things come and go. In and of themselves, it is not a right or wrong thing. We should ask in our emotion if it is the right emotion for the time, and second to that, we should ask if we are engaging it properly. The world in which we live desires pleasant and smooth things, but sometimes the rough way is the right way to go. At other times, smooth and more conciliatory tones should be struck. May God give us the wisdom to apply our hearts in the right way, put the new creature and his will at the center of all our decisions, and move in the same paths that God walks every day.
Grace is a subject that is either very misunderstood or severely limited in people’s minds. From a theological perspective, many people claim to believe in grace but then immediately damage it by adding things to it to make “grace no more grace.” From a day-to-day perspective, people see grace as something akin to nobility, dignity, or a charming disposition. In reality, these limiting views of grace not only do damage to theological thought, but they hamper our ability to live the freedom that grace affords us in our lives. Foremost, the heart of grace and the free imparting of it comes from the hand of our gracious and merciful God. (II Corinthians 8:9) By taking upon Himself that which was rightfully ours, we received from Him that which is His: inheritance, nature, and eternal life. What does this grace do in the daily realm? How does it look and what functions should it afford us?
Speech and Behavior: Colossians 4:6 gives keen insight to how transformative grace can and should be with our decorum. Paul’s admonition is to have our speech “alway” with grace. This indicates two things: 1. We are a possessor of grace before the decorum begins and 2. There is never not a season for this. Many preach that grace is something you get by a certain action. True Bible doctrine teaches that actions are something that come as an effect of the cause of grace already being present. People don’t sin to become sinners; they sin because they are sinners. Likewise, works of righteousness and grace are not to become righteous or get grace. These things are done because someone is already righteous and already possesses grace. Also contained in the thought is that grace is not “seasonal” or something that should be displayed only at times. Rather, grace should “alway” infuse our thoughts that lead to speech that leads to action. Grace is not a sedentary concept that just resides in people but something that should inform and display through the living the life that they have.
Sufficient: In II Corinthians 12, we read of an exchange between Paul and the Lord where Paul’s problems in life were brought to the Lord to petition their removal. The thrice returned answer is that grace is sufficient and strength made perfect in weakness. If our living behavior that displays the life we have should always be with grace, then it makes sense that the grace imparted and bestowed by our omnipotent God would be sufficient for all the trials, tribulations, and sorrows that we face. However, one of the great benefits of grace’s sufficiency is not immediately seen, as it was not immediately seen with Paul in his trials with his thorn in the flesh. The strength that grace brings is most vividly seen through weakness. How do we view Christ’s grace? How did it come to us? Through our strength? No, in spite of it. That rich gift and blessing did not come to His friends or those that already loved Him. It was freely given to His enemies (Romans 5:6-8), and the great strength of the gift of grace is seen that those that were so far from Him as His enemies were brought nigh by that grace and blood to the very presence and place next to Him in glory and power. So, when the trials in our lives come that we freely admit are too big for us and when giants oppose us that attempt to stand between us and our joy, the right perspective makes the difference on how those living events are handled. If we think we have the power and ability to “get over the hump,” then we will not realize the rich strength and fulness of grace in that trial. However, if we see ourselves as rightfully weak in nature, impotent in deed, and ignorant in thought, then we can rely on the power of One that has richly blessed us to make it through the trial. David was a lad both before and after he faced Goliath. Peter was a “foot in mouth” both before and after he walked with the Lord. However, their ability to do the glorious things that they did came from a reliance not on self but the One who imparted the grace being utilized.
For the Dying: We sometimes talk about “dying grace” which is a valid Biblical concept that God is with us even in death (Psalm 23). However, living grace for the dying is a different concept but just as rich in tone and colored in thought. In II Samuel 23, David records his last words. In legal jargon now, they call these events “dying declarations.” These declarations don’t exactly happen moments before the last breath is recorded. Rather, it is someone facing their own mortality and knows that things either should be said or done before they press the dying pillow. These kinds of dying declarations carry great legal weight as someone is expected in those moments to have pure distilled thought and clarity of what is important and what is not. In David’s dying declaration, he freely admitted that his house was not right with God, but in spite of that, God had ordered with him an everlasting covenant that was sure in all things. What did David focus on in the twilight of his life? Failures, regrets, sorrows, despondency, etc.? No, his focus was turned heavenly where real strength, true reality, and never-fading glory are always in bloom. Ministers have visited many hospital rooms and bedchambers where loved ones are facing down mortality, and many times, it is a glorious, heavenly experience. The dying have living grace to talk of the wonderful love of God to them and their very real expectation of quickly going home. At other times, this grace also blesses those that have lost their faculties to have moments of clarity and powerful thought and action. No matter how degraded the mental function or drugged the physical condition, they stir from that reverie to posit some powerful thought that shows their fellow living brethren that God is still present and in control.
Friends, too many times, we get so focused on one aspect of grace, what it is, or what it is not, that we fail to seize on the blessings it affords to us day after day, season upon season of our lives. Whether up or down, grace abides. Old or young, grace is still fresh. May we have lives that display that which is freely ours to His glory and the mutual blessing and benefit of those that we love. It is always in season to be gracious in our actions, and whether in the spring or fall of our existence here, may people see in us the grace that has been given to and for us. Looking back over the experiences of my life with those that I’ve known and loved who are no longer here, I have witnessed the profound example of graciousness even in dark and dire seasons. I have also witnessed living grace being displayed through the dying for my strength and comfort. May it be our place in our station to likewise be an example to our brethren both around us and those coming after us.
As a creature, man is predisposed to worship something. For all of man’s chest thumping feelings of independence and self-assuredness, at the core of our being, we will invariably worship something. Many times due to the fall of humanity it tends to self-worship. However, whether the idolatry is self or anything else other than the One True God, there is a delusion to it that is rampant, insidious, and permeating. It will invade and affect every portion of life in terms of both quality and quantity. Joshua told the children of Israel in his farewell that any god other than God was all the same (Joshua 24). Pick one. Doesn’t matter, because it all tends to the same thing. Paul identifies the heart of idolatry as covetousness (Colossians 3:5). Covetousness is either wanting something that’s not yours, or not wanting to part with something that you think belongs to you. Whatever end of the spectrum our own personal idolatry may be found on, it’s like all the little gods out there. It’s all the same, because no matter the form the delusion takes, it is not looking at reality.
You are not your own: One of the grandest delusions that the devil ever spun before man’s eyes is the idea that something of who we are belongs to us. Paul makes it clear that both our manifest (body) and intrinsic (spirit) properties are not ours but belong to God (I Corinthians 6:19-20). At the moment our minds conceive the thought that something belongs to us, we are deluded by idolatry before any action is ever taken. Those hatchlings from rotten eggs consitute the baseline and foundation from whence we will then build all the idols in our lives and experience. Whenever we think something is ours, all it takes is a stronger power or authority to step in and show us our error. For example, the day you pay off your house, just stop paying taxes, and it will become apparent very quickly how much that house is “yours.” Likewise, sometimes the Lord steps in and shows that what we thought was ours is really His.
We are not Him: It seems obvious that we are not God, and yet, when you consider man’s ways, so much of him is geared in life like he thinks he is. “I can do it,” “If it is to be, it’s up to me,” “You are the man,” “My body my choice,” etc. are the refrains from the chorus lines of the world. In all those cases and more, it goes right back to the Garden of Eden. What beguiled the woman and filled the man with prde? “You will be as gods…” From that moment, fallen humanity lives in the mindset and mantra that we are in control. This is most painfully seen through the lens of self-justification. When challenged with something we think or do, rather than ponder, consider, and potentially shift, we immediately shift gears into justification. It’s the go-to that deluded minds run to. If there was ever a man that walked this plane who could have justified Himself honorably and justly every single time, it would be Christ. However, when He suffered, He threatened not. When He was reviled, He reviled not again. Never was guile found in His mouth. (I Peter 2) Instead of running to justification, we should rather run to the throne of grace and plead with God to see whether there be any wicked way in us. (Psalm 139:24)
An “others” problem: Perhaps the most insidious thing about the delusion of idolatry is the fact that man can see the folly in someone else’s experience but not turn the mirror around to perhaps see self as guilty of the same thing. Jesus commanded us to judge rightously in Matthew 7. Before considering the mote in someone else, we should identify and deal with the beam in ourselves. The reason this delusion is so insidious is because when identifying everyone else’s idols, it can lead us to have the mentality that “I’m ok.” This furthers the delusion in ourselves and further buries and hides the idols from our own prying eyes. Maybe at one time we thought they “could” or “might” be idols. However, by seeing everyone else’s, our eyes don’t identiy our own anymore nor move the needle towards repentance and back to the Living God. Idolatry is not a “them” problem. It’s an “us” issue. Long has it been the greatest enemy to the Lord’s beloved Bride more than any “ite” or “ism” ever preached or proclaimed. The false world the delusion brings keeps us from identifying things like we should.
Friends, idolatry is not regulated to a golden image. Nor is it something that our bodies literally prostrate before. That is but one form. Idolatry plain and simple is the wanting of something that belongs to God, thinking we are God, and looking at life like our performance has it all lined and figured out. One of the things that “Lord willing” in someone’s vocabulary will do is remind us that we cannot perform by ourselves, what we do should be in keeping with the Lord’s will, and may it start with me and my walk. Two simple words that can help gear any thought away from the delusions of idolatry. Therefore, if what we just thought or said is not in keeping with the Lord’s will, focuses the glory away from God, focuses the blame somewhere else, etc. that conception is not rooted in reality. It is part of the delusion that idolatry brings leading to us living in a world of misery thinking we’re living in a land of plenty. As the old hymn says, The dearest idol I have known, what e’re that idol be. Help me to tear it from its throne, and worship only Thee. So shall my walk be close with God, calm and serene my frame. So purer light shall mark the road that leads me to the Lamb.
Many people today – including God’s born again children – have misguided ideas of what is required for the power of God to be on display or manifest. Take an exercise like preaching. People have expectations at times that certain things have to happen or else preaching is not present. Maybe it’s the way the man speaks, the way he moves, or some other ancillary factor. What makes preaching preaching plain and simple is the power of God being present to accompany and lift the message, messenger, and the hearers. How does that look? What markers should carry the day for us to say that the power of God was present with us? In Luke 5:17 we read of a scene where the power of the Lord was present. What was the scene? Jesus sitting in the midst of a group teaching. Later, He does heal a crippled man who is brought to Him manifesting the power in a different way, but the power was present in the midst before the crippled man and his friends arrived.
Person not Circumstance: Simply put, the presence of God’s power is tied to a Person not a circumstance. All the ways people think that power comes and is manifest – thunderings, quakings, fire, etc. – are mere circumstances to what the power actually is. The power is the Person of Christ not extraneous events. When Elijah called fire down from heaven on Mount Carmel, the power wasn’t the fire, it was the One who directed the fire. When that happened, the very next chapter sees that same man Elijah in a cave experiencing not only a fire but also a great wind and earthquake. However, the Lord was in none of those “mighty” events. Sometimes He is. I can prove He’s in winds (east wind rolled back the Red Sea), just as He’s in fire (the previous chapter on Mount Carmel), as well as earthquakes (the earth swallowing Korah, Dathan, and their company). But those events in and of themselves do not constitute the power of God being present.
A Common MOA: When people talk about God and how He moves, much of the time, they are talking about the extraordinary events. What is God’s common mode of action (MOA)? Elijah also experienced a still, small voice in the cave. God was in that, and I submit He is the only One who can and is in such a mode. All other voices aren’t still. Still things have no voice. But God can speak in a voice that is still that resonates down in the soul and lives of His children. When He is teaching in the house in Luke 5:17, many of the people standing by watching Him didn’t see what was occurring. The doctors and Pharisees were observing from the seat of the scornful rather than seeing power come forth. The reason I know that with assuredness is because when the crippled man was healed later, they questioned what He did and His authority. No matter the outward circumstances, God’s common MOA with us and being present with us is the still small voice that He alone inhabits.
Seen and Unseen: When people think about the power of God that they have seen, again they are generally talking about extraordinary events. God’s power being present with His children is a regular occurrence. Paul said on Mars Hill in Acts 17 that He is not very far from every one of us. His presence in the house was sufficient, but the fact that He was teaching shows that the power present was being manifest on that occasion. He is with the church, but the preaching of the gsopel shows that His power is present with us. However, it was there before, we just didn’t see or recognize it correctly because it seems so “ordinary.” The fact that an ordinary day doesn’t spin out of control is a testament to the power of God being present. If He were not present, sin and wickedness would have had the mastery over this globe long ago. He still holds it in His hand. His providence, His goodness, and His ultimate purpose for the destiny of His family is ever before Him. Nothing will undo that. Nothing can change a single promise He ever made. What seems so ordinary is ordinary because His power is present. The fact that the sun comes up every morning to chase away the night and darkness is a sign every day that His promises are true and His mercies still new. What we “see” when it is manifest to us at times will depend on how much we see Him in the regular every-day events.
When you think of your life and your walk with God, there are moments that are going to rise prominently like peaks in a mountain range. However, those peaks are not the whole constitution of those rocks and mountains. Like a marriage, couples can remember the “big” moments in their marriages, but those big moments are made from a lot of smaller moments being present with each other. They stack together and form those big and lasting events and memories. We don’t think a lot about the meals we’ve shared, the bills we’ve paid, and the other mundane things we’ve done together. However, we remember when we’ve laughed and cried together. So our relationship with God is that we remember how we’ve laughed and wept together, but may we take note of the other events to know that the power of God is present with us whether we see something major or regular.
Over the course of my experience, I have encountered a great number of opinions about songs – particularly hymns – and what constitutes good worship, good singing, acceptable songs, etc. Most of the time, the opinion stated as fact really boils down to taste and preference. For example, I have heard people say that sad songs don’t belong in church, fast songs are progressive, and singing the same words over and over again is not profitable. Looking through the original songbook (Psalms), we again find these opinions are personal preference as it contains the joyful vs the doleful (Psalm 150 vs Psalm 137), the long vs the short (Psalm 119 vs Psalm 117), repetitious refrains (Psalm 136), and content that is peppy at its heart (Psalm 72). Taken collectively, the entire book of Psalms gives us a blueprint of the vast expanse of the purpose of singing and what it does to the soul in connection to the Almighty.
Praise: Many of the refrains from the book of Psalms basically shout glory and praise to God. “Bless the Lord O my soul” and “His mercy endureth forever” shine a great light through voice on the august majesty of the One whom we adore. This type of praise coming through the voice from the heart shines in refulgent splendor as the notes and words coelesce to show the quickened soul at its most exposed and vulnerable moment talking to the One who made it alive. While our voice is tuned and turned toward Him in spoken and silent prayer, the song of the soul, giving praise to His name, strives to crown Him with the glory due unto His name in a way like no other (Psalm 47).
Prayer: Even though we oftentimes think of prayer as simply a spoken word, there are a plethora of songs that are prayers to God (Psalm 51, Psalm 90). These prayers encapsulate everything from praise, to repentence, and a beseeching of God’s grace and compassion for forgiveness for sins, transgressions, and iniquities. When we give our singing voices to God in prayer, it can sound doleful and perhaps minor in its key. Othertimes, our thanksgivings are very major in the theme and formation of the melody. In either case, our souls are crying out to Him in supplication to help and assist.
Experience: While not always a pleasant thing to consider, many songs give the experience of the author and in turn the singer who sings it. Psalm 73 gives a tragic experience of Asaph that in the end turns to glory and shouting praise. While our experiences are not always pleasant to consider, recalling them through noted song does cause us to reflect on the One who has delivered us from our troubles and brought us through our own shortcomings and pitfalls. When re-living these moments through song, may it encourage and point our heart and soul to reflect on His goodness and tender mercy.
Doctrine: At other times, our songs plumb the depths of the rich foundations that we adhere to and ground ourselves in. Psalm 139 is perhaps one of the most doctrinal passages in God’s word. It begins with the attributes of God, follows into His personal goodness to us through the work of Christ, and it ends with the experience we have with God and a looking toward His ultimate and perfect judgment some sweet day. No one could sing such a song without a firm conviction of who God is, what He has done, and what He one day will do.
Regardless of our personal tastes, songs of the soul don’t just ascribe to one aspect of our connection to God. Collectively, they touch every avenue of our lives and how they relate to Him. Certain songs (through the tune and content) shouldn’t be sung dolefully and slowly. Examples of this in our current form would be Sweet to Rejoice in Lively Hope and Jesus My Lord My Shepherd Friend. However, other songs for the same reason shouldn’t be sung lively or fast like Show Pity Lord and Do Not I love Thee. Each in its place and time shows the multifaceted connection that we have with God. Whether in praise, prayer, experience, or doctrine, may we ascribe the greatness of our God and remember all His benefits to us. In so doing, we will find a complete story sung from the heart through the voice that is like no other form of worship we have.
Please come and join us for our spring Communion meeting on third weekend in May starting Saturday 5/16. Lord willing, Elder Chris Crouse from Little Union Primitive Baptist Church in Lithia, FL will be us.
Services are as follows:
Saturday 5/16
- 10:30 AM Morning Service
- 1:30 PM Afternoon Service
Sunday 5/17
- 10:30 AM Morning Service
- Communion following lunch
There are concepts about God that we readily believe and trust in, but we still don’t fully comprehend. For example, the Bible calls Him omnipotent (Revelation 19:6), which means He has all power. We believe it, but our minds cannot fathom having all power. Likewise, the Bible calls Him immutable or unchanging (Malachi 3:6, Hebrews 6:18). For beings as changeable as we are and will continue to be, we cannot truly measure or comprehend what it means to be unchanging and always the same. Years don’t affect Him, no power in the universe can match Him, and forever into eternity, these elements will be as unbending and abiding as they have ever been. However, when it comes to the correlation between His omnipotent ability and His unchanging nature, there are collision points that must be understood to have even a decent grasp of who our God is.
Cannot Do: While God has all power, the Bible freely declares that there are things He cannot do. He cannot lie (Titus 1:2), and that is a stronger thought than He could do it but doesn’t. He can’t do it. This “lack” of ability doesn’t remove a portion of power from His omnipotent ability. Rather, this inability informs us that His unchanging nature cannot do things that are contrary to it. Because justice and judgment are the habitation of His throne (Psalm 89:14), nothing that detracts from that is found within His personal presence. To do things contrary to justice and judgment would be contrary to the unchanging nature of God. It is not a lack of omnipotent ability. Rather, it is an immutable nature that will never be anything other than the all-powerful and eternally loving Being that He is.
Turning: Because of God’s immutable nature, it would be logical from man’s perspective that He would never turn, “change,” or repent. However, we read in Jeremiah 18 that God compares Himself to the potter down in the potter’s house. In this revelation of Himself and His nature, God tells Jeremiah that if His people or a nation repent from goodness when He thought to do them good, He would repent of the goodness He thought to bring to them. On the other hand, if His people or a nation repented from their evil, He would repent of the evil He thought to bring to them. Does this mean the unchanging God has changed? No, it means He has turned (repented) from a direction that is in keeping with His will and character. When Jonah preached to Nineveh, they turned from their wickedness, and as a result God turned from His wrath. This is less a change, but more a determined response that God has declared about Himself that we can expect when we see certain circumstances. In a nutshell, God punishes evil and blesses goodness. That is His character and nature. These changes and turning are part of His unchanging nature as they have ever been present with Him.
Power and Nature Meet: The reason these concepts are so vitally important to contemplate and ponder is from these elements springs our only hope of deliverance and justification. Had God not had all power, there would be no one with the ability to save us from wrath and eternal torment. As some of the old fathers used to say, “It took a Godman to be our deliverer, because without a man, we have no brother. Without God we have no deliverance.” Therefore, His humanity was offered on the altar of His divinity. Without His power, none could save us. Without His immutability, none could love us for our rotten condition. However, God’s everlasting love is set ever upon us, and His outstretched arm has brought salvation unto Himself in the Person of Jesus Christ. As Paul declares in Hebrews 6:18-20, these concepts give us even today a strong consolation to flee for refuge in the work of Jesus Christ and the promises of Almighty God.
We are changeable creatures. Age affects us, power weakens over time, and we change our minds and ideas. However, in this changing and changeable world, thank God we have Him who changes not. We lack the ability and wisdom to do many things. Certain things remain high above our comprehension and ability to perform. Thank God we have a friend that sticketh closer than a brother who has embraced us and will never let us go. There is an old philosophical (and foolish) question that men have asked for years, “Could God create a rock bigger than He could lift?” No matter what God creates, it cannot compare to its Creator, but more importantly, God’s will and nature are so rock solid and steadfast, that such scenarios are not even part of His will. They enter not into His mind or heart, but we have been placed there by Him to ever think upon and love us world without end.
In theological circles, it has long been debated what the purpose, place, effect, etc. of the gospel is. This has translated down through the ages as either too much or too little emphasis for the gospel in Christian circles and denominational churches. Scripturally, the gospel is fairly easy to define. Using the parallel passages of Isaiah 61:1-2 and Luke 4:18-19, Jesus uses the word “gospel” while the prophecy uses the word “good tidings.” The Bible neatly defines the gospel as good tidings, and like the “news” in the world, the declaration of a thing is admitting what is already a reality. So, what does the gospel declare that is a present reality? Paul uses 3 monikers to give us insight into what the gospel testifies in I Thessalonians 1:5. It is not just simply spoken words, but it is attended by power, the Holy Ghost, and much assurance. Even though these elements “attend” the gospel’s declaration, their attendance testifies to certain things.
Power: The power that attends the gospel testifies to a risen Lord. If Christ was dead in the grave, Paul says our preaching would be in vain. (I Corinthians 15) The power in attendance declares the resurrection of Christ by the manifest power and glory of the occasion. Consider the preaching the apostles did in the book of Acts. There was fire and tongues in attendance in both Acts 2 and Acts 10. There was the face of an angel with Stephen in Acts 6-7. These powerful displays declared Christ’s resurrection, and the apostles’ deportment was so different than in the gospel accounts because they had been with Jesus post-resurrection. (Acts 4:13) Even though some of the outward display today may not match exactly what they had then in the early days of the church, the power is still present to take an ignorant and unlearned man and bless him to declare things new and old simply from being with Jesus and having that power present on the occasion.
Holy Ghost: Peter declares that preaching is done with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven. (I Peter 1:12) This comforting work of the Holy Ghost was declared by Christ in John 14-15 before He went away. The purpose of the Holy Ghost’s work is to comfort the hearts of the saints since Christ’s physical presence would not be on the earth as it was in those days. What is interesting about this testimony and promise of the Holy Ghost’s work is how it would come. Jesus said that the Spirit would testify concerning Him. (John 15:26) Some people today say things like, “The Holy Ghost told me.” or “I was filled with the Holy Ghost and did ____.” How do they know? If asked what the testimony is, the Holy Ghost’s witness is, “Jesus, Jesus, Jesus.” So likewise, the gospel’s testimony is, “Jesus, Jesus, Jesus” through the witness of the Holy Ghost present declaring those things that He knows and has seen. While we haven’t seen the resurrected Lord in physical form, we have a witness who has, comes in His name, and attends the power of the gospel’s display.
Much Assurance: Assurance can be an interesting subject as some people put too much thought into it, while others put too little. Sadly, the assurance that people seek today, they go about in all the wrong places, leaving the fertile pastures and green fields where the highest assurance is given in this world to God’s weary people. False theology teaches that assurance is a “have to have” for salvation, while modern secularists teach that assurance is a myth and false narrative. As in other subjects, the answer lies between the two extremes. Assurance never makes anything a reality, it simply declares what is already reality. Assurance is not something chased and never gained. It is a real and tangible thing that the gospel brings to bear most profoundly. This is not some assurance or meager assurance. Paul calls it much assurance. It is something that is most surely believed, and very poignantly felt. What is this testimony? You are His! Someone that doesn’t belong to God feels nothing for the gospel. When Stephen preached in Acts 7, he got a different reaction than Peter from Acts 2. Both groups were told the same thing (you are guilty of the Lord’s death), but God’s children in Acts 2 were pricked “in” their hearts, while the others were cut “to” the heart. The gospel gets down to where we live, reminds us of our relationship to our Lord, and causes our hearts to cry out. Unregenerate men will simply have the message cut them to their stony heart and make them mad. So, the gospel testifies that we are saved in Him, by Him, and to Him.
As long as time stands, the subject of the gospel will be debated in religious circles and castigated in worldly circles. However, thinking of what it brings – proof of a risen Lord with an attending witness and the result of our place with Him – it should be much set by in our hearts, minds, and lives. Sometimes we think of the gospel and restrict its power, attendance, and much assurance to outward factors. We think of those “big” times when the Spirit was so thick you could cut it with a knife. However, in those quieter, “normal” times when the gospel is going forth from a broken vessel to a little band who have come out from the world for a little while, it is the same power, witness, and assurance as at other times. In Ezekiel 47, an angel brings the prophet through the waters that flowed out from the temple. Some of those waters were to the ankles, the knees, the loins, and some were so deep you could swim and not ever pass over. Whether your day was an ankle wetter or a swimming day, it is the same water from the same place. Point being, the testimony is the same regardless of the outward factors. May we rejoice evermore at this great blessing that God has left us here.
Life’s circumstances can skew our thinking, and our reactions to the things happening around us sometimes cause us to think things must be a certain way for things to happen. Naturally speaking, there are things that don’t go together, but the Lord in His kind providence can bring the supernatural out of a naturally impossible setting. In Mark 6:31 Jesus makes an interesting statement, commanding His disciples to go into the desert to rest. From a natural perspective, that doesn’t make a lot of sense as people trying to rest in a desert are likely dying. In the desert of our lives while inhabiting a sin-cursed world, there is little to nothing this world offers in the way of repose. One of the interesting things about Christ’s statement to His disciples is that it was for them to get away from the masses and the work they were doing. It had become so busy that they didn’t even have opportunity to eat. However, the masses follow them into the desert which leads to the eventual feeding of 5,000 men plus women and children. Because this event is the only miracle of Christ that all 4 gospel accounts record, I think it behooves us today to seek rest with our Lord in the desert of life.
Time and Opportunity: One of the easiest and most often used reasons why someone doesn’t seek the gospel pastures, church kingdom, or put forth the effort of an unashamed workman studying the Scriptures is “I just don’t have the time.” In this lesson, the disciples were so busy that eating had even been put to the side. So, Christ commands this rest in the desert. Opportunity is rarely given; it is made. To have the time, we have to make the opportunity. I’m sure the work they were engaged in was still ongoing, but Christ commands them away from it for a while to be with Him. As I have grown older, life seems to speed up, culture is going faster and faster, but the rest times with Christ don’t “fall in your lap” very often. They are sought from following after His command to be with Him in a restful place. This opportunity that Christ commands is also not something the disciples would have come up with by themselves. As we mentioned above, deserts are not places people go to rest. Today, the church is not a place that people see as the place to rest. However, in these not-thought-of places, the Lord provides a place and scene that is out of this world while in this world.
Supernatural Grass: In John’s account of this story (John 6:10), we find that when Christ begins to proceed with the feeding of the multitude He commands the people to sit down. We are given a detail of what was in this desert scene, as it tells us there was much grass in the place. Deserts are not places known for grass, and certainly, much grass is something alien to desert ecology. However, in a place that the Lord brings His people, He provides not only the food for the occasion but also the suitable resting place where none should be found. Even though the Lord doesn’t owe us these kindnesses, His compassion for His people brings things to this world that are not natural to this earthly plane. The promise of the Psalmist that we have green pastures to lie down in (Psalm 23) comes in ways and places that only could come by His supernatural hand.
Multiplication by Division: As the account of this time in the desert draws to a close, each of the gospel writers tell us that the multitude was fed by a very small portion (5 barley loaves and 2 small fishes), and when the end of the scene draws nigh, there is still more left over than when they started (12 baskets full). In the physical world we live in, division never brings a greater number. Mathematically, division always makes things smaller, but the Lord’s kind hand can take something, divide it, and bring about the same effect as multiplication. It would have been a great miracle just to feed such a large group with such meager offerings, but the supernatural power in the desert brings about good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over (Luke 6:38) as He still does exceedingly abundantly above all that we could ask or think (Ephesians 3:20). One of the gracious benefits of this scene is that the Lord gives His disciples something to take back out of the desert as a reminder of their time together in the desert. When the Lord pours out blessings to us today in His kingdom, there is more left over to take with us to remind us of our time together with Him and use to our benefit and His glory while in the rat race of life.
No one likes to be in a barren and desolate situation, but may we look for and make the times to be with our Lord in this desert and thirsty land. When we come apart with Him for a while, we not only find things we would not have otherwise, but they cannot be found in natural scenes. They can only come by His powerful providence. When I see a man taken beyond himself in the preaching of the gospel, a congregation lifted above the shores of this life, and observe people in dire distress with heads held high, I’m observing a peaceful, restful time in the desert. He has promised us that when we look for Him in this way with all our heart, there is a surety of finding Him in these times (Jeremiah 29:13). May we rest together with Him and one another in the desert of our lives finding blessings upon blessings to help carry us further along in our journey.
One of the surest ways to either gender success or fall prey to failure comes down to the nature of priorities in our lives. Successful people in different fields understand where priorities should fall, while perpetually failing people blame their lack of priorities on other people for their own problems. In Ruth 3:18, we read an interesting statement in the story of Ruth, Boaz, and Naomi. Naomi tells Ruth that Boaz would “not be in rest” until he had finished the business of redemption that very day. In this rich and wonderful story, Boaz prioritized Ruth and the redemption of Naomi’s family inheritance. He put it before rest and the other necessities of life. In the picture, we see a wonderful scene of Christ not resting until He sat down after finishing the redemption for His bride. While that picture has wonderful tones and brings sweet thoughts, what does that example show for us? How do we prioritize the way Christ or Boaz did in their redemption stories?
Who not What: One of the interesting things about priorities is that people often ask the wrong question. In the Boaz/Ruth story, the nearer kinsman was willing to redeem the parcel of ground that belonged to Elimelech. However, when Ruth’s name was brought up, he was not only unwilling but also unable to play the part of redemption. Unlike that kinsman, Boaz was willing and able to redeem not only the what (ground) but also the who (Ruth). Likewise, Christ was willing and able to save His bride no matter the what that stood between Him and her. Likewise, those who we love should be prioritized no matter what stands between us and them. When a man and woman stand together and take their marriage vows, they are pledging themselves to each other no matter what. The “who” carries the day over the circumstances of “what” may occur. In a church sense, we have pledged to one another and the Lord that we will stick with each other in the bonds of truth and love no matter what. Employees pledge to their employers to faithfully labor for a faithful wage. No matter the what going on, the who should carry the day of priority.
When not If: While the above section seems obvious, the test comes when the what stands in the way of things. It’s not a matter of “if” this will happen. It WILL happen. Things come up; life gets in the way. What to do? What did Christ do when death, hell, the grave, sin, and destruction stood between Him and His love? He literally moved heaven and earth by His own will, offering, and death to destroy all those things that stood between Him and her. Boaz was not moved by Ruth’s heritage or any of the cultural ramifications of his decision. Too many times, our modern culture allows and excuses things that previously would have been shameful. Divorce has become a very pedestrian item in our culture. People think nothing of it, but a man and wife should fight valiantly to honor the vows that have been taken. Church members should earnestly contend for the faith once delivered to the saints. Employees should put their best foot forward in the service of their employer. Families that are so divided and ripped apart by all the trials and tribulations of this present, evil world should pull together to face all the challenges together rather than be pushed apart by them.
How and Why: Another great challenge to keep priorities straight is that people either key on how they’re doing or why they’re doing it. Both should be linked and united together. For a married couple, just being together (how) is not sufficient. Why are you doing it? Likewise, just being present at church should be matched together with why we are doing it. Priorities cannot just be seen as duty (though they are a duty), they should be loved and prized. Staying married is not just a duty, love should be at the heart of it. Church attendance, membership, etc. should be joined together with a desire to meet with our Husband and a portion of His beloved. Boaz didn’t redeem Ruth out of sheer duty. There was a deep love and manifest affection from him to her. Christ didn’t suffer for His people through gritted teeth. He saw the joy set before Him, and He was satisfied seeing His seed prolong and prosper in His own hand. God, faith, family, and all the priorities we should keep lined up in our minds and spirits should be honored with all of our might (how), but that labor should be engaged with great affection, intense love, and outward joy (why). Only then will the priority be seen as it should be and kept in proper order for the long haul.
Friends, rather than go through a litany of specific items of priorities that people don’t keep or order up correctly, a handy verse to keep all this straight is Colossians 3:23. Whatever we are doing, it should be done heartily as unto the Lord. If we are unable to keep that mandate, it could be that we shouldn’t be doing what we are doing. It could be that we should be doing something else (higher priority) than what we are doing. But, when things are in their proper order, we can expect to hear that sweet refrain, “Well done…” that our faithful Lord resonates within our own consciences that indicates that we have prioritized the who, not let outside factors interfere, matched up our actions and the motivations behind them, and are prepared for the next onslaught that is sure to start sooner than later.
When it comes to making decisions at the crossroads of our lives, we sometimes have a complicated rubric that we employ to decide what “should” be done, “could” be done, “may” be done, and so forth. As the household of faith, we certainly should have the highest strain and filter with what the word of God says about the matter. However, even in the word of God, we are given good instruction on how to deal with the things that are not absolute and paramount: we generally call these non-essentials (Romans 14). However, the way each of us deals with the “could” and “may” be done things in our lives varies. Some approach non-essentials one way, while others of us approaches them another way. The problems enter in when we treat non-essentials like essentials and vice versa: majoring in the minors and minoring in the majors.
Touchpoints: Certain verses in Scripture act as touchpoints for broad subjects. An example is I Corinthians 14:40. Knowing whether or not to conduct something a certain way in the house of God should be strained by 2 big principles: decency and order. If the activity fails either of those tests, then this verse summarily dismisses it as a valid and proper activity. Another great broad touchpoint is Romans 12:1-2. How do we worship and what should it look like? These verses tell us generally that worship is done in person, sacrificially, and doesn’t look anything like the world. Again, if something fails those three tests, it can be dismissed. Doctrine is the same way, as grace verses all through Scripture show the nature of doctrine’s foundation. In Romans 11:6, Paul makes it clear that for grace to be espoused correctly, grace and works can’t be mixed. Anything that attempts to do so fails this big touchpoint. These areas show us what is major and how to conduct it in a major way.
Silence: One of the big areas of difference between the church and progressive spirits and attitudes is the church’s viewpoint on the “silence of Scripture.” For example, the Bible doesn’t list out all the dos and don’ts of church activity. While our previous section described a good touchpoint for church behavior (decency and order), there are whole host of activities that are fine for a home but not for church. The way we dress, act, and behave in the intimate environs of our own homes is different than the way we should act in God’s house. Paul addressed behaviors of the church at Corinth and told them to do their eating and drinking at home and not turn the Lord’s communion into a drunken feast (I Corinthians 11). Since there are behaviors not specifically outlining all church activities, how do we approach the Bible’s silence on a matter? It should be viewed as a prohibition not an invitation. Rather than spend a lot of ink in His book telling us all the things not to do, the Lord spent the ink showing primarily how things are rather than how they are not. The negative is used to set a contrast to the truth. As Paul told Titus, we should “affirm” these concepts continually. (Titus 3:8)
Personalities: Looking at church history, many – if not most – of the battles that should never should have happened boiled down to a single fine point: personalities that couldn’t get along. When the Lord calls us out of nature’s darkness into His marvelous light, He didn’t at the same time assassinate our personalities. You are still you, and I am still me. Some personalities jive well, and some don’t. However, the main thing in the house of God – and in our lives in general – is how one personality views things. Jesus went all the way for people that were His enemies. (Romans 5:5) Rather than looking at what we are and what we thought of Him, He loved us and showed it by sacrificing His all for our benefit and salvation. The way that translates is that I should be able to look over and past a lot of things personality-wise for the love that our mutual Lord has brought unto us by His free and unmerited grace. Personality is a minor, but many times we treat it like a major.
Many wars have been fought because people made a minor point a major point. Likewise, many wars have been skirted because people treated a major point like a minor point. Recent church history bears this out that a lot of factionalism conflicts in the middle portion of the 20th century scarred people’s mindset on strife and conflict. They never wanted to see anything like that again. The factionalism that plagued many portions of our people in great degree should not have occurred as there was a lot of personality strife at play. However, when doctrinal issues arise and principles of order are infringed, that ground should be defended and defended honorably. Doctrine, practice, and order: major. Personality, preference, and taste: minor. May our own preferences be left with ourselves, but may the common salvation and mutual faith be contended for with every fiber of our being. As an old pillar of Bethel said many years ago, “On matters of peace, I am for peace. But if peace cannot be had, then I am for war.”
Today’s culture sadly either wants to ignore consequences or claim that they don’t exist. Two of the great lies that the devil promulgated throughout the general populace are: 1. What I do only affects me, and 2. It isn’t SO bad. When it comes to right and wrong, people sadly see a lot of gray areas due to our fallen condition, but morality is clearly delineated in the mind of a moral God. Likewise, the consequences for morality or immorality affect the “world” of the person who lives in such a state. Other people are blessed for honorable behavior and sadly, cursed for dishonorable behavior. In Matthew 23, Jesus pronounces a litany of woes against groups like the Pharisees and scribes not just for what they did but also for the consequences on others that they affected. Finally, He concludes the thought in verse 37 with an illustration of what He would have done for this situation only to be met with refusal. Like a mother hen, His wings would have extended protective and providential covering, but due to the laundry list of iniquities, transgressions, and refusals, that condition would not be found until someone would bless the Lord and His Christ.
To Whom: When Matthew 23:37 is quoted at, many people misquote the group of consequence. It doesn’t say, “how often would I have gathered thee…” as is oftentimes referenced. It says, “how often would I have gathered thy children…” The implication is inescapably clear. Their behavior didn’t just deprive them of God’s providential care. It deprived their children of it. While there are some sins of the father that are not paid for by the children (such as a bad family name depriving someone of church membership), there are many, many sins of the fathers that children pay for. Debts on an estate, a ruined family name, and transmitted diseases just to name a few. When it comes to our works and the consequences of them, a good companion verse to Matthew 23:37 is Revelation 14:13. It gives the inverse by showing that our good works follow us after we are dead and gone. At my father’s funeral many years ago, one of the ministers that spoke told my siblings and I something after the service that I hope sticks with me forever, “The steps and life of a just man are most clearly reflected in the lives of his children.” Unfortunately, the life of Jerusalem at the time that Christ spoke our study verse was clearly seen in the lives of her children when she was destroyed and they lost the identity of God’s blessed and favored nation.
The Opposite: Jerusalem is cursed by Christ for her prolonged refusal of God and His moral commandments. However, this verse could be seen in the inverse by the work and life of Christ, “O people of God, how often have I gathered my children as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings because HE would.” By the will, work, and continued faithfulness of our Elder Brother, we will never lose our everlasting protection and care from our Father in heaven. We are preserved in Christ and perpetually held in His hand. (John 10:28-30) We are prone to waywardness in our own lives, but thanks be to Him that He ever sticks with us. Though we can expect the rod of correction from our Father, His faithfulness will not fail because of Christ, in spite of our own transgressions. (Psalm 89:30-33) The generation then present in Jerusalem had not much to look forward to in the future because of Christ’s words about them and their children. However, with Christ’s work, we have much to look forward to in heaven and immortal glory.
Avoiding and Cleaving: So, how do we avoid being like Jerusalem then and cleave more to Christ now? Jerusalem thought she was special (and for many years had been). Because of this condition, she was lifted up in pride, as seen by the Pharisees’ conversations with Christ: they continued to claim Abrahamic heritage and Mosaical lineage. As Paul lays out in Galatians 3, they missed the whole point about what the promises to Abraham were all about. They were a figure of the bigger picture and full story (Verses 16, 25). For the church today, she is a special place. However, her special situation only continues when she adheres and cleaves to her Husband. As the churches of Asia were told in Revelation 2-3, blessedness comes when we who have been given ears to hear actually listen to what He says. Cleaving to our Lord and Saviour is the only place where we can find those blessings. How does this translate to our children? While we cannot make our children love the church or see the kingdom for what she is, we can show them how much we love it and what she means to us. In so doing, we “leave” them a place after we’re gone. We know from Scripture that the church is never going to be truly lost in this world. However, I want to leave them the place where I’ve labored. I want them to keep finding home where home has been for me. If we bless the name of the Lord in our worship and in our lives, our children will find this place intact long after we’re gone from the scene.
While our home in heaven is guaranteed and the church’s existence is perpetual in this world, the local situation is not a guarantee. Actions today both good and bad have implications for the future. That future is inhabited for a time by us, but in a longer sense, it is occupied by our children. My desire in this life is to leave them a good name, reputation, but most of all, the place that I love so dearly. May our home be their home for all their days as long as the Lord is pleased for this earth to stand. On a personal note, I have been a member of 5 local churches over the course of my life. Sadly, the place I joined and was baptized is no longer in existence. Thankfully, the other 4 are all still intact and functioning. May they continue to be so until His return.
We invite you to Bethel Church’s Annual Fall Communion Meeting the third weekend in September 9/20, 9/21. Elder Luke Laird from Mississippi has promised to be with us, and services will be as follows:
Saturday – Service starting at 10:30am, and afternoon service at 1:30pm.
Sunday – Service starting at 10:30am with Communion after lunch.
We will have a social and singing on Saturday evening with dinner around 6:00pm.
Laying a Foundation
One of the elements of life is that certain things cannot build without something in place first. In academia, these are courses called pre-requisites that must be taken before the advanced courses can be pursued. In a professional working career, one must understand the work on the ground before supervising the work on the ground. With Biblical principles, the same thing applies. A building cannot properly be constructed or stand without a sure foundation under it. In I Corinthians 3:11, Paul describes the building and foundation work. While Paul will describe many things about building, the materials to use, etc. in this overall lesson, we primarily want to focus on the foundation and how it should look in application.
A Present Reality: Looking at the language of verse 11 Paul makes it clear that when we build upon the foundation of Christ, that foundation is already laid. So are we laying this foundation, or is it already done? Based on the language of the verse, it must be both. To properly build as individuals, churches, families, etc. it must start upon what is an unshakable absolute. Christ is laid. Period. That work cannot be undone, because what He has done, He has done forever. (Hebrews 8:1, 10:14) When someone wants to build a godly life or churches are going to be established, those buildings will not stand the test of time without an understanding of the finished work of Christ. I know many good people in this world that wither under the oppression of the world’s heat and shiver in despair during its long winters. They are still part of the blood-bought family of God, but they lack the lasting comfort of knowing that all of the people of God will be with Him without the loss of one. (John 6:37-39) Knowing this foundation is sure, set, and unmovable will help us shore up the foundations of our own lives to build proper buildings thereupon.
No Other: Paul makes it equally clear in this verse that there are not a multitude of options to use in building. There is no other foundation than Jesus Christ. Now, that might seem like an obvious point, and to good, godly people it would be obvious conceptually. However, where it gets dicey is in application. Most people’s foundation becomes obvious when you listen to them talk. Listening to how they discuss and describe things, 2 things will become prominent: 1. the source of their information and 2. the prominence of their information. When someone describes things of life beginning with “I think” or “I feel,” they are showing the source of their information (the foundation of their life and thinking) is themselves. However, when someone speaks with “Lord willing,” “Thy will be done,” etc. they are showing a source coming from something other than themselves. Also, we have a tendency to speak more often of things that are important to us. Professionals love talking shop about their vocations, and people with common recreational activities love to swap stories of vacations, adventures, etc. In Malachi 3:16, we read that people who fear the Lord speak often one to another. We do that at church in singing, preaching, and praying. We do it individually when we converse about how great things the Lord has done for us. If the prominence of our patterns of life and/or the source of where we derive our source material comes from something other than Jesus Christ and Him crucified, we have missed the mark of no other foundation.
Perpetual: Tense is very important, and in our study verse, Paul says this foundation “is” Jesus Christ. Not “was.” Not “will be.” Is. It was true when Paul wrote it, and it is just as true now a couple of millennia later. Because of the never-fading nature of Jesus Christ, this foundation is perpetual without the need for updates. (Hebrews 13:8, Jude 3) Looking at the institutions that God has placed in this earth – such as marriage, family, the church – what other institutions except what the Lord has done can say they need no updates? No matter how many people try to “update” and “improve” these God-given institutions, they are perfect as given and perpetual in their benefit. Why? Because God-given things like marriage and the church reflect the unchanging Person of Jesus Himself. My actions within these institutions surely does need improvement, but these things themselves are as God intended them to be from day 1.
Friends, Paul’s labors with the church at Corinth had many twists and turns, and my life sometimes looks like a myriad of checkered decisions. However, I thank God that He has given us these things that don’t change so that we have a sure place in this old world. Whenever I stray from the path and my building gets shaky, I have to come back again and again to the place to see that my Lord and His work is just as sure as it ever was and always will be. Something that resonates with me from watching people for many decades now is that when someone is grounded upon the doctrines of grace and the finished work of Jesus Christ, their life reflects very noble and honorable things. When their mind is clouded from these glorious truths, they many times are either prideful or cast down depending on the season. Knowing what we are in Christ Jesus keeps our building firm upon the unmoving foundation of an everlasting work done for us.
Beloved,
What Highlights the Church?
When people ask questions like, “What is the church?” “What does the church look like?” “How do we know if something is the church?”, there are a number of ways that one could answer those queries. Elder Hassell gives a list of identifying marks in his history, and they are based on things the church stands for in core doctrine, practice, and order. Christ gives a simple test of her by identifying how she worships: spirit and truth. (John 4:24) However, there is a list of identifying monikers for discerning the church in II Thessalonians 1:3-7 based on how she acts and conducts herself amongst her members. These marks include: growing faith, abounding charity, patience and faith in troubles, suffering, and rest. The verses include descriptors that indicate that this is found in the church, and those doing these things are counted worthy of the kingdom. Much like what she stands for, the church is seen evidently in both her labors and the response of the Bridegroom towards her in those actions.
Not Stagnant: If there is anything that sticks out in this list, it is the fact that these identifying highlights are not stagnant or static. Faith is growing, charity is abounding, patience is enduring, and rest is found along the way. One of the sad marks of the culture we live in now is that we have become a “good enough” generation. In my youth, people would say, “That’s good enough for government work…” Now that things are just “good enough,” it would appear that everything is “government work” now! The kingdom of God is not described by God’s word as good enough. She is an abounding place. Paul’s prayer to and for the church at Ephesus was that exceeding abundantly above would the output. (Ephesians 3:20-21) He makes repeated exhortations in his writings that the church would be doing things always and evermore (Philippians 4:4, I Thessalonians 5:16), without ceasing (I Thessalonians 5:17), and cheerfully (II Corinthians 9). The kingdom is not a progressing place in belief structure (those foundations are solid and secure in the never-changing character and will of God), but she is a progressing place in activity as we attempt to move closer and closer to the abounding nature of our Husband.
Ups and Downs: Not everything in Paul’s list of activities is what we would term pleasant. Abounding charity sounds nice, but patience in tribulations doesn’t. This list highlights the fact that the church is and has always been a place of ups and downs. Just as Canaan’s Land in the Old Testament was a land of hills and valleys that drinketh the rain from heaven. (Deuteronomy 11:11) Paul desired to know nothing of what he possessed before the Lord came to him on the Damascus road. What he desired to know of Christ was both pleasant and not so much: know Him, the power of His resurrection, fellowship of His sufferings, and conformable to His death. (Philippians 3:10) Why would Paul desire suffering, and why is the church highlighted with patience in suffering? The easiest answer is that suffering is a part of this sin-cursed world, but this type of suffering is special and not common to man. This is the suffering that is not for evil-doing but well-doing. Suffering as a Christian (I Peter 4:15) is what the Thessalonians were enduring and what Paul desired. That type of suffering not only mirrors the life of Christ (suffering for His name’s sake as He suffered for our sake), but it also informs us that God abides with His people in the good times and the bad. As THE faithful Husband, He loves us, “For richer for poorer, in sickness and in health…”
Ultimate Expectation: The way Paul closes this list of highlights is interesting because he both exhorts and informs an expectation. The ultimate aim and goal of the church is rest. Not just rest from the labors of life but rest from our own labors of self and vanity. She rests in the love of God that has paid all that we could not pay. She rests in His faithfulness to abide with her throughout the generations. She rests in the promise that He will never leave us nor forsake us. In all these things, there is rest to be found now in the troubled times of our current generation. (Matthew 11:28-30) We don’t have to wait to rest when we get to heaven, but it is found in this land of ups and downs here and now. However, while that exhortation of Paul in verse 7 mirrors the statement of Christ in Matthew 11 (troubled people can find rest), it gives the expectation of ultimate rest that is coming in heaven. The rest found in the church resting in gospel pastures beside still waters gives the glimpse behind the veil of what heaven must be like. They are of the same substance, and therefore, they share in the same essence of joys.
Something I have heard all my life living in the church is the experience of those who found it, converted, and happily live in it. While their experiences have differing points, a common experience to all that I have encountered is what drew them in. They didn’t understand the richness of the doctrine on the 1st visit (or sometimes even the 10th or 20th visit), but what they immediately saw was a group of people that love each other, treat each other like family (because we are), and who adored just being with each other and sharing the experiences of the kingdom together. That level of display highlights how the church should look. May those hallmarks remain among us all our days until we are called to the great congregation in the glorious church of heaven where we meet to part no more, and rejoice in that day that knows no end.
Not every season of life is the same, and during different points of our “calendar,” things happen that are outside of the normal routine. Admittedly, looking forward to the Camp Meeting this week and thinking about what goes into it and hoped to come out of it, the ideas of offerings and feasts in the Bible have been on my mind. In Exodus 35-38, there is a prolonged stretch dedicated to the laying out and building of the tabernacle and its furnishings. Based on the pattern that Moses received on the mount, the people came together for this special time to do something that would provide many days and years of service for their nation in worshipping and drawing near to God. Exodus 36:5-7 is the focal point that we will look at in this lesson to help frame our thoughts. In those verses, the offerings were so much that restraint had to be exercised in the midst of construction.
Sufficiency and Abundancy: One of the hallmarks of the NT Church is that she is free of much of the bondage of service that occurred in the Mosaical Law performance. However, in this lesson, we see glimpses even then of what would be in the intervening ages after Jesus’ advent on this earth. The church brings freewill offerings rather than stipulated law service. (I Corinthians 9, II Corinthians 9) Rather than having a stipulated tithe of all that we possess or earn, a free and abundant heart is what produces the offering. Why is that so important, and why would an amount not be stipulated? When something is offered freely out of the goodness of the heart rather than compelled service, not only will it be sufficient, but it will abound in both the quality and quantity of performance. Just as grace is dispensed freely out of the goodness and mercy of God’s character, so our offerings to and for Him should be offered out of the goodness of the nature that He has provided us. This course of action will not work in the world, but the church doesn’t operate like the world and shouldn’t try to. Inevitably, someone will still ask, “Yeah, but preacher, how much?” A Biblical answer in relation to freewill offerings is this simple question: In what way has the law ever outshined grace? Giving now therefore should never be outshone by the giving then.
Layers of Offering: During this narrative of building the tabernacle, we see that there were a multiplicity of offerings made. People brought of their goods and their talents. Interestingly, the goods and talents were not all of what we would call the same level of quality or skill. Some people brought goods that would be considered precious like fine linen, while others brought rather common skins and other material. Some – like Bezaleel and Aholiab – were the leaders of skilled work performing the work that not everyone was capable of doing, while others were more the “mules” of service. We might naturally attach more value to precious goods that are offered or special talents on display, but all were necessary for the construction of the building according to God’s order. So in the church today, some offerings are thought of as great and precious while others are thought of as common and ordinary. For example, one might look at a 10 talent preacher and think, “Oh wow..” On the other hand, a feeble and aged deacon might offer a short prayer in a quavering voice broken by years and people think, “Yeah…” A sister might bring a simple dish for lunch and take her place quietly on the pew in prayer offering a meek voice in song. All of these are necessary to the house of God, and none should be thought of as less important just as all these offerings and work for the tabernacle produced what God directed.
Special Time: This was not always the season for the people of Israel, but while doing it, it brought high times of joy and close communion with God. Sometimes the church is having a regular 2nd Sunday service in March, while at other times, multitudes of our beloved are congregating from multiple states for a Camp Meeting the 3rd weekend in July. One of the things that is often missed looking at the two is a simple Biblical concept that he that is faithful in least is faithful in much. (Luke 16:10) How we conduct ourselves during the regular and ordinary times can offer insight into how those special feast times will go. Had the children of Israel decided to do this any old way they wanted rather than as God directed, they might have enjoyed some social time with one another in the construction, but the product would not have yielded the place where God came down in the pillar to meet with His people there upon the altar. Likewise, a special season in the house of God can yield good social aspects, but the rich communion of these feasts where God comes down and meets with us upon the altar of our sacrifices must be according to His Divine order of spirit and truth. (John 4:24)
Friends, seasons like this are rich and treasured by me over the course of my years. The highpoints of my life are measured by and against these mountaintop feasts where I can look back and see that God was with us there in those sweet times. By extension, they inform me to see that He also descended the mountain with us to help us through the intervening valleys as well. With all that you have offered thus far in prayers and goods and for what you will offer this week in talents and service, I’m trusting that the God of grace is still not unfaithful to forget your labor of love in ministering to His saints. (Hebrews 6:10) May our offerings be abundant and overflowing, and may the resulting feast that flows out both cheer the heart of God and His dear people.
One of the most misunderstood events – even by many Christians and God-fearing individuals – is the end of the world (last day of time). Many look to it in fear and dread, while others look to it in vengeance wanting vindication for all the things that they think are wrong with the world. More still look to it for validation of their own life, service, or perceived goodness. The end of the world is a blessed event as everything that is sinful, defiled, and spoiled is going away forever. In the case of this globe on which we dwell, it will be burned up and annihilated. In the case of people, it will either be changed (resurrection to glory) or forever condemned (eternal woe and misery). When Peter wrote about the end of the world as he closed his second epistle, he uses three terms about how we should view the end of the world in verses 3:11-12.
Holy Conversation: The word “conversation” has many meanings in the Bible that one must rightly divide not only the word but also the context in which it appears to understand its meaning. Here the word refers to someone’s entire way of life. It is not regulated to speech, action, or thought. It’s everything from how someone feels, acts, and contemplates: complete decorum. The concept of the end of the world should be approached in a manner that reaches every touchpoint of our life in a holy way. In other words, we don’t just think about God in church. We think of Him in our thoughts perpetually. We do not just talk about God and His kingdom when we manifestly enter the courts of His house. Our speech, down to every other way of life we have is geared to talking about Him and following Him. When Daniel came under scrutiny of jealous presidents in Babylon, they knew they couldn’t find a condemnation of him as his manner of life was upright, good, and just. Their final ploy came by implementing a law that contradicted the law of Daniel’s God (Daniel 6). God’s law informed Daniel’s life and holiness was displayed in every aspect of his life. So, our lives should be informed by God’s word and thereby holy in every regard as we contemplate the blessed day of our Lord’s return.
Godliness: This is a word that many people use, but I fear many do not fully contemplate. What exactly does it mean? Like conversation, it has different meanings and connotations. Here, the word indicates a respect and piety towards God. Connecting this word to the previous phrase, our way of life and manner of being is centered around God. As Jesus said, we must seek Him and His kingdom first. (Matthew 6:33-34) Everything about us hinges on Him and what He has done for us. Weeks that don’t begin with the house of God generally find themselves in the bottom rungs of our existence. Days that do not have prayer, meditation, reading of God’s word, and contemplation of what we’ve read seem to “stack up” problems moreso than days when we do those things. However, having a healthy respect (fear) of God and who He is puts things in proper perspective. If the One with all the power is going to burn all this up one day, what about it should garner our fear, dread, anxiety, or care? If the problems of today could be gone tomorrow and will be one day without fail, the One who has the power and does deliver should be given the higher place in daily life than the things we we face. (Romans 8:38-39)
Hasting: Peter rounds out our behavior by telling us that we are not just looking for these things but also hasting these things. The word literally means to speed things up. While it seems obvious that the disciple of Christ should be looking for His coming and looking for it honorably, how does that same disciple speed it up? We are told that no man knows the day or the hour (Mark 13:32-33). We are also told that He has appointed this day already (Acts 17:31). So, if there is a day that is fixed and known of no man, how could it be that we speed this up? What we have been laboring to show in this writing is how we as disciples of the Lamb should be “seeing” the end of the world. Peter is doing the same thing by saying that we look for these things. There is an anticipation there. Therefore, this is a perception word. Perspective doesn’t inform reality. Reality is reality, regardless of someone’s perspective, but our perspective informs how we “feel” about the world around us. Time flies when you’re having fun, and it drags on when things are weary and burdensome. Are there still 24 hours in a day or 7 days in a week? Sure, but it feels different. Peter is exhorting us to speed up the end of the world to ourselves, and thereby be living rather than just existing until it arrives.
Friends, no matter how much or how many times I try to contemplate the last day this universe will ever see, the more I become like John at the end of Scripture saying, “Even so, come Lord Jesus.” While none of us know for sure whether we will still be here on earth when that moment comes, we should live every day like today is the day. One of my favorite examples for this is looking at a child who is anticipating a vacation that is coming up. Their eyes light up thinking about it, and every day is more and more anticipation about it finally getting here. So may our days be here on earth that our eyes light up thinking about this, and every day the anticipation grows and grows, ever looking homeward for home to come for us.
In today’s culture, there are many things vying for time, attention, and priority. When I was a boy, I can remember extracurricular activities being mindful of people’s church life and not scheduling events on Sundays – and sometimes even on Wednesday nights. However, today people think they have to participate in activities even if it pulls them away from the house of God regularly. Parents are told, “If you want your children to be successful, you really need to _____.” While parents can’t guarantee their children’s success in this world, they can never go wrong by bringing their children to the house of God and making it a regular focal point of each and every week. (Proverbs 22:6) One of the questions I get asked frequently is just how much better is it being “in” the church and not just “around” the church. In Genesis 24 we read the story of Abraham’s servant going to fetch a wife for Isaac, and that story is a beautiful picture of the minister of the gospel telling the bride of Christ about the husband she already has in another land. In the story, we see that Rebekah receives many blessings, but some of them are contingent upon actions/decisions that she makes.
Jewelry: In verse 22, we read that the servant put jewelry on Rebekah when he was able to identify her by the answer to his prayer about her willingness to serve in drawing water. For God’s children in this world, there are blessings that we receive from our Husband when we serve and minister without thinking about self. Rebekah drew water for the man and all 10 of his camels without thinking of reward or benefit. She did it out of the goodness of a tendered heart, and when God’s children bear fruit of the Spirit showing forth the good nature that God has planted within, God is not unfaithful to remember that labor of love. (Hebrews 6:10) The servant further learns that Rebekah belongs to the house of his master’s brethren, and so it is when we produce good works and spiritual fruit. We have found people that belong to the family of the Master, and He daily loadeth us with benefits.
More Jewelry: In verse 53, we see that the servant gave more jewels and provender to Rebekah and even to her family as well. What has transpired? He has told his errand at this point, and the decision has been made for Rebekah to go to Isaac. Had a refusal been given, the servant would have returned without bestowing any more presents. However, when the decision is to obediently go to our husband, the blessings abound more and more. Rebekah received more presents, and even those she left behind in her father’s house were blessed as well. So it is today. When we obediently go to our Husband, the benefits are greater than just being spiritual in this old world. The gifts from above are poured out in abundance in His house. As Paul told the Philippian jailor, being baptized into the Lord’s church will not only be of benefit to him but his entire house as well. (Acts 16:31) How are children blessed above measure? Being in the house of God with faithful parents brings chief and choice blessings upon all in the house.
Seeing the Husband: Perhaps the greatest of all the blessings of faithful obedience comes when Rebekah leaves with the servant and ends up being in the land with Isaac. Scripturally, the entire triumphant bride of Christ will be with our Husband without the loss of one some sweet day in that land called heaven. (John 6:37-39) However, by going with the servants of God today, we enjoy a land with Him in sweet communion and close fellowship. In the land called Zion, we walk through green pastures and fertile fields while He declares all over again to our souls how much delight He has in being with us, and it is our chief joy to be with Him. When Rebekah sees Isaac, he has already seen her, and when we see our Lord, He has already seen and loved us first. However, her reaction was to immediately dismount her camel and run to him. When we see where Christ is and know that He is near, we should dismount all the cares and struggles of life and run to be with Him where He is.
Friends, there is not much that the servants (preachers) can promise Rebekah (the church), but one thing they should be able to faithfully do is bring her to the place where Jesus is and identify Him as He draws near. When that happens, the servant fades from the scene and it is all about the man and wife being together. One day, preachers will all fade from the scene as we all are drawn to Him where He is. So may it be today that servants are not seen in place of Jesus but rather the affection is singular and solely on Him. No matter what the world promises and no matter how much we think our children and families need it, nothing can displace the importance of being with our Isaac and seeking those times of sweet fellowship where blessings rain down in abundance greater than we can gather. (Malachi 2) As the old songwriter penned, “One day in His courts than a thousand beside is better and lovelier far…”
This world is full of events and circumstances that we both “get” and “don’t get” at the same time. A good example of this is raising children. Parents have been children, and sometimes we still “remember” how we felt during our growing up years. So, on the one hand, we get what it’s like to be a child, but on the other hand, when posed with our own children’s behavior we don’t get it as the behavior can be mystifying. Many other examples could be given, but consider a mystery that is described in Ephesians 3:18-19. Paul was in the midst of a prayer for the church at Ephesus, and he prayed for their ability to comprehend with all saints the dimensions (height, depth, length, and breadth) of the love of God. He specifically uses words like “may be able to comprehend” coupled with “passeth knowledge.” This language shows that he wanted them to get something they couldn’t fully get.
Height: Considering how high the love of God is, one must start to contemplate two things: place and quantity. How high is God’s love regarding place? It is as high as heaven’s throne where God sits and is the place we will one day richly enjoy and occupy beside Him. That love came from the highest of all places and the highest Being down to miscreants even though that love would have been perfect had it been in heaven and heaven only. The quantity of it is higher than the imagination can conjure. God is love. (I John 4:9) It is not that God possesses love or displays love. He IS love. Whatever we are to make of that concept, it is intwined as part of the essence of who He is. That quantity is eternal, undiminished, and without bound. Therefore, the quantity of love is higher than any amount or measurement that man could possibly fathom.
Depth: Admittedly, some of these dimensions of God’s love hit harder than others (at least to me personally), and this is one of them. How deep did it go? This dimension is understood two ways: how low and to what cost? Simply put, God’s love reached down to the lowest hell to rescue the chiefest of sinners. Without realizing it, some people diminish God’s love by diluting and watering down a subject like depravity by talking about sparks of good, etc. The depth of this love reached all the way down into the hole and pit, and it brought those miscreants that will live in heaven out of the pit never to be back in it. (Romans 11:26) Thinking of the cost drives a stake in the heart to contemplate. It cost the best heaven had to give all there was to accomplish the final end. A verse like II Corinthians 8:9 should be read slowly and thoughtfully. He was rich, but He became poor. Why? So that we would be rich. What was this poverty? It was being what we are (a man) and standing what we should have stood (made to be sin), so that we would be rich (made the righteousness of God in Him). The placement and cost of this depth should stir the child of God’s contemplation every time we consider it.
Breadth: Coupling up to the previous dimension, the breadth of God’s love encapsulates everyone that it seeks and has affection for. To say that God’s depth of love somehow doesn’t align with His breadth (Jesus died for someone who won’t be there) will not stand up to logical scrutiny much less the Scriptural test. The payment of the depth is successful to the fullest degree. Point? Everyone for whom God loves is encased in that love never to be removed from it. (John 6:37-40, II Timothy 2:19, Hebrews 10:14) One of the things about this love is that it not only covers all for whom it is intended (elect family of God), but it does so regardless of any circumstance. God has the same love for His people whether it was in the beginning or the last day. How does He feel about someone as ancient as Job? The same way He feels about the last heir of grace that will ever be conceived and born again on this earth. His methodology of saving and quickening each one is identical regardless of time period, gender, age, culture, language, etc. (John 3:8) His love covers them all. Without exception. Period.
Length: So, love came from heaven, reached down to hell, and grabbed everyone it desired. For how long? Today’s culture doesn’t understand love in many ways, but one of the chiefest is the idea of being “in love” or “out of love.” Couples reference this when starting a relationship and ending it. “We fell in love, but then we didn’t love each other anymore.” God’s love is everlasting, and real love doesn’t have the bounds that feeble man tries to attach to it. (Jeremiah 31:3) We may not like things about one another, and certainly, God doesn’t like the behavior of His children when we wander in paths of disobedience. However, His love 10,000 years into eternity will be just as steadfast and unwavering as it has ever been. An eternal God – who is love itself – couldn’t have a non-eternal love. Non-eternal love to an eternal God would be a violation of His character. If someone is loved of Him, they have always been loved and will always be loved by Him.
Beloved, we are loved from heaven itself to pull us out of hell itself. This love grabbed all of the family without exception and will stand forever. Do you believe that God loves you as one of His elect though you were the vilest of sinners, but will live forever in heaven with Him? I most certainly do, but do you understand what you espouse to believe? Well…I get it in that I comprehend the principles of election, salvation, and eternity. But do I understand those principles? They exceed man’s understanding. However, we don’t have to fully get it to get it. My prayer is Paul’s. I pray for the church’s understanding and comprehension of these things and that we would never forget them or let them slip from us. However, I have no expectation that our knowledge will truly know these things until that moment we stand face-to-face with Him and know as we are known. (I Corinthians 13:12)
One of the most unique things the scope of world history has ever seen is that the Divine One stepped into terrestrial shores in material form. Jesus asked the question to some Pharisees in Matthew 22:42 about whose son Christ would be. They properly answered that Christ would be the son of David. However, Christ’s follow-up by quoting Psalm 110:1 asked them how Christ could be David’s Son when David called Him Lord. Not only could they not answer the question, He silenced them from asking Him further questions. People today still struggle to answer those questions as the combination of the Sonship and Lordship of Christ is part of the great mystery of godliness (I Timothy 3:16) which ties theologians in knots and gives the enemies of God fits.
Eternal Relationship: When Jesus quoted David, there is a scene that David views wherein the LORD said to his Lord. The distinction in those two words is that when you see LORD on the page, the reference is to Jehovah. David’s Lord (Christ) interacted with Jehovah. This relationship is an eternal one. What David saw was communion that occurs in heaven as John declared with the Son dwelling in the bosom of the Father. (John 1:18) One of the fascinating things about this relationship is that people have argued about the Eternal Sonship of Jesus Christ. Many claim He was just a man on earth, but David’s Lord and ours HAS to be eternal. Why? If the Father is eternal, then the Son must be too. Funny isn’t it that people don’t debate the eternal Fatherhood of God, but they debate the Eternal Sonship of God. How could someone be an eternal Father if He didn’t have an eternal Son? What does Jehovah say? He says our Lord is His Son.
Earthly Relationship: Jesus’s question to the Pharisees stumped them. How could Christ be both David’s Lord and David’s son? Prophecy demanded that He come from the lineage of David. Not just David’s line but literally of his loins. (Psalm 132:11) Therefore, this anointed one of God had to be David’s son. Yet, by the same token, to have a throne that never passed away and a kingdom that wasn’t given to others, He must be eternal and God at the same time. Without the knowledge that Jesus is 100% God and 100% man at the same time, someone could chase their tail forever trying to figure out how this is possible. While we don’t understand the fulness of the GodMan, He simply tells John that He is both David’s root (Lord) as well as his offspring (son). (Revelation 22:16) This perhaps is one of the keynote differences between true theology and all the false doctrines and false gods throughout human history. Some mystic religions believe that people become a form of god through attainment or death. Other religions hold that man becomes god on earth by transmission of divine characteristics into a human body (popery). However, only true religion believes that God Himself literally became a man with common union to both Divine and terrestrial to be a suitable Daysman to lay His hand upon both God and man and so bring peace.
Everlasting Union: Even though Jesus is not an eternal man, the union between God and man in the person of Jesus Christ will go on everlastingly. There is a glorified man seated at the right hand of God. In one way, He is the same as He has always been as His Divine nature hasn’t altered one iota. However, before His advent, the only essence in heaven was Deity. Now, the throneroom of God is occupied by the essence of both God and man. (I Timothy 2:5) While not often discussed in religious circles, the importance of this point cannot be overstressed. Because the throneroom of God is occupied by both now, there is room for more in like manner to inherit it. Because we have been made partakers of the Divine nature, (II Peter 1:3) we have been made a part of who He is. Because He is still a man, He has been made a part of who we are. Therefore, He can promise that where He is, we shall be also. (John 14:3) Without the true perspective of the person of Christ with the everlasting union of Divine and human, one cannot truly have hope for the resurrection and the world to come. They are linked and united completely up and down the chain.
Friends, while the Pharisees were stumped by the Jesus’s question, I hope we are never confounded on this point. Just as it was for David, so it is for us that this is all our hope and desire. (II Samuel 23:5) The promise made to David about his kingship, lineage, and the coming Christ didn’t just affect David’s house. It blessed a people out of every kindred, tongue, people, and nation. (Revelation 5:9) When you pray, there is a GodMan who lays His hand upon you and the other on His Father to bring our intercession before Jehovah. When you breathe out your last breath, He will take your hand and present you before Jehovah. When the great and notable last day on earth occurs, He will stand with all of us as we march through the gates right to Jehovah. Thanks be unto God that this wonderful union that is unspeakable by mortal tongue has blessed all of us to be part of a union and family that we could never have imagined or dreamed.
In the modern world we live in, there are all sorts of communication etiquette procedures. For example, what is required in a response to a text, post, etc.? Is a response even expected or required? What are the nuanced differences between responding electronically vs. in the flesh? Paul gave clear, concise instructions about what we say and how we say it in Colossians 4:5-6. These instructions will many times cut against the grain of human nature, but for God’s children living as pilgrims in this world, the instructions of grace, salt, and how to answer are timeless no matter what culture props up or how “innovative” man becomes.
What to say: Considering the injunction to speak with grace while seasoned properly, part of what we say may be what we don’t say. In Ecclesiastes 3, Solomon writes about the different times and seasons wherein sometimes it is a “time to speak” or perhaps a “time to keep silent.” For individuals like me, we were taught by people with good old fashioned horse sense who said, “If you ain’t got nothing good to say, don’t say nuthin’ at all.” Wise words from a wise generation. Gracious speaking doesn’t answer strife with strife or railing for railing. Some people are geared to think something needs to be said to break silence and uncomfortable moments. Peter is a good example of this on the Mount of Transfiguration. When he made his “tabernacle talk” about Jesus, Moses, and Elijah, he did it because he wist not what to say. When we don’t know what to say, silence is perfectly acceptable. When we don’t know the answer, “I don’t know” is an acceptable response. Part of what we say is knowing our own limitations and relying on the One who has no limitations.
How to answer: Paul says the end result of what we say yields the profit of knowing how to answer every man. Now, while it is true that “I don’t know” is a perfectly acceptable answer about things beyond us, there are some thing where “I don’t know” should be a shameful response. Peter tells us to be be ready to give an answer to every man that asks us. (I Peter 3:15) What answer is that? The hope that we have. When someone asks us where our hope is, where our home is, where our strength lies, etc. that answer should be ready always. Nicodemus was chastised by Jesus in John 3 for not knowing certain things as a Master in Israel. For the household of faith, we should be masters in spiritual Israel and know things without needing to be taught again. Are we sinners? Yes. Are we saved? Yes. How did that happen? The right response to that cannot be “I don’t know.” How we answer the question flows from the grace and seasoning that He has planted within us in the new birth that we can say with confidence (hope) how we feel about Him who has done all things well.
The Example: When looking at the life of Jesus here on earth, sometimes He answered, sometimes He didn’t. Sometimes His words seemed soft and compassionate, while at other times, they were firm and sometimes violent (like overturning moneychangers’ tables). In all things, He is the example of what to say and how to say it. Idle words didn’t pass from His lips, nor did His words lack the grace and seasoning that we sometimes attach in a natural way. Many people think of grace as simply being kind, deferential, etc. Real grace is the imparting of something not deserved. Jesus owed us nothing, yet even in His words, He gave us so much insight not only into what He was doing but also how He thought. Studying His interactions gives us the right tools to equip our daily journey to overcome the assaults of the enemy. Years ago, there was a fad of people wearing things that had “WWJD” on them. The idea is “What Would Jesus Do?” During that time, I jokingly said I was going to start my own line of merchandise with “WDJD” on it. Instead of asking, what would He do, we should rather ask “What Did Jesus Do?” as His example will serve in any situation we face seeing He was tempted in all points like as we are, yet without sin. (Hebrews 4:15)
Friends, this is a high level look at what it is we talk about, but I believe the church of God has been given proper, complete instruction of when to speak, what to say, and how to say it. The Bible is replete with examples of how to do it and how not to. Looking at the many avoidable strifes in my life, too many times it boiled down to a failing of mine in one or more of these areas. I love absolute language in Scripture, and Paul makes it clear in our study verses from Colossians 4:5-6 that this to be done “always.” There is never a season where it doesn’t apply, and no matter what you face, this is right course. Just as our prayers and rejoicing should be always and without ceasing, may our speech be tuned likewise so that we can reflect proper praises to Him who has called us out of nature’s darkness into His marvelous light.
In Hope,
Bro Philip
One of the often-misinterpreted dualities is when something is an action or state. For example, emotions are actions that are taken, but prolonged persistence of those actions yields a state. That protracted amount of action is what causes someone to be known as a happy, sad, or angry person. However, there are some things that cannot be anything than what they are. When Solomon wrote about the times and seasons in Ecclesiastes 3, he talked about times to do certain things. Sometimes it was a time to laugh, sometime to weep, rend, sow, etc. In all of these actions, he said there is a time “to” do these things. However, when he got to war and peace in the list, they are prefaced differently than anything else. It is either a time “of” war, or it is a time “of” peace. War and peace are inherently not actions but states of being. One cannot truly be somewhere in between. For example, if the time is looking at laughing or weeping, it could be neither one. Same with sowing and rending, gathering stones, casting them away, etc. We can live in between these actions and often do. However, the states of war and peace are perpetual for as long as life here exists.
Warfare: To God’s family here on earth, there are many adversaries. They don’t rest, take vacations, etc. The devil is doing just as he did in Job’s day. He walks up and down this earth, going to and fro, seeking whom he may devour. We don’t shed the depravity of our Adamic nature until the day it is laid down in death or the Lord’s return. As such, every day is a fight with the enemies both without and within. On the other hand, to live in peace with these enemies is to be at enmity with God. Before regeneration, our every fiber of being was at odds with God and therefore, at war with Him. To those who know Him not and are not His, they remain at enmity with Him all their days. (Romans 8:6) Therefore, whether someone is a child of God or not, there is a warfare though the enemies are different.
Peace: This is perhaps harder to scope than warfare. Some describe peace as the “absence of conflict.” That is a dim and limited view of what peace is really about. After all, if decades of “cold” war between the US and USSR displayed, war was ongoing even when the conflict wasn’t openly brimming or festering. True peace is not the same thing as a ceasefire or armistice. Real peace can only come from the Prince of Peace, and that is why it is listed part of the nine-fold fruit of the Spirit. (Galatians 5:22-23) While real warfare is something common to all men of every stripe, real peace can only found by those in God’s family. A natural man may not have open hostility towards another, but that “peace” is only as good as the last moment, most recent favor, etc. Such is the state with nations. The US and USSR were allies together against the Axis forces in WWII, but quickly after that war was done, they were at odds for the next 40+ years. Abiding peace is only found when our minds are stayed on Him. (Isaiah 26:3)
Duality of Both: If the above sections are true, then it is quite clear that a regenerated child of God will live with the duality of war and peace at the same time. What pleases the flesh will trouble the spirit and vice versa. Even when in seeming peace with the people of Sodom, Lot was inwardly tormented in his righteous soul. (II Peter 2:8) When a child of God is walking in Zion in accordance with God’s laws and commands, he will find trouble and persecution without. (II Timothy 3:12) If our goal is a state of peace as defined by an absence of conflict, then we will never get there from here. However, walking in meekness and lowliness like our Prince did, we can have peace even when there are conflicts all around. I have no doubt as Scripture declares that Jesus got troubled in His Spirit, He groaned, became angry (even to the point of whipping people), sighed, etc., but in all of these things, He never shed His glorious title as the abiding peace of doing always those things which please His Father was a constant in His life. We can never find true absence of all conflict in this world, but we can find real peace and the comforts from home even in the midst of our warfare against this old world, spiritual wickedness, principalities, and powers.
Friends, our perspective and expectation will shape a lot of what we find. If our goal is just to avoid conflict, we will end up crying “peace, peace” even if there is no peace. But, if we meet the troubles of this life, our enemies, and the vain corruptions of our old flesh head-on, we can realize peace in a chaotic world. As soldiers of the cross, we will find quiet peace and fortitude walking with our God. Some of the most peaceful and contented people I’ve ever known in my life were the ones that lived through some of the hardest situations in life. People who had lost loved ones in the brutal and cold ways this world brings at us, were actual veterans of real wars, or saw some of the vilest examples of depravity before their very eyes. By the same token, some of the most restless and fitful people I’ve ever known saw and lived through the same things. Therefore, real peace in the midst of war is not about what you face but how you face it. Whatever circumstance we have to walk through and endure, may we constantly look to Him for the real and lasting peace we can have until that day we go to the land that knows only peace as the sound of war will be heard no more in that great city called heaven.
One of the Greek philosophers – Heraclitus – famously quipped, “The only constant in life is change.” While that statement seems obvious, our perspective and the season we currently inhabit either aids or prohibits our ready access to that constant of life. For example, if things are going well, we might not want the change to come, and vice versa with a bad season. However, in life up today is down later, and wretched one moment can be pretty good the next. One of my famous quips is based off an observation of an ill-founded statement that humanity makes, “I just hope I can make it through this.” Me: “You will. One way or another.” Our goal is not to get through it: that’s a given. The goal is to get through it honorably, with joy, and reaching out to feel after Him who stands beside us and walks the pathway with us. This helps govern our perspective, manage our seasons well, and deal with the inevitable changes of life with a mature and seasoned outlook of wisdom. My daily reading currently has me in the Jeremiah-Daniel stretch. Every time I pass through these books, I’m reminded of how different prophets lived the same timeframe with different perspectives and places: Daniel lived as a well-tended slave boy from his youth in the king’s palace, Jeremiah lived in the squalor of what remained of Judah with the dregs of society, while Ezekiel lived in the slave camps with the manual laborers in Babylon. Same time, same situation (captivity), but different perspectives with some shared seasons but diverse ones as well.
A Palace or a Chain Gang: Take a poll of any demographic in the world, and people will raise their hands to live in a palace before a prison. Ezekiel’s prison was manifestly seen as one who made little rocks out of big rocks. Daniel’s prison was more of a gilded cage. Jeremiah’s prison had no bars but was openly barren. (Lamentations 1) Yet, these diverse situations with a common factor of captivity led to the same perspective and manner when dealing with the changes of their situation. Jeremiah faithfully ministered as a prophet by recalling to mind the Lord’s mercies and faithfulness. (Lamentations 3:20) Ezekiel continued to minister to the people in his personal misery, even after losing his wife. (Ezekiel 24) Daniel stood faithful before a king even when his life was on the line for continued obedience to God. (Daniel 1, 2, 6) The point is that faithfulness and service is not beholden to circumstance. We oftentimes – wittingly or unwittingly – fit our faithfulness and service into boxes of justification based on circumstances. “I’m so busy,” “There are things going on with us right now,” etc. These three prophets had every natural justification (for different reasons) to cease prophesying as God called them to, but no amount of circumstance from a king’s house to the lowest hole changes the reality and relevance of what we are called to do as God’s people and the household of faith.
Results-Oriented Thinking: Man has struggled with thinking of something as inherently good or inherently evil based on circumstances. The oldest book of the Bible had the main character’s three friends engage in a long conversation that basically boiled down to this, “Hey, Job! You must not be living right. Look what’s happening to you. Get right with God, and these things will go away.” Unlike Job’s case – he did nothing wrong – Daniel, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel knew from God’s direct counsel that their circumstances were for the general evil of the nation. They were enduring this chastening along with everyone else even if not the culprits of the degradation of their society. Caleb and Joshua had to walk for 40 years in the wilderness just like the rest of the nation of Israel even though they did nothing wrong and stood tall in delivering their report after spying out the land. (Numbers 13-14) Our circumstances may be because of the general condition of sin in this world, personal transgressions, the sins of others, or a combination of some or all. None of these catalysts move the needle of what is expected of us whether up or down, full or hungry. etc. What the Lord requires of us is simple. Do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with our God. (Micah 6:8) Our whole duty is to fear God and keep His commandments. (Ecclesiastes 12:13) No matter what. Regardless of the season.
Keep the End in Sight: While Daniel, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel knew how long the captivity in Babylon would last (70 years) based on God’s direct prophecy to them, our captivities and prisons in life may have durations not known to us in the moment. Regardless, knowing or not knowing the time is of little importance. What is important is that knowing deliverance is coming moves the needle of our perspective in the now to more closely align with where our service and faithfulness should be. We may be decades away from our Jubilee, or it may be close at hand. Our troubles may soon be cut off by death, the Lord’s coming, or His kind providence moving some mountains into the sea. No matter the particulars, what happens when we keep the end in sight? Jacob labored for 14 years to have Rachel as his wife. No he did not labor 7 for Leah and 7 for Rachel. He labored 14 for Rachel. How did it seem to him even after the deception of his uncle Laban? They seemed as but a few days based on the love he had for his bride. (Genesis 29:20) When our adoration for our Husband is high, the result will be twofold: 1. Bright hope for the now (I Corinthians 15:19) and 2. Greater expectation for the future both in this life and the life that is to come. (I Timothy 4:8) Beloved, when we know the end of the story by His faithful word, the battles of today become easier knowing the war is won, and the struggles of tomorrow seem less heady because of what we know is to come some sweet day.
Having our perspectives grounded and rooted in reality keeps the circumstances of the day from being so troublesome. It also keeps our “games of comparison” from taking over our thought patterns. It would have been easy for Ezekiel to look up at the palace and think that Daniel had things easy compared to his state. It would have been easy for Jeremiah to lament being left more or less “alone” with the unwanted of culture. It would have been easy for Daniel to say, “No other Jew has to deal with what I do standing before the king with death possible at every hand.” None of them really talk about the other because they had a labor and prophecy of their own to fulfill. As Jesus told Peter, don’t worry about John and what he will do. Just follow me. (John 21) Wherever we may find ourselves in life, whatever it is that we have to face and deal with, and whatever seasons and changes we experience, may our faith follow steadfast unto Him that does not change. Our course is charted to heaven, and whatever shores and rocks we may encounter between now and then, thank God that by His faithful decree we will pass to the other side with Him.
When we are children, one of the hard lessons to learn is when something concerns us and when it doesn’t. Children like to be in the “business” about things in which they have no business, while they can oftentimes ignore the things that are their business. As God’s children, we mimic these same behaviors in wanting to be involved in things we have no business in but yet neglect the things that we have been charged to engage in and watch over. When reading the word of God, there is nothing there that is not for us. All Scripture is given “for” things. (II Timothy 3:16-17) However, there are things in God’s word that were not specifically given “to” us. For example, the Mosaical law was not given to Gentile people such as we are. It was given to one nation to keep, commemorate, and fulfill. However, the law is given for us to give us comfort and hope. (Romans 15:4) So, when approaching God’s book, how do we discern if something is merely for us or specifically to us?
Speaker: While all of the Bible is ultimately written by God’s direct inspiration, there were many penmen down through the ages. Those penmen while under God’s direct hand and moved by Him still had “marks” in their writing. Paul’s letters have really, REALLY long sentences! It is a distinguishing mark of his. The Pauline epistles to specific churches like Corinth, Ephesus, etc. were his direct communication to a body of people. Prophets on the other hand like Isaiah, Jeremiah, etc. spoke of things that would occur to both their nation and at times the nations around them. It is important to know whether the speaker was a prophet, apostle, etc. as that role plays a big part in what not only their writing is about but also to whom it pertains. While I can look back in awe at the many prophecies that Daniel wrote about in specific detail that human history bore out over the next 400 years, none of those prophecies were to me as I didn’t live during that era. However, when Jude wrote about the faith being once delivered to the saints (Jude 3), I can take solace that what was given then, is also to me now as it won’t have to be given again.
Audience: As mentioned before, the speakers generally had a specific group that they were addressing. Even though we are not members of the churches that Paul addressed in his epistles, those same exhortations and lessons are good for us today as two things haven’t changed: the same God watches over the church, and churches are still made of broken people with the same problems we’ve had since the fall. A contrast of perspectives in the New Testament books would be the book of James vs. Paul’s epistles. Because Paul was the apostle to the Gentiles and James’ book begins with an address to the 12 tribes scattered abroad, there is a slight tilt of how things will be conveyed. James conveys things to a Jewish audience in ways that they are familiar with that Gentiles would have considered strange. That is why anointing people with oil is something James said and not Paul. Jews understood the custom, practice, and relevance. Paul said nothing about such a practice, which is why some practices are for our learning and hope but other practices are for our exercise and worship. When reading the book of Acts, you see the progression of the audience from the Jews to the Gentiles, and as such a lot of Acts is for us but not to us.
Setting: The last component to consider when determining if something in the Bible is not just for us but also to us is the occasion. When Jesus walked this earth during His ministry, He encountered things that were specific for that time and some things that were applicable to all times. While we don’t have an actual sect today called Pharisees or Sadducees, the ideas that they promoted in Jesus’ day are still very alive. Therefore, the warnings and condemnations toward those groups are still to us today not only in how to deal with those mindsets but also how not to fall victim and prey to those ways of thinking. Jesus told His disciples – and us today – to beware of their leaven or doctrine. (Matthew 16:6) However, Jesus also encountered Gentiles that He called dogs. (Matthew 15:26) For the time then present, it was needful and meet for the gospel and revelation of Jesus Christ to be first among the Jewish nation. (Romans 1:15-16) Therefore, Gentiles were still shut out of the oracles of God and early manifestation of the kingdom until the blood of Christ was shed and broke down the middle wall of partition between them. (Ephesians 2:16) So, Christ’s engagement with the sects of that day is still to us today, but His engagement with other nations is simply for us in this time but not to us as an example to mimic and engage in.
Friends, we are commanded to be children in malice and men in understanding. (I Corinthians 14:20) As God’s children, may we have the sweet spirit of forgiveness that children are able to exercise more freely than adults. However, may we not be children in what we know but stand as men and women in the gospel of our dear Lord knowing what is our business and what is not. He has not given the beauty and majesty of the church to everyone. However, the church’s benefit is for many. I am firmly convicted that the church’s presence in this country has blessed many in this nation that are not within the halls of her borders. There are many little ships in the sea in the night during the storms of life. (Mark 4:36-41) However, those in the boat (ship of Zion) with the Master know where those blessings have come down from. Likewise, may we glean the understanding as we grow to not just know from whence they come but also properly respond in doing our business, working with our hands, and laboring with quietness and patience in this field of life. (I Thessalonians 4:11)
The church is a concept/entity that today is as muddled in the minds of many as perhaps any other subject. To properly scope the term from a Biblical perspective will challenge many of the thoughts and ideas that are common today. While the Bible uses the term to describe different things – sometimes as all the family of God, a local assembly, etc. – this writing will only be talking about the church from a local, called-out assembly as part of a larger order of people who follow the same tenets and doctrines coupled with proper order in their worship. That group of people has been known by many names down through the centuries, but I believe with all my heart that the people today who follow in that fashion are known as Primitive Baptists. This is not said with any measure of pride but with thanksgiving in my soul that the people I identify with are following the tenets of the Bible in belief, practice, and connection through succession.
Prescription: Many of the problems that the church has endured which led to splits or other types of divisions came in the name of “progress.” The church was being given a “better” way to follow. With the church being full of broken people, it is understandable that improvements should be made, but these problems down through the ages focused the improvement in the wrong place: looking at the doctrine and order rather than personal decorum. The prescription that the Lord gave to the church at her inception is a perfect prescription. Perfect for all times and all ages. As Jude writes, the faith was “once” delivered to the saints. (Jude 3) No updates, improvements, or corrections needed. The doctrines of grace were good for the time then present and just as good today, and they will be just as good for tomorrow. The order of worship of “spirit and truth” (John 4:24) was good for the time that Christ said it to the Samaritan woman and just as good today. Singing with grace in our hearts making melody to the Lord and speaking to one another in such as fashion is good for all ages. (Ephesians 5:19) His house is still the house of prayer today. All of these elements are perfect in their transmission to us, and our labor is to fill them as perfectly as we can in these mortal frames.
Person: Since we are in mortal frames, the improvements that should come in a church sense is less about what the church adheres to but how we adhere to it. No sound, able minister would dare to claim that any sermon they ever delivered was “just right.” Personally, I spend a lot of time repairing and deconstructing my sermons. Even when a song service is rich and mighty, we can look back and see wandering moments, and our prayers are many times invaded by wayward thoughts and ill-effecting emotion. Reading and studying God’s word is a life-long endeavor and improvements to how much we study, how we study, and giving more of ourselves to the word of God can be improved from week to week and year by year. While we have never conducted ourselves perfectly in God’s house, I thank God that we have a perfect form to shoot and strive for.
Look: One of the main questions that people ask when you tell them that you are a Primitive Baptist is something about what is there for the children, what programs we have, etc. People today are looking for functions to follow after rather that what their function is for the church. They are looking to be served rather than serve. The church is described Biblically as being a body and a bride. Therefore, when a body assembles, it should be complete, entire, and beautifully adorned. No husband wants “part” of his bride, and Christ’s desire when meeting with His bride in service is for all of her together. In the Old Testament, the congregation or assembly was done by tribe in totality. There were not divisions for age, gender, etc. So in the New Testament, when the body assembles, the parts should be complete and entire with their various talents being displayed for the benefit of the body and the joy and pleasure of our Husband. As I Corinthians 12 talks about various body parts, it’s less important what body part you are as it is how good you are in that part. If you are a finger, be the best finger you can be. If you are a toe, likewise. As Jesus told Peter, don’t worry about what John will do, follow me. (John 21) Let us concern ourselves with filling our function to our utmost so that the body can go together in harmony in walking with our precious Beloved.
Most people today do not get up in arms if you tell them that the group of people you belong to is the church. They will get up in arms if you tell them the group of people they belong to are not the church. Isaiah 4:1 tells us about a group of women that laid hold upon one man desiring his name. However, they didn’t want anything else from him – no food or apparel. To properly bear the name of the bride of Christ, we must eat His food (doctrine) and wear His apparel (practice) to show forth His care over us. If people saw my wife, walking in a way that she lived apart from me, took care of herself, etc. but still wore my name, people would wonder what kind of marriage we really had. However, if we live together under the same roof, eat together, walk together, etc., our marriage would be seen as normal. So it MUST be with the church of God. We must live with Him having things in common with Him. Our dependence truly is in Him, but our acknowledgement of that shows a bride living with her Husband in the proper way.
One of the hardest Biblical ideas for good-minded Christian people to wrap their minds around is the subject of church discipline. Much like the doctrines of election and predestination that we hold to, people generally just try to ignore them. Just a cursory reading of I Corinthians 5 shows that the idea of church discipline is Biblical, and whether someone ignores it or not, the reality is that the Bible teaches and commands it. Most of the time, people shy away from subjects like this because there is unpleasantness to it. Today’s culture dislikes considering unpleasant things, which is one of the reasons why death is a subject people shy away from now more than they did in days gone by.
When Do We?: The Bible teaches a distinction in sin. Certain sins have different consequences – even under the law. Murderers suffered different consequences than thieves did. So today, there is a difference between someone being drunken in their own living room and someone being drunken on main street and being thrown in the county lockup. In I Corinthians 5:1, Paul said that the sin he would tell the church to take action about was “reported commonly.” That means this is a public offense, and as such it HAD to be dealt with by the church body. As fallen, broken creatures we all struggle daily and weekly with private problems, and those problems are addressed daily at the judgment seat of Christ. (II Corinthians 5:10) However, when something is public in nature, it reflects not only on the individual but also on the people they identify with. Family names can be sullied by a reprobate family member, and church bodies can be publicly defiled when a member of the body brings public reproach upon the church.
Why Do We?: From the previous paragraph, we see that the reason the church exercises discipline over her members is not what is commonly thought to be the reason. Many people think the purpose of church discipline is for repentance. Repentance is something we pray for when it comes to erring church members, but Paul showed in I Corinthians 5:10 that the purpose of discipline is to uphold the purity of the Lord’s bride and that wonderful name. As we are unleavened in our position, so should it be displayed in our condition. No, again, we are not perfect, but this goal is of the same nature that the undershepherd has in his qualifications. Bishops or elders are required to be “blameless.” (I Timothy 3:2) If that meant a minister had to be perfect, the church would have no ministers! Likewise, if a church was required to be unleavened in every action or decision, there would be no true or real churches. Both of these expressions refer to public reproach. Ministers should be above public reproach, have a good report of them that are without, and not fall under the condemnation of the devil. Likewise, the church should be above public reproach, have a good report of them that are without, and not fall under the condemnation of the devil.
How Do We?: One of the big misconceptions that people who do not practice church discipline have about those that do is twofold: 1. We enjoy it, and 2. It applies to everything in our lives. Neither of these common misconceptions is true. Church discipline is painful. Much like spanking a child, parents do not enjoy the exercise but are looking at the benefits it brings not the pain of the moment. Some of the church’s saddest days are when a member is cut off from the body because it is a death that occurs too soon. Members should only be cut from the body when death takes us, but public reproaches and condemnations bring death to a member while life is still going on. In like manner, this death does not extend to every aspect of a person’s life. Paul encouraged the Corinthians brethren to not company with public sin in their body. He contrasts this with the other aspects of their lives by telling them they have to company with public sinners in life but not to eat with them (practice communion together). (I Corinthians 5:9-12) People engaged in public, unrepentant sin should not be called a brother in a church way, but that does not mean they are cut out of other portions of our lives. Maybe it is family that will always be family. Maybe it’s a friend that is still a friend. Much like we have friends and family that belong to other orders of people or perhaps do not identify with a church at all, so a member cut off and cut out is still friend and/or family but no longer a brother in a church sense.
Friends, some things are true and pleasant, others are true and unpleasant, some are false and pleasant, and others are false and unpleasant. Unpleasantness is not the marker of whether something should be done, engaged in, or enjoyed. The church is the pillar and ground of the truth (II Timothy 3:15), and the responsibility of that is to uphold the truth against the assaults that have come against her since her inception. Those assaults are doctrinal and moral, and the church should repel them both with equal fervor. The precious trust that we as the household of faith have been given should be treasured no matter how unpleasant the task may be. As a civilian, federal worker, I had to take the same oath of office that military people do. I swore to protect this country against all enemies, both foreign and domestic. As a member of the Lord’s church, I have sworn to uphold her policy, purity, and order against all enemies to her whether outwardly or inwardly. Yes, I have prayed over the years for members who have left her ranks and been dealt with appropriately by the church. Sometimes repentance happens and sometimes it doesn’t. However, what I have prayed for the most is that I would neither do nor counsel or encourage someone else to do anything that would detract from the beauty and purity of Mount Zion.
Most of our churches have an article of faith that reads something like this, “We believe the Scriptures of the Old and New Testament are the inspired word of God and are our only rule of faith and practice.” There are variations of verbiage, but the heart of the matter is that our churches look to the Scriptures and the Scriptures only for government, worship, worldview, etc. Anything that begins with, “I think” or “I feel” relates to confidence in the flesh of which Paul said we have none. (Philippians 3:3) If you are like me, you don’t struggle much with this concept, but my problem is the employment of it in my steps, manner of life, and outlook of things both past, present, and future. To help center us in our daily walk and ground us in our common thoughts, let us walk together through the fertile fields of God’s word to see just how important they testify that they are.
What Power: Jesus responded to some Sadducees on a particular occasion by equating the Scriptures to the power of God. (Matthew 22:29) They are on the same level. We see words in ink on an actual page (well some people today see pixels on a screen!). However, the source, content, and impact of those words conveys power that is not natural. The power of these words is of the same level as God blessing a lad to slay a giant, a flood to cover the earth, and fire to come down from heaven. Nobody who believes those accounts doubts the magnitude and source of those great events. However, many of God’s children do not approach the word of God with the same authority of power and impact. The next time we crack it open and peruse its pages may we do so with the expectation of being flooded with power that comes from God’s breath of inspiration.
What Comparison: When Jesus conveyed the message of the rich man and Lazarus in Luke 16, the end of that story is the rich man in hell begging Abraham to do something to keep his 5 brothers from joining him in hell. He begged for Lazarus to go appear to them. When Abraham said that they had Moses and the prophets (the Scriptures of the Old), the rich man said that wasn’t enough, but Abraham’s response is profound. If those men wouldn’t hear the Scriptures, they won’t hear Lazarus even if he came back from the dead. This story illustrates for us that the Scriptures are on the same level of effectiveness as the resurrection. I highly suspect that if we were standing in a cemetery when a gave opened up with someone walking out whole and entire, it would have a profound effect on us. The account in Luke 16 shows that the effect of Scriptures is likewise? How could this be? Because everything in Scriptures revolves around the rising from the dead. I Corinthians 15 says that Paul’s main witness of the resurrection is the Scriptures. Jesus died, was buried, and rose again according to the Scriptures. Things in the Old Testament pointed toward it, things in the New Testament point back to it, and because of it, we should look forward to it to be with Him as He is and rise like as He has risen.
What Love: Paul indicates that the purpose of Scripture is to teach us, comfort us, and ultimately give us hope. (Romans 15:4) Had the Scriptures never been penned, God would still be God, His people would still be His people, and based on the work of Christ while on this earth, He would still be God in heaven with all of His ransomed with Him. However, He put something down by His breath that instructs us, touches us, and makes us yearn for things both true and heavenly. Why? Love. Much like a parent wants to instruct a child, comfort a child, and help take some of the hurt of this world away, so also did God give us His word for this exact purpose. When we do our daily reading, we are daily reading that God loves us. It is His letter to us declaring over and over again how much we mean to Him and how much He cares for us. Back in the old days, people living at a distance from each other used actual mail with stamps and envelopes to send one another correspondence. For people like sweethearts, there would be anticipation at getting a letter that day from the one they loved. Every day, we can rise knowing that we have a letter from Him for that day and every day.
Beloved, one of the things that will brighten any day is God’s rich declarations to us. The power and effect that it has on us should be that on the same level as raising the dead. Too often, the Bible falls into the cracks of daily life, and even when it rises on a day to our attention, it is met with the ho hum feeling that other things bring that day. Because His mercies are new every morning, every morning should be met with expectation of finding mercy and obtaining grace to help in time of need. Likewise, every morning that we rise, we can find a letter from our Beloved in the mailbox of our lives. Each and every day. May we not forget to know how important these words are, and may we further not forget to know that the impact will raise the dead things of our lives when all natural hope seems to be gone.
Human beings live in a “double whammy” condition due to the depravity of our nature. One whammy happens because we lack ability to do better and meet the moral standards of God, and the second whammy occurs when we lack the desire to do better because we think we’re doing just fine. The Psalmist describes God’s tenderness to His children by knowing who we are and the constitution of our frame. (Psalm 103:13-14) He understands our lack of ability, and He knows that our brokenness proves itself daily. This frail condition is no reason to lay down and give up, nor is it an excuse to cease trying to do better. Rather, it indicates to us that expectations should be tempered but coupled with lofty goals. We should still strive for the perfect mark of Jesus Christ (Philippians 3:13-14) but understand that failure still comes.
Knowing: The Psalmist says that God knows our frame. Simply put, He made man, and knows the weakness of that constitution that has been wrecked by sin and death. One of the things that fathers know about their children is that they are incapable of doing what grownups can do. It is sometimes amusing to see children strive for things higher than they are, sometimes it’s sad seeing them fail and stumble, and other times it is maddening seeing them pursue the same folly again and again. Seeing these occurrences gives us a glimpse of how our Father sees our striving, stumbling, and insane life patterns. God has never condoned sin, and His justice and judgment will never be put in a corner. However, due to the grace and compassion He has for His children, He knows what we can’t do, and has provided through His Son the means whereby His banished will not be put away from Him forever. (II Samuel 14:14)
Remembering: Coupled with what God knows, He also remembers that we are dust. Sometimes parents lay upon their children something beyond their ability to perform. Parents make mistakes, but our Father due to His perfect knowledge and remembrance knows exactly what we can and can’t do. The things we can’t do, He has mercifully done for us so that justice is satisfied and free grace and mercy extended. Today, the things required of us are things that we are fully capable of performing, and it behooves us as the children of the living God to do as He has commanded us do. (I Corinthians 10:13) No matter the situation, what He has promised He performs, and what He commands, He expects us to perform. While we still don’t live up to that, there is still new mercy every morning because He remembers who and what we are. Again, justice is not put in a corner, but God’s family is perfectly in order through the work of His Son and our performance will not affect that relationship, though it has great effects on our fellowship.
Something More: When the Psalmist talked about God’s parental care and keeping of us, it is implied in the verse that something more is involved. Why does God have such pity and compassion through our weak and miserable failings? The answer to that is in what is not said. The Psalmist did not say “we are but dust.” He said “we are dust.” Had he written that we are but dust, that would be the extent of who and what we are. However, we are more than that. God has placed something inside of this old dust that is ever new, renewed daily, and bears the image of Christ. (Colossians 1:23) The compassion that our Father has for us is that His eye sees through these broken frames to the very face of His Son staring back at Him. When our souls look upward, it is Christ’s countenance that looks homeward and heavenly. When this old dust goes back to corruption, something flies away and is at rest. Because of this blessed fact, we can do, we can act, and we can perform. Paul understood His own failings, but he also understood the power that was within him by God’s mercy and grace to be able to do all things through that great strength. (Philippians 4:13)
The human condition can be a comedy or a tragedy depending on the season and someone’s particular mood. A wise old elder now at home in heaven used to say, “Life is a comedy to those who think, and a tragedy to those who feel.” I have lived both ends of that spectrum. However, the human condition does not change the infallible and immutable character of God. He abides. When we look at and approach another day of our existence, it should focus on the hope of what has been done, what is real today, and what is coming some sweet day in the future. Today’s burdens can be borne, not because of who we are, but because of what He has made us. The hopes of what will be can be exercised not because of what we have accomplished but because of what He has promised. When you fail, remember that He remembers. When you stumble, know that He knows. When you feel miserable about who you are and what you have done, understand that His pity abides with us. A modern poet wrote a mantra that has become precious to me as I’ve grown older, “Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.”
There has not been a more asked question of me as a gospel minister over the years than, “Why do bad things happen to good people?” Answering that question must be done honestly but also circumspectly. It is not always asked from the same place or for the same reason, which is why the answer must be lawful but also expedient for the occasion. A book that deals with suffering perhaps more than any other is I Peter. Peter highlights where the root of suffering comes from (sin), the example to follow when suffering (Christ), and the different ways we can suffer (well-doing vs. evildoing). While the ultimate cause of suffering in this world is because of the presence of sin, our suffering is not necessarily because we have sinned ourselves. I Peter 4:15 highlights different root causes for suffering.
Various Evildoing: Whether the sin is something we consider “big” like murder or “little” like being a busybody, Peter exhorts that we should not suffer for those things. Simply put, if you don’t want that suffering, don’t commit those actions. Our sin will find us out (Numbers 32:23), and one of the promises of life is that we reap what we sow. Culture today likes to ignore consequences, and while it is true that we have “freedom” to do what we desire, there are consequences for those choices. Today’s mindset is “be your own person,” “live your own life,” and “I’m in charge,” and while we have the ability to do many of these things, the consequences for these decisions are inescapable in this existence. One of the best lessons that parents can teach children is the difference between ability and permission and consequences for actions.
Christian Walking: Peter also highlights that there is suffering in this world for walking and living like a Christian. When a pattern of life is fashioned according to the Master’s example, suffering will be the result. Why? Because He suffered likewise by living this way. A good portion of chapter 2 of this same epistle describes that suffering and how He handled it. If we suffer likewise, it is nothing to be ashamed of since we are in good company. Not only do we have the faithful footsteps of the Lord walking this way, but there are a multitude of others gone before that have walked likewise. When we mark the “footsteps of the flock” and how they lived and died before us, we can take courage and solace likewise that we are in the good way seeking and finding rest for our souls. (Jeremiah 6:16)
Inevitability: Since we will either suffer from doing wrong or doing right, it is inevitable in this world that we will suffer. While not a pleasant thought, it is manifestly true from day to day with every turning of the earth. Expectations should be tailored accordingly to not fall into the cultural mindset “why is all this happening to me?” Suffering will come. Without fail. Why we suffer is more important than that we suffer. There is plenty of Eliphaz, Zophar, and Bildad doctrine that is alive and well in the world today. They told Job that his sufferings obviously meant that he was guilty of some sin that while no one else knew about it, God did, and therefore, his condition was a result of that sin. Friends, results-driven perspectives will put us in a world of hurt more often than not. We equate pleasantness with goodness and suffering with evilness when we often don’t have sight and information to make absolute judgments based on outcomes.
Why do bad things happen to good people? Simply put, because of sin. However, two better questions are: “Why does anything good ever happen in this old sinful world?” and “Are these bad things happening because of my actions or for righteousness’ sake?” Thank God that because He has intervened in this corrupt world that things are as well with us as they are. Things could always be much worse, and while He has saved us from an eternity of ruin, He has also given extra grace for the present of today. Thank God that we have opportunity to not only have kinship with our Lord and Master, but we can feel a measure of that kinship through the “fellowship of His suffering.” (Philippians 3:10) All my life, I knew that I was my parents’ son, but when I became a father myself, I felt a kinship to my parents that I couldn’t understand as a child. When I was born again, the Holy Ghost took up residence with my spirit. However, when suffering for His name’s sake, I feel that kinship of gathering a glimpse of what He willingly stood and did for me when condescending to this low ground of sin and sorrow. May we go forward having no reason to be ashamed as evildoers, but every reason to rejoice that we are counted in that number who not only love His name but have the faith and courage to suffer for it.
In Hope,
Bro Philip
Culture today has a heightened state of depression, anxiety, and general malaise. Part of the reason for this pandemic of sorrow is mismanaged expectations – or just improper expectations period. When people expect things that are either impossible or generally unreasonable, the perpetual disappointment that they inevitably experience sets them back both emotionally as well as psychologically. Good spiritual health for a child of God is difficult to impossible in this condition. Paul indicated in Philippians 1:20 that he had both an “earnest expectation” and a “hope.” Talking about his situation, Paul distinguished the two by using hope to properly frame the expectations. Since hope is an earnest expectation of something desired, what distinguishes the two, how does one inform the other, and what good does that bring for us today?
Difference between the two: The difference between an earnest expectation and a hope is that one is desired (hope) while the other not necessarily so. For example, I have an earnest expectation that man is going to struggle with depravity until the end of time. I don’t desire this to be the case, but I expect it since the Bible promises it to be the case. I firmly expect that the devil will battle us until the day he is cast into the lake of fire. While I don’t want to have to battle with him every day, I do expect to find him every day waiting to cross swords with me. However, hope is something that I expect to happen while also fervently looking forward to it. For example, I expect the Lord to come back some day, and every day that I wake up, I long for today to be the day. I look forward to my body being fashioned like unto His glorious body, and one sweet day, it will be accomplished.
Hoping through expectations: Some people use hope improperly by “hoping” for something to be the case that is unreasonable. Hoping for a different outcome to the same set of actions/circumstances is not hope but patented insanity. Parents who refuse to parent their children have no reasonable expectation or hope that their children will “get it.” Voting for crooked people thinking they will “do it differently this time” is not hope but another set of mismanaged expectations. Real hope comes from not only having the proper expectation of the future, but also knowing WHO is in the future. In Philippians 1:20 Paul is in the midst of talking about circumstances that he had lived and was living through. Not all of those circumstances were pleasant or positive. However, Paul wasn’t ashamed in any of the things he was going through. What if in prison? What if on the mountaintop? Either way, God was still there, and God would be with him no matter what. In life and in death, Paul had an expectation that was managed by hope that God would stand true to every promise that He had ordained.
Present circumstances: While things have changed since Paul’s day, are the basics and blueprints of life any different now than they were then? Not really. Same God. Same foe. Same world. Same kind of people. Technology and other “advancements” haven’t changed the reality that God is the same, the devil is still evil, man is still depraved, and God’s family remains dear to Him and preserved by Him. What I go through today may look different from Paul’s circumstances, but he was a man of like passions as me with faith bestowed by God to him by the same measure as He has given me. Therefore, I should have my expectations of the future managed by a firm hope in who God still is and what He will still do. As a minister of the gospel, I get asked questions about the future quite often. Amusingly, I tell people that I’m a preacher not a prophet, but the few things I know about the future, they aren’t really interested in hearing. They want me to predict when God is judging our nation, what the outcome of election cycles will be, and what the result of things like this will look like. Quite frankly, I don’t know. However, my hope is based on something above all those things. I fully expect this world to wax worse and worse; I fully expect to go through rough seasons of life. However, I am not ashamed by any of these things because I fervently hope to live with Him in glory with all of you when this time world is no more.
Our world today continues to do things that are “right in their own eyes.” Christianity continues to talk about happiness at the expense of obedience. However, I hope the household of faith will continue to manage expectations through hope. I don’t hope to see things that God has not promised. Prayers shouldn’t in essence be “Lord, bless this mess” when facing problems of our own making. Worship should not be entered with “Lord, bless this sacrifice” when we come in our own way doing things our own way. However, prayer, worship, and the daily events of life can be hoped in when we say “Lord, Thy will not mine be done.”
God has not promised skies always blue.
Flower-strewn pathways all our lives through;
God has not promised sun without rain,
Peace without sorrow, joy without pain.
But God has promised strength for our day,
Rest when we labour, light on the way,
Grace for our trials, help from above,
Unfading kindness, undying love.
Though we have mingled sunshine and rain,
Clouds decked with rainbows, joy mixed with pain,
Let us still trust His mercies right on,
And sing His praises all the day long.
In Hope,
Bro Philip
When we visit with our closest family and friends, we are generally more free to share our deepest emotions and thoughts. It is a trusted group/audience that we feel comfortable “letting our hair down” and not playing things close to the vest. There were times in Jesus’ pilgrimage here on earth that He shared things with only a few. For example, the disciples got to see things that not everyone got to experience. There were even times when a select group from the disciples experienced things that the other disciples didn’t. The Mount of Transfiguration – as relayed in Matthew 17, Mark 9, and Luke 9 – shows that only Peter, James, and John went up with Him. Only they saw and experienced that event. Even though that moment was singular in history, Peter alludes to it in II Peter 1 when declaring the Scriptures a “more sure word of prophecy” than that event. Therefore, what they saw in that scene is had in a more profound way by the household of faith today. It occurs when we have the Scriptures opened to us as we come up into Mt. Zion with Him apart from this world for a little while.
Coming Up: When we assemble in the Church of the Firstborn, we have to come up from the world for a little while. While still on this earth, we have come to a place that is above this low ground of sin and sorrow, but it is not quite heaven itself as it is just the earnest of our inheritance. It is a special time in a special place that we get to see things with our Lord and hear things that the world knows nothing of. While it would be wonderful for all the family of God to experience and know these things, just like the apostles of that day, not all will see and experience this joy of the whole earth. While in this unearthly place, our Lord comes manifestly to us in a way that is not like at other times. They saw His face shine as the sun, raiment white and glistering like no fuller on earth can white them, and saw the souls of saints talking with Him in heaven.
Voice and Persons: While Elijah and Moses appeared with Christ in glory as Peter, James, and John beheld, there was a voice that superseded those there present. Even though Peter knew who the characters were, the Father thundered from a cloud that Jesus was the One that truly mattered. His words of “hear ye Him” ring just as true today as they did then. While we have the words and testimony of men like Moses in the law, Elijah in the prophets, and even the apostles then present through gospel and epistle, the heart of all those messages is the Son of God and God the Son. He is the central focus of everything in Scripture. As He told the Pharisees, the Scriptures testify of Him. (John 5:39) As He told two on the road to Emmaus, all the Scriptures are expounded regarding Him. (Luke 24) The end result of these things is to bring hope. (Romans 15:4) When we read and expound the Scriptures, we should be hearing Him talk to us in every syllable on every page.
Alone and in Focus: When Moses and Elijah departed and the Father was done speaking, they were alone with Christ again. However, the focus of the message in hearing Him was what was talked about. Rather than focus on Moses and Elijah, what they talked about was His death that He should accomplish at Jerusalem. When we peruse the pages of Holy Writ, we are looking at the testimony of His death which He did accomplish for us at Jerusalem. The focus is singular because His work is singular. The glory is focused on Him because His work was focused to us personally. No matter how often told, the story is ever fresh because the power of the work is unbending and never-ending. We can go to the mountain of the Lord to meet with Him through His word in the power of the Spirit and receive the news all over again of how powerful, complete, and eternal His work abides to His beloved.
Even Today: When people today talk about things like the Bible, church, and the things most surely believed among us, normally these talking points do not rise to the level of importance as news, politics, family, job, or even hobbies. If you desire to know what a person holds most dear, all you have to do is consider what they talk about, spend their time doing, and spend their money to accomplish. Nothing on earth reveals like the tongue, the action, and the dollar. Our time, voice, and means should be spent first and foremost to meet with Him. When the Book is opened, let us remember that it is not just words on a page but us getting to “hear ye Him.” When the story is told o’er and o’er, may we consider that it is the same message that is told in glory by people like Moses, Elijah, and all the other souls of departed saints. When the assembly comes together, may we remember that while on terra firma, we are soaring on eagles’ wings to run and not be weary, walk and not faint.
The Church of Christ we have today,
A blessing from the Lord;
He gave her to His Son to save,
And take her home above.
She was His bride before she knew,
She had a Husband dear;
And when for her His choice was made,
It caused her to draw near.
When she adorned with all His grace,
Shall be exalted there,
No queen with all her glory here,
Was ever half so fair.
The turtledove is singing now;
The winter’s past and gone;
Rise up my fair one, come away!
I’ll take you home to stay.
In Hope,
Bro Philip
There are moments in life when we do things not for our own benefit, but for the assistance of others. Parents many times do things to benefit their children, and this not only doesn’t benefit the parent but can many times be a sacrifice. So likewise, the perfect Parent gives His children things that benefit us, but do not add anything to His personage. David was given a glimpse into the heavenly conversation in Psalm 110:1, when he was able to hear what the Godhead spoke between the Persons. This was not for God’s benefit but for David’s – and ultimately for all of us who have been blessed to read and understand the words written down through the ages.
The LORD: The verse begins with the speaker being identified as the LORD. When the translators of the King James put certain things in English, they were good enough to identify certain things by how they appear on the page. When you read LORD in all caps, they are identifying the name Jehovah as the one under consideration. The word Lord can refer to many different rulers, even earthly ones, but the LORD is reserved for God and God alone. This name for God was so respected and revered by Jewish scribes and scholars that whenever they went to write the word down, they would wash their hands before doing so, and then wash them again when they were finished. Such was the reverence for God’s name, and would to God that it were so revered and set by today. Unfortunately, the very irreverent culture that we live in cannot fathom such displays of reverence and submission to power and glory.
My Lord: Now that we have identified the speaker in this verse, the attention shifts to who is being spoken to. David calls Him “my Lord.” Distinguishing between Jehovah and my Lord, David is witnessing a conversation between God and His Son. The Son of God is David’s Lord – as He is ours – and though He would come as David’s offspring in a natural way, He is David’s root in a Lordship fashion. (Revelation 22:16) God was not beholden to show David what He told His Son. However, the heavenly message provided the strength David needed for that day. Likewise, when we get glimpses of the heavenly message, it is for our benefit and edification as well.
The Message: What God told His Son was ultimately a message of victory, dominion, and authority. God gave His Son a place at His own right hand, and further all His enemies were made His footstool. That message is still just as relevant and true today as it was in David’s day. No matter what current events unfold, and no matter how sore the trials become, God is still on His throne ruling and reigning with all enemies put under His feet. David as a king knew how this kind of authority works, and today as being kings and priests to God, so should we understand that this power and authority is firmly entrenched in the One who has it. The only way an enemy can shake this condition and position is to overthrow the power of the one who holds it. Since none are as powerful as God with none having His dominion and authority, this condition and position remains and is unshakeable. (Hebrews 8:1)
Further Glimpses: It is hard for us sometimes to “see” that God’s enemies have been made His footstool when we see the rampant darkness and iniquity both without and within. One great enemy that we still see and face is death. Another is what leads to death: depravity. To us and our vantage point, these things seem to be loose and “living large.” However, when blessed with a glimpse of a heavenly conversation that provides to us a message from home, we by faith can reach out and reach up to hold on to the blessed truth and promise that One (our Lord) is still at the LORD’s right hand. He has vanquished His foes, and they are put under His feet. Paul describes in I Corinthians 15 that death is the last enemy that we “see not yet” all things put under His feet. Yes, death is still a reality of life, but He is alive and set on the right hand of God. Because of that, we don’t see it manifestly, but we are given glimpses of the completed work in heaven right now.
God’s word is a series of glimpses and messages that show us things to better help us understand what is truly reality no matter what our senses perceive. To our natural senses, things grow colder and worse. To our perspective, the world falls further and further into murky depths. However, faith testifies that God is alive, our Lord is seated there, and all enemies have been put down. Such a glorious message puts pep in the step of a downtrodden lamb. Such insight into the workings of God give hope as a light in a dark place like nothing else does. He is not “added to” by giving us these things, but thank God these things “add to us” in the sense that we can look beyond the pale and see the great light coming of the reality of the eternal day. Thanks be unto Him for this immeasurable gift, for no matter how often it is spoken, it never wanes or loses its power and purpose.
We welcome you to join us at our Fall communion meeting the 3rd weekend in September, 2024.
We have invited Elder Mike Montgomery, pastor of Old School Primitive Baptist Church in Kennedale, Texas and Elder Mark Rowell, pastor of the First Primitive Baptist Church of Dallas, Texas to be with us. We will have services Saturday morning and afternoon, followed by a fish fry and singing that evening. Services Sunday morning, followed by the communion service after lunch.
One of the many things that happened as a consequence of man’s fall into sin is that patience, waiting, and being still do not come naturally. Some of the richest scenes in life come when patience and stillness coincide with waiting. Job said that he would wait all the days of his appointed time till his change came. (Job 14:14) When he uttered that statement, he was in the throes of misery and natural suffering. After losing his children, possessions, health, respect of his wife, and the comfort of his friends, he had the grace to say that he still waited for something yet to come that sustained him. No matter the situation or season we find ourselves in, we can likewise wait, but how we wait makes all the difference.
Waiting not Fretting: Many times, our “waiting” that we claim to be doing is really just fretting (worrying). The Psalmist told us not to fret because of evildoers. (Psalm 37:1) Guitars have raised edges called “frets” that are designed to put applied pressure on the string to make certain sounds. Fretting in this world is when pressures come, and we make particular sounds as a result (moaning and groaning). The way that Job waited was not due to the pressures he experienced but rather in spite of them. His waiting looked at what would be not what is now – the coming resurrection instead of present sorrows.
Hoping not Wishing: The word Job used “wait” is the same word that is rendered in other places as “hope.” Basically, Job was hoping through waiting. Like us, he knew not what all the future would bring, but he hoped for that which came beyond the future when time is no more. He could have wished his trials would be gone, but to earnestly expect them to end was information he did not have. However, what he hoped for beyond the future was something he could earnestly expect as that which God planted in his soul had blossomed into radiance. While I know not what a day may bring, I do have hope about what THE DAY will bring! In that we can quietly wait and hope for the glory of God yet to come.
More Waiting: Solomon told us that the older we get the more we can expect “evil days.” (Ecclesiastes 12:1) What the world calls “golden years,” nature shows us that the further we go in life the harder things can become. We get naturally weaker, our faculties fade, and waiting in hope can be harder if we look at all the vain and perishable things on this earth. Paul encouraged us in Philippians 3 to forget about what was, reach forth to what will be, and press currently toward that mark and standard established by Jesus Christ the Righteous. Whether our days are many or few, may the waiting of “our time” be solely focused on Him and His coming work.
Friends, I know not where all of you have been, and I may not know where all of you are right now in your walk and fellowship with God. However, I do know where we’re all going. Because of that, we can all wait together in hope and anticipation of Him calling and us answering. He will have a desire to the work of His hands, and no matter the circumstances we have faced or will face, this glorious hope trumps it all. I can’t imagine how Job’s life must have felt – nor do I care to find out – but I have felt the same God cheering my soul that no doubt cheered his. Let us live a quiet and peaceable life; living in the hope of brighter things to come.
Things in this world tend to get undervalued or overvalued at times. We oftentimes take something for granted until we’ve lost it, and at other times, we think too much of something until mortality shores up our priorities. Something God’s children have historically undervalued is the power of prayer. James tells us that it is effectual (produces results) and avails much (significant results). (James 5:16) In my own life, I have oftentimes utilized prayer as a “last resort” instead of first priority, and I fear like many of us have missed the results for what they were at the time. If prayer produces significant results, then we should not fail to utilize the power inherent within it.
Saves Lives: One of the heaviest examples of prayer’s power is the simple fact that it saves lives. When Hezekiah was told in Isaiah 38 that he was going to die, he immediately prayed to God for deliverance. This is the surest example we have in Scripture of cause and effect overcoming potential cause and effect. What would have been Hezekiah’s state had he not prayed? Simple. He would have died. God said so. What happened after he prayed? Simple. He didn’t die. God said so. When God saw the tears of this righteous king, a great effect was produced from this righteous man. With this simple and plain example from Scripture, I have answers to many situations in my life when experts like doctors scratch their heads in confusion. How could someone have survived THAT? Prayers from righteous people availed much and lives were saved.
Situations Improve: Prayer’s power does not always revolve around life and death. Most commonly, prayer improves the state of life that currently abides. Our verse from James comes on the heels of a discussion about praying for sick people. Faithful prayers by faithful people improve the state of life as we live it. Sickness, disease, mental problems, distress, sorrow, pain, labor, travail, and the list goes on. Prayer helps with all of these. Why? Because the power that we implore is greater than any power here on earth. There is no problem too big for God to deal with, and there is no problem too small to garner His care and compassion over those He loves.
Thanksgiving: Verses in Holy Writ express a muti-fold reason for prayer. It is not just for supplication and beseeching. Thanksgiving is at the heart of prayer as well. We pray for things we need while at the same time thanking God for the wonderful ways that He has abundantly blessed us. Where is power in thanksgiving? It is difficult – yea impossible – to do certain things at the same time. You can’t harbor a grudge against someone while at the same time washing their feet. They just simply cannot abide in the same track. Likewise, a heart and mode of thanksgiving presses out complaining, bitterness, pride, and a host of other things. The power it brings is contentment which is great gain. (I Timothy 6:6)
Position and Place: When we come to God beseeching Him and pouring out thanksgiving unto Him, there is a clear sense of place and position – both with us and with Him. Coming to a throne of grace hoping to find mercy and grace to help in time of need indicates that we know how much we need Him, and we recognize what He has in vast supply to help us with. (Hebrews 4:16) When I was much younger, I experienced something that will stick with me as long as I have a sound mind. As a teenager, I was quite proud of what I knew from Scriptures, and even though I didn’t speak publicly in church at that point, I could pray with the best of them. In fact, I could pray better than some men could preach. One day after offering prayer, an old deacon who helped raise me told me to take a walk with him outside. Translation: I was going to the woodshed. He told me, “Boy, don’t quote the book to the One who wrote it. He knows what it says. Tell Him how you feel and how much you love Him and need Him. That’s what He is looking to hear.” More than the kindliest and ablest parent on earth, it delights our Father when His children come to Him acknowledging Him and their position relative to Him.
Brethren, this is by no means exhaustive in all the ways prayer is empowering. However, may some of these high points re-encourage us not to take this manifold power for granted. Prayer is the first chosen path not the last resort in our lives. It can remove our enemies from us (Samson), give peace (David), enlighten (Elisha and his servant), forgive and rest in death (Stephen). One of the most comforting things about James 5:16 to me is the singularity of it. While it is comforting to have a host of people praying for you, how many does it take? A righteous man. One! Even if you feel like you’re the only one, that is sufficient. God hears one with effect just as a multitude.
Considering the manifold mercies of God to His people, we could not begin to number or order them all up. However, as I get older, one of the ones that I put more stock in than I used to is the fact of Him being with us. Revelation 21:3 tells us that the “tabernacle” of God is with men, and because of that, He “dwells” with us. Consider the language employed. An Eternal Being is given a temporary habitation – tabernacle – and Infinite Fulness inhabits finite space – dwells. Such time and space bound words used to describe Him who is boundless in every sense. God does not sacrifice His characteristics, attributes, or personage to do this. Rather, it shows His power and authority to move within His creation how and when He chooses.
Flesh and blood: One of the easiest ways to point out that God dwells with men is when He took on literal flesh and blood in the form of His Son. (Hebrews 2:14-15) One of the hallmark differences between Christianity and every other religion/cult is that they believe in aspiring to be god. Christianity shows that God mercifully became us to save us and be a faithful and merciful High Priest in all things. Our bodies are called tabernacles, and God prepared His Son a body (Hebrews 10:5) to dwell with men as a Man just like us in all things – sin excepted. While His journey on earth only lasted 33.5 years, He remains a Man who is now glorified and still bodily at His Father’s right hand.
Invisible Kingdom: While there are many debates about what the kingdom of God is, how it is, and what its bounds are, the easiest definition of the kingdom is where it is. Where is a natural kingdom? Where a natural king reigns. Where is the kingdom of God? Where God reigns over and with His people. Luke 17:20-21 tells us that the bounds of the kingdom are not observable naturally. Why? Because it resides in the heart of God’s people wherever they are. This naturally unseen bound comes at the moment of regeneration when His Spirit takes up abode with our spirit in our heart. This continual testimony that we are the children of God is what renews us day by day. Nothing can prevent it from happening when God comes in, and nothing can stop the testimony that abides with His children until we go home. No matter where, how, or when a child of God has lived, they live with God as He dwells with them from the moment of regeneration on.
Manifest: As merciful as the above is that God would be one of us and come into us, He has afforded a further blessing that something quite invisible within His children becomes manifest when the church body meets together. Paul describes particular and special blessings to those that seek to honour and adore Him through public worship. (I Timothy 4:8) Because of this, Paul commands us to do good to all men but particularly those of the household of faith. (Galatians 6:10) It is a special time when the church experiences the power of God. Isn’t He already dwelling with us? Certainly. However, when we preach with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven, He comes into the room with power like a great and rushing mighty wind. Sometimes my own children can forget I’m in the room with them (or around the corner), but when I speak, they don’t have to be told where I am or who I am. When the Lord comes and dwells with the church assembly, we don’t have to be told who He is or where He is. We know that He is with us, and we can say during those times that His love is manifest to all.
…and Manifest: Many debate what the language of Revelation 21 and 22 is talking about. Some think it’s talking about the church. Some think it’s heaven. One of the things that either view has to contend with is that not all verses seem to line up with one or the other. As a dear elder told me, beware of being too bold about Scriptural language that has tension points that you can’t reconcile in your own mind. Hold them loosely rather than with a tight fist. However, this little writing isn’t meant to be a treatise on those 2 chapters but allow this point to make the point. What is manifest now in the church assembly is of the same substance as what will be manifest one sweet day. Paul calls this little portion now the “earnest” of our inheritance. (Ephesians 1:14) Heaven is of the same substance that the church occupies a piece of. However, one thing heaven will have then that nothing now can show is ALL the family of God without exception. It’s what our new man longs to see. (Romans 8:19) Just as people debate what the last two chapters of the Bible are talking about, so do they also debate what heaven is going to be like. Heaven in a nutshell is God DWELLING with us. He is still infinite and eternal, but we will dwell with Him and He with us to a degree unlike anything we have ever experienced before.
As mentioned earlier, the older I get, the more I appreciate this manifold mercy from God’s many manifold mercies. I’m thankful He sent His Son; else I’d be hell-bound. I’m thankful that He sends His Spirit; else I’d perish within a day. I’m thankful He manifests His Spirit; else I’d be bound over continually. I’m thankful that He brings us to heaven; else I’d be perpetually homesick.
It may not be so far away,
To perfect rest and endless day;
It matters not where it may be,
Where Jesus is, will be heaven for me.
We think of things as valuable based on certain qualities. If something is rare, hard to find/acquire, or easy to lose, we generally deem it valuable, whereas if it is common, easy to find, and simple to keep, we think of it with less stock. However, one of the most treasured resources we have is one that we so often deem common instead of valuable. Earlier this week, my daughter and I were running errands, and through a series of events we could not have seen or prevented, it ended up being a waste of time. It provided a teaching moment for me to explain to her that while we shouldn’t willfully waste time, it is part of life that time gets wasted. Due to sin’s presence in this world, things just don’t operate optimally or ideally most of the time. Paul encouraged the Ephesians in “redeeming the time” because “the days are evil.” (Ephesians 5:16) This seems curious, because we think of “redeeming” as buying something back, whereas time cannot be bought back as when it’s gone, it’s gone.
Buy Up: Another definition for redeeming is to buy up instead of buy back. This follows more in line with the thought of a ransom rather than purchasing something in hock. So, now the question becomes, “How do we buy up time?” The thought here revolves around what we are willing to do to keep the time we have. One of the 10 Commandments is to honour our father and mother. There is a promise with that command that our days would be long on the earth. (Exodus 20:12) Later that command is clarified when the word long is used as prolonged. (Deuteronomy 5:16) By heeding wise and sage advice of our elders and those that are charged to look out and care for us, we can keep ourselves from either shortening our days or making misery of the days we have. In this sense, we are holding the time we have fierce – like a ransom – as something dear unto us.
Evil Days: One of the misnomers that the world promotes is that older periods of someone’s life are the “golden years.” Solomon called them the “evil days.” (Ecclesiastes 12:1) As we age, it’s not just that our bodies break down and things become more wearisome. As we age, we start to see more, experience more, and learn from that experience some of the darker and more corrupt aspects of life. It’s easy when looking at this “under the sun” as Solomon did to find any other conclusion than “vanity of vanity, all is vanity.” However, if we have treasured up our resource and spent it in good pursuits, we will meet the evil days in a better light and with better strength than we would have otherwise. One of Satan’s biggest tools/weapons is discouragement. When he can make us feel the waste of time and life, the days seem more and more evil. However, if we pursue life with the vigor and spiritual vitality that we should, time becomes a treasure rather than a dread.
Quality: To experience time in the most optimal way, we must stay focused on the quality of it. Most people’s dread of time is centered around quantity which we only have marginal control over. As a wise old elder once said, “If you want to live a long life, pick you out some long-lived ancestors.” The point is we have so little input on how much time we have, but we make many choices down through our travels that make a large difference on the quality of it. The Lord warned against worrying about tomorrow because the days were evil. So, how do we prevent that? By seeking Him and His kingdom first, all the rest will have room and enjoy better quality. (Matthew 6:33-34) When I have visited people at the end of their life, I have encountered two main viewpoints: 1. Joy and 2. Regret and/or bitterness. People who had put the time to use in serving the Lord and His people were joyful that they were about to go home. People who had spent their days in pursuit of self and pleasures were either bitter about those things ending or regretful about not spending their time wisely.
Quantity: While we shouldn’t be focused on the quantity of life, the Lord generally blesses the time we have when faithful to Him to be full. Hezekiah literally had more time added, but when serving the Lord, even if the years are short in number, they will feel prosperous and bountiful. We don’t think of pulling yokes and burdens as easy or light, yet He promised us His is. (Matthew 11:28-29) This is a matter of perspective, and like the Lord, Paul expressed it with words like “light” and “weightier.” (II Corinthians 4:17-18) When our focus is on Him, the afflictions of the world are lighter in comparison, while the unseen things of glory are weightier and more powerful by comparison. No doubt, God’s people have been cut down early in life, but even then, their experience was full. Elder S.A. Paine died as a very young man, but he still had the grace to say at the end, “How sweet to die!”
Even with the best intentions and greatest strivings, we will waste time in this world. As we experienced this week, it’s a reality that we live with. However, this great resource that God has provided – while not limitless – is not necessarily tied to what has gone before. Most of the events of today care little about the performance of yesterday, and our execution of tomorrow is not always tied to the here and the now. While events, seasons, and periods do extend, most of our dwelling on the past or looking to the future is with our own mind, not with time itself. When we ponder the past ill-advisedly, it can and does affect the now. When we worry about the morrow, we will fail to utilize today as we should. Friends, this resource is a treasure that helps sort things out, moves things along, and is something to be bought up rather than squandered. May we redeem it honorably rather than let the evil of this world deprive us of the fulness and bounty that we could have. I’ll close with a quote from John Wayne – it’s one of my favorites from him – that is actually inscribed on his tombstone.
Tomorrow is the most important thing in life. Comes into us at midnight very clean. It’s perfect when it arrives, and it puts itself in our hands. It hopes we’ve learned something from yesterday.
Outside of God, His nature, and character, I highly doubt any other supernatural subject has been discussed as much as the subject of angels. Who are they? What are they? Exactly what are their bounds, form, appearance, etc. etc.? Sadly, much of what people “know” of angels comes from lore rather than Scripture. What most people envision about God, Jesus, angels, the devil, etc. came from Dante, some painter like Michelangelo, or another art form like that. God doesn’t look like a grandpa, nor Jesus like a California hipster, the devil like a red pitchfork wielding beast, or angels liked winged Pegasus. God is a Spirit, which form I can’t envision. Jesus looks like a normal Jewish man. The devil as the smoothest light you’ve ever seen, and angels like regular men that you miss them sometimes.
Servants: The primary thing to keep in mind about angels is what they are. The word “angel” is defined as a messenger. Their existence is to serve. The highest pleasure they derive is by serving their Creator and fulfilling His commands. When Jacob saw the ladder in his dream, the angels’ job was to descend with blessings and messages and ascend with supplications and offerings. As Jesus declared to Nathanael at the end of John 1, they do that in His name and power. He is the ladder that spans the gap, and their missive is in and through Him whom they serve. As servants of the most High God, they do not understand things as He does. Sometimes, men know more than angels do, as we preach in the church today things that the angels desire to look into. (I Peter 1:12)
Power: As His servants, He has given them great power. For one, they do not die. One of the things that Paul highlights that sets Jesus apart from an angel is that He was made a little lower than they were to suffer death. (Hebrews 2:9) This does not mean they had more power than He did, but He took a form that could be touched, while their form is not liable to death or mortality. Another power that angels have is that they can defy the laws of nature. The angel that appeared to Manoah and his wife telling them about Samson “did wondrously.” (Judges 13:19) Angels carried Elijah up to heaven in a whirlwind, struck the men of Sodom with blindness, and just one of them killed 185,000 men in one night to deliver Hezekiah and the land from the Assyrians. (Isaiah 37) Doubtless, the power angels possess as given to them by God is higher than man’s abilities to know or even reason. However, with all the power that they have, it does not come with authority to do it as they will. This power is bound by the fact that they are servants, and any power exercised must be done at His pleasure not theirs.
Appearance: As we mentioned earlier, angels are often pondered about what they look like. Simply put, they look like men. Every account of them in Scripture follows this, and Paul says this fact means we should be careful how we entertain strangers as they could be angels. (Hebrews 13:2) There are times when there is a contrast as they do not take a form that can be seen by the natural eye. When angels take that appearance or lack thereof, there is a reason for it tied to the very duty they are fulfilling from their Master. How many have I met in my life? No idea. Have I met some? Absolutely. Too many experiences in my life have stacked up where I can remember people that I never saw before or since that were a blessing on the day or in the moment that I saw/met them. Nothing absurd or monumental necessarily happened, but they were a help to me in need when I needed it. I have talked to people who had “near death” experiences, and they talk about seeing men they have never seen before or since. They believe those men were angels, and so do I.
Guardians: While the term “guardian angels” is not in Scripture, I do believe the concept is found or at the very least inferred. We know that one angel has great power as described above. While at times the Scriptures describe a whole host coming to the aid of just a few individuals – such as Elisha and his servant in II Kings 6:17-20 – we also find in Scripture that each of us has one that stays with us. The Psalmist says that “the angel” is what encamps round about them that fear the Lord. (Psalm 34:7) Jesus says about little children that “their angels” do always behold the Father’s face. (Matthew 18:10) Finally, Paul’s angel came and spoke to him in Acts 27 when the voyage he was on seemed hopeless and lost. In all of these cases, we see that angels guard and watch God’s children, and the language infers to me that we have at least one that sticks with us. I’m sure the one charged to me has been put through his paces when looking at the path of my life, but I do believe that I have one that is charged to me and stays with me. One of the glorious things to think about when the church congregates is that however many of us are there, I believe there are at least that many angels there as well.
Friends, this is by no means exhaustive on the subject of who they are and what they are. However, what they are, can do, and purpose is tied into their name. They are celestial servants of God whom they adore. God doesn’t need them to get jobs done, but He uses them as is His good pleasure to do so. Sometimes I think of them like I think of the brethren. Just having God with us is sufficient, but in His kind grace, He’s given us one another to walk with and labour with. Just having God’s power and protection is sufficient, but He’s given us a whole celestial host to rejoice in that they watch and protect us. I have no idea what my angel’s name is (though I highly doubt it’s Gabriel or Michael), but sometimes I catch myself thinking of what he’s seen. Sometimes I tell him I’m looking forward to seeing things he’s seen. Most of all, I know that he beholds the face of our Father and Lord and Saviour, and I tell him as I tell you, “Tell Him when you see His face, I long to see Him too.”
Recently I just finished the Bible again in my chronological reading, and as is the case, the last thing I read is Revelation. Though much of that book is a mystery to me, a lot of the pitfalls and problems that people get wrapped around the axle about can be avoided by keeping the focus on the right thing. The main takeaway from the book of Revelation – yea even the whole of Scripture itself – is that Jesus wins! When looking at all those detailed and troubling creatures in Revelation, there is a sharp contrast made by looking also at Jesus Christ. People want to know who the beast is, what is the significance of 666, etc. Yet, when finishing the description of him in Revelation 13, how does John begin chapter 14? Behold, he saw a Lamb on Mount Sion! No matter how ghastly the world becomes, how troubling the times we live in, or how far the forces of darkness seem to prevail, there is still a mount where we can behold the Lamb of God which hath taken away the sin of the world.
Distraction: One of the many effective tools the devil uses is distraction. It is right up there with worry, anxiety, fear, and pride. Sometimes the distraction isn’t even sinful in and of itself, but fully devoting to it, people’s distraction becomes their god based on the time and energy they put into it. One of the simplest and plainest commands in Scripture is to seek His kingdom and righteousness first (Matthew 6:33). When that missive is met, all the necessities of life are added unto us. When I was a boy, it was common for community activities – sports, bazaars, etc. – to not be held on Sunday. It was also quite common that Wednesday evenings received a pass as well. Communities back then observed that their activities shouldn’t pull people from going to church. Now, it is highly common for all these things and more to happen every Sunday, and people work 5-6 days a week, participate in their activities on Sunday, and then rinse and repeat the next week. While jobs are not sinful, neither are many of these activities sinful in and of themselves, they have successfully squeezed the “first thing” right out of the week’s window.
Importance: Man has been quite good at times to mask what he really finds important. Sometimes words say one thing, but the actions something quite different. When I was a young minister, I heard a powerful sermon where the preacher showed Scripturally that where our time, money, and energy were most most used, he could then tell us what was most important to us. Those are the most important commodities that we have, and how we invest them shows where we place most value. As Jesus taught, “Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” (Matthew 6:21) Are we willing to sacrifice of our time, means, and self to something? If so, then we find it important in our lives and where we choose to focus. Focusing on the beasts and perishable things of this old world leads to more questions and despondency. Focusing on the Lamb leads to more joy and peace.
Transitions: One of the only constant things in life is change one philosopher of old posited. Something popular today will be gone tomorrow. People of importance this year may be passed on by next year. Such is the nature of life. Yet, things like news services and other outlets want us to focus our minds solely on the important thing of the day. What is the popular story? What is the championship sports team? Who is the next leader, president, etc.? And the list goes on. Are these things sinful? No. Should they occupy the chief place in our mind and heart? Why should they when they’ll be displaced by something else tomorrow, next week, or next year?
Endurance: Looking at those beastly things and events from the book of Revelation, they all come to nothing and pass away. When looking at the Lamb standing on Mount Zion, He is the same as He’s ever been, and will one day take the mount up with Him to His Father when the end comes. One of the main reasons we should endure hardness as good soldiers is because our Captain has endured, still endures with us, and will endure even unto the end into the endless bliss of eternity. Though salvation has already been attained by His gracious work, He still bears long with us, ever liveth to make intercession for us, and goes through the trials of this life with us. Some of the beasts that John saw in his day were gone soon thereafter. Most of the shiny things of my life have come and gone. However, if you look, you can always find the Lamb in His place with His people. He’s worth looking for, and the guarantee of blessing means more than all the shiny toys this world could proffer. May our minds and hearts stay pointed heavenly looking for and hasting unto Him and the day of His coming.
In Hope,
Bro Philip
As broken creatures, we tend to equate things or connect things that we shouldn’t. One of the most applicable correlations of this is by connecting our present circumstances with our present outlook. Things back up on us mentally, physically, and even spiritually. Sometimes our mood lands somewhere before we have time to reason what life circumstance precipitated that situation. Looking at the letters our beloved Apostle Paul wrote while in prison – such as Philippians, Colossians, and II Timothy – we will not read an outlook that aligns with his circumstances. They are some of the most uplifting of all his epistles, and without the historical reference point of where he was at the time, we would not naturally glean from his language and tone that his circumstances were naturally dire.
Reality is Reality: One of the things to keep in mind when circumstances decline is that even though that is a present reality of life, our outlook doesn’t necessarily align with reality. Today’s culture believes that perspective (or outlook) determines reality. It does not. Reality is reality. And even the present reality with all of its ups and downs will not alter or deter the coming blessedness that is also a present reality. Heaven is not something that will one day exist. It exists now. It is every bit a present reality as the next meal I will eat. But all the prisons that Paul lived in, beatings he took, and scorning that he endured, none of that altered what heaven is and one day would be experienced by him when his time here was over.
Outlook is chosen not ordained: When you contrast Paul’s outlook while in prison to others in like circumstances, it is apparent that Paul made choice on how to deal with it. Compare his outlook to John the Baptist’s from Matthew 11. Both were in prison for simply preaching the gospel, but while John wondered if Jesus was really the Christ, Paul learned in whatsoever state he was in to be content. If God governed outlooks as the “can’t help it” doctrine would imply, then men in the same circumstance for the same reason would have the exact same outlook and yet they are diametrically opposite. The lesson for us today is that our outlook is what we make of it, not what circumstances or “fate” dictate it to be.
Change outlook to uplook: When you see what Paul’s focus was during his prison epistles, his love and affection for the brethren encouraged and invited them to look where he looked. His focus was on things above, and when it came to his last epistle to Timothy (days or weeks before his execution), he was ready to go, not afraid, and not bitter about anything that had happened to him. (II Timothy 4:6-14) When the focus is directed down on things here, we will end up singing “poor pitiful me.” When our outlook stays upward focused, we will sing “Worthy art Thou.”
Friends, I wish I could tell you that I lived up to this in any neighborhood like Paul did. I haven’t suffered half of what he did, and yet I don’t look upward half as much as he seemed to. My spirit gets disquieted within me. Even as honest and noble as the reason for the rumbling seems to be, the thought of God’s enduring work and a life that never ends should dispel the rumblings that disturb our peace. There are seasons of indignation against those things that are not upright, and we go through seasons of sorrow in the house of mourning. However, even while in those seasons, we can still have the uplook that Paul did to rejoice in those things that endure, and not get tied up in knots over the transitory things of this world.
May we strive to live our lives with the lyrics of a song that stand up and walk while looking at the travels and ministry of the Apostle Paul. Content with beholding His face, my all to His pleasure resigned. No changes of season or place, would make any change in my mind. While blessed with a sense of His love, a palace a toy would appear, And prisons would palaces prove, if Jesus would dwell with me there.
In Hope,
Bro Philip
There are many subjects in Scripture that if the correct sequencing is not laid out or if the order of operations gets tangled up, great error is the result. For example, the gospel must succeed not precede the new birth. Otherwise, someone could mistake the gospel as a means to salvation. Justification must precede glorification as the declaration of righteousness must go before the resurrection for God to receive us into His home. There are a pair of concepts that also follow similar order of operations in Scripture, and they are suffering and glory. In I Peter 1:10, Peter tells us that the prophets wrote of the coming of Christ, that He should suffer, and glory would follow. Later in I Peter 5:10, we are told that we will suffer a while before going to the eternal glory that we’ve been called to. Therefore, what we experience in this fashion is not done alone as there has been a forerunner, and He still condescends to us today to walk these seasons with us.
Suffering – but for a while: In the case with Christ and with us, suffering precedes glory, but it is generally described in Scripture as but for a while. The suffering that is eternal will not be tasted by us, and all the suffering that is done does not rise to the level of Christ’s suffering. We are told that what He went through was such as no man had ever undergone. His visage was marred more than any man (Isaiah 52:14), and the wrath that He suffered at the hands of His Father (Isaiah 53) was so that we would never have to experience that. However, on top of the heaviest load at Calvary, He suffered during His walk here. He was the song of the drunkards, the rulers of the day sought to trip Him up at every turn, and even His closest friends and companions deserted and denied Him. However, all of what He went through both leading up to Calvary and through it was transitory. It didn’t endure.
The consolation we can draw from this is that if the Master has gone through the same and even moreso, as the suffering came to a close for Him, so shall it be for us. While a great consolation that we will never endure what He did, it’s also a great consolation to flee for refuge that it doesn’t last. When suffering is in season, it’s hard to think of anything else. Like a pain in the body, the pain consumes the thoughts and mental patterns. However, if we can do as He did, He continually looked forward to the joy that was coming. Even while on the cross, He endured it for the joy that was set before Him. (Hebrews 12:1-2) As joy is set before Him, so joy has been set before us. Looking forward to it helps overcome the problems and sufferings of today. Just as He has overcome the world for us, we are told we can overcome the world in our walk by our faith. (John 16:33, I John 5:4) That walk looks forward to glorious things unseen rather than dwelling upon the downtrodden things of today.
Glory – enduring: In sharp contrast to the transitory nature of suffering, glory is something that endures and presses on. Even with the temporary glory that can be felt and experienced today, that glory is built upon the glory that does not pass away. For example, Christ had a temporary glory on the mount of transfiguration, but that temporary situation was built upon the glory that endures. Likewise, our verse from I Peter 5:10 tells us that our suffering is followed by eternal glory, but even the temporary glory that we share with our Husband in mount Zion is a foretaste of what is coming. Therefore, even though precious, exalted times of glory with Him here come to an end, they point and remind us that some sweet day it won’t be long, that glory will never come to an end. When the cloud received Jesus out of the disciples’ sight in Acts 1, the promise was that the glory concealed that day by the cloud would one day be revealed with clouds.
When we have those dark moments in the nights and winters of our lives, coming glory heartens us for the journey. When we are in the glorious day and Sonshine of glory in His house and walking with Him, coming eternal glory gives us great hope from what we are tasting in those seasons. My heart cheers when I know that special meetings and times are coming with Him and His bride. One of the reasons my heart cheers during those times is that I can see more clearly what is ultimately coming when He parts the sky to receive us ultimately into His glory. As He upbraided two on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24), Christ did have to suffer what He did, but He likewise had to be received into His glory. Just as it was a must that He had to be received, so it is a must that we be received. Heaven could not be shut out from the Captain of our salvation due to His perfect work, so it cannot be shut out from His reward – us – as we belong to Him where He is.
The Psalmist tells us that weeping may last all night long, but joy is what follows in the morning. (Psalm 30:5) When dark times come, may we remember that He experienced dark nights but came forth into ultimate day. As our natural nights are followed by days, so our dark times are followed by glory. And even if we don’t experience the day in this time world, day is coming that never ends. Just as He has walked with us in our nights and days here, so He will hold our hand in the last night of our life before breaking forth into glory that never ends. As an old minister now in heaven used to say at the close of night services during a special meeting, “Lord willing, I’ll see you in the morning, and if I don’t live through the night, Lord willing I’ll see you in the morning.”
In Hope,
Bro Philip
When a God of order and wisdom writes does something, we can expect it to be precise and thought-out. Therefore, reading the Bible is a joyful bounty of finding shifts that are so precise they can be missed by a cursory review. Sometimes these shifts are from a change of tense, different setting, or alteration of a subject’s viewpoint. In Matthew 5:11-12 we see a subtle transition that I like to describe as pointing out the audience to the audience. It comes through a change of perspective that shows the audience that while they may have thought themselves to be observers of a scene, they are really the participants being discussed. Since the Bible is written to and for us – not just those who lived in the days it was penned – these shifts and movements of thought point out to us when we are participants and not just observers as the intended audience of the writing.
The opening of Matthew 5 begins with Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, and it starts with lessons and thoughts that are commonly called the beatitudes. The expressions and thoughts of these lessons indicate expected outcomes based on certain behaviors. If someone is a peacemaker, they can expect the end result to be called a child of God. If someone mourns in spirit, they can expect to be comforted, and so on. However, all the way through verse 10, Jesus uses the moniker, “Blessed are they…” To all the disciples listening to His sermon, they could easily think He was talking about other people, but the shift happens in Verse 11. Jesus says, “Blessed are ye…” This small shift of focus puts the perspective of the hearer from a passenger to one of the drivers. I believe the reason Jesus did this is at least two-fold.
Firstly, there is no guarantee that we will experience the beatitudes that have gone before. We may not seek peace and ensue it the way others have done. As such, people will not look at us and see a manifestation of something that would compel them to call us a friend of God, child of God, etc. Certainly, no one in Sodom and Gomorrah looked at Lot and called him that. He had been the opposite of a peacemaker, while his uncle Abraham had been exactly that, leading to the reputation he had as a character of faith and someone who walked with God. However, Verses 11-12 encapsulate a point all of God’s children experience to different degrees.
Even Lot was persecuted for righteousness’ sake. While he shouldn’t have been where he was, the people in town knew he was different and said so. Beloved, this world is not our home, and something in us that is vexed by the wickedness of this world and pushes back against the darkness contained on this old clod. James tells us that our spirit and flesh war against each other, and that warfare makes us different than the people of this world who have no righteousness or goodness in them. Since this world loves its own, it won’t love us as we are not its own. Therefore, we can expect – all of us – to experience persecution and ridicule. We can then rejoice in the confirmation that this brings that we don’t belong here, take our place in a long line of people who have suffered likewise, and yearn again with expectation at that which is to come.
Secondly, this shift of focus brings back to mind all those statements that went before. Not only are the “they” of those verses things we should strive to make “ye” or “we,” but they are things that we are equipped to do. Sometimes we have the mindset, “Well I just can’t _______” but such comments charge God with ill-equipping us for the battle and journey of life. He has throughly furnished us through His gifts, and whatever He commands, He has also blessed with the ability to perform. Sometimes we look at characters in the Bible and history and think their behavior is so high. However, God’s children all down through the ages have been given the same measure of faith, and I need to exercise that faith so that I would mourn over sin, hunger and thirst after righteousness, seek peace and ensue it, and strive for meekness in deportment. I already know where those things lead, as Christ has given the “end of those stories” to us. But looking back at the list, we can look with anticipation of striving to perform with expectation of His presence and blessing.
Putting these two ideas together, Jesus encourages us and invites us to look at non-ideal things in life from a positive and fearless position. Who among us likes persecution? Who would dare say they enjoyed being put down and ridiculed? In our flesh, we do whatever it takes to avoid pain, escape suffering, and blend in so that people wouldn’t single us out to make fun of. However, Jesus tells them then and us today – with a simple word like “ye” – that this is a blessed place and worth rejoicing in. Now, I freely confess that my life in the grand scheme of things hasn’t suffered nearly to the extent that many have like my forebears in the history of the church. However, if hard days come, dark seasons descend, and hope seems to dry up, Jesus tells us to rejoice. Be glad; others have been exactly where we have stood, suffered like things, but all have enjoyed the abiding presence of our God that never leaves us. It also causes us to look upward and see something that cannot be removed or taken away. This subtle shift is so powerful in that Jesus talks seemingly in general, but then locks eyes with us to know that He is talking not just to us but TO US.
In Hope,
Bro Philip
When verses in Scripture have similar language, the Old Testament is quoted in the New, or different writers speak of the same account, Holy Writ is defining itself for us. As brethren of old used to say time and again, “The best commentary on Scripture, is Scripture.” While we can broaden our study with writings of men, the best way to understand the Bible is to read the Bible and compare it with itself. While our duty is plainly laid out in many places in the written word of God, the Lord graciously gives extra information and definition by further defining it when comparing parallel passages. Such is the case when we consider Deuteronomy 10:12-13 with Micah 6:8. Both places start with the same language of what the Lord requires of us. The remaining phrases do not contain the exact same language but instead of seeing this as a contradiction – which the Bible critic will quickly try to do – we can look at them with thankfulness that God sees fit to help us even more in our walk.
Do Justly/Fear the Lord thy God and to Walk in all His ways: While Micah simply says part of our duty is to do justly, the scoffer might say, “Well what exactly does that mean? What is justness and how am I supposed to do it?” Doing justly or rightly is defined by the Bible as fearing our God and walking in all His ways. The Bible says that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, the beginning of knowledge, a fountain of life, and many other things. If it is the beginning of many things, we need to understand that to do right in our lives, we must begin at the correct place. The correct starting line is a healthy and reverent respect for God, who He is, and our place in comparison to Him. When we think too highly of ourselves or too little of Him, we basically sully the path going forward as we have not started properly. But, when we realize that without Him we are nothing and less than nothing and that He is everything, we can begin to do rightly according to His standard and not ours. Following from the correct starting point, doing justly requires us to walk in all His ways. Many times, we like to pick and choose what we will do and won’t do based on what is either preferable (enjoyable) and/or easier for us. Justice requires full performance even in the things that are hard. However, if that were the end of the commanded statements, we could easily become Pharisaical if we thought we had accomplished the standard of that which is just.
Love Mercy/Love Him: If someone is striving to do that which is right by fearing God and walking in all His ways, that performance must be accompanied by the right attitude and mindset. The problem with the Pharisees in Jesus’ day was that they perceived they had fulfilled the command of doing justly, but they scorned and scoffed all those that they believed did not measure up. The mindset of doing justly must love mercy at the same time. The compassion at the heart of mercy will prevent someone striving to do that which is right from being arrogant and prideful at the same time. This compassion and mercy has the mindset of, “but for the grace of God, there go I.” When loving mercy, we are – in effect – loving Him. The Bible defines God through these parallel passages as mercy itself. Just as John declared that “God is love” (I John 4:9) so these passages declare that He is mercy. When we love Him as we should, we are then strengthened in how to perform what we are attempting to do. He had to show compassion on us for that to even be possible. Therefore, when showing mercy to our brethren, we are loving Him by loving them. James tells us that we cannot truly love God whom we have not seen and hate our brother who we have seen. By the same token, by loving our brother who we have seen, we can love God whom we have not seen.
Walk Humbly with Thy God/Serve the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul: By knowing the path to pursue and the mindset in pursuing it, we have both the motivation and the direction, but what about the quantity? In other words, we have been given the quality of the duty, but how much of it should there be? To walk humbly with our God, we must do it with all that we have. Paul encourages us to do what we do heartily as unto the Lord. (Colossians 3:23) To do something heartily or energetically, we must put forth all that we have in the engagement of it. A humble walk is not someone with their head down like they cannot look upon anything. Humility is not making sure everyone knows how unprideful we are by not accepting anything we have done as good. These things draw more attention to the person rather than the intended object. When people see us, they should see good works and things worth identifying as righteous, but those things when done properly should direct someone to the source of all goodness which is He Himself. (Matthew 5:17) When all of our innermost being is set in motion to fearing Him, loving Him, striving to fulfill all His commands, and by extension showing compassion to one another while we walk together in paths of righteousness for His name’s sake, we will find humility on manifest display as disciples faithfully stand shoulder to shoulder and shield to shield while marching into the battle of life rejoicing in the Captain of our salvation.
Many times people get misguided ideas of what good duty is, but the Lord here gives so much information to help His children in the struggles of life. Our direction, motivation, and duration is laid out in rich tones. Sometimes my children tell me, “But daddy, I didn’t know…” and sometimes that explanation is valid as I failed to tell them something I should have. However, our Father has faithfully told us time and time again how and what we should do for Him. My problem is that I’m not as good at listening as He is in telling. However, I’m glad that part of my duty also highlights who and what He is. By being mercy itself, I can have strong consolation that even in my failures and miserable efforts, He encourages and strengthens daily to strive again. With the continual renewing of our inward man, new mercies every morning, and a faithfulness that doesn’t fail, we can get up from a failure to try again, knowing that He is still for us. May our best days be in front of us so that the sweetest and richest walking with Him are in the days to come rather than the days gone by. He is there beloved; may we walk in such a way that we will find Him in sweet accords of fellowship.
In Hope,
Bro Philip
Growing up in the church, I didn’t always realize why preachers spent so much time on things like the law, Abraham, and other characters from the “old book.” Paul tells us in Galatians 4:4 that the law was our “schoolmaster” to bring us to Christ. A schoolmaster, teacher, professor, etc. is someone who is charged with bringing ignorant minds up to speed and knowledgeable about a single subject or multitude of them. One of the bishop/elder qualifications is to be “apt to teach.” A teaching function can employ a multitude of tools to aid the learning process. The law given to Moses from Sinai and the succeeding days thereafter brought in a multitude of tools to teach us with a singular goal in mind: bring us to Christ.
Morality: God established a moral universe, and even thousands of years before God gave the law to Moses, He still charged and judged men for being immoral. He marked Cain for the rest of his days due to his unseemly murder of his brother Abel. He destroyed a whole generation with a flood in Noah’s day because man’s heart was only wickedness continually. However, when God gave the moral code to Moses – 10 commandments – what this did was shine a spotlight on the immorality of man’s nature and practice. Paul said the law made sin “exceeding sinful.” (Romans 7:13) No, the law didn’t make sin any worse, but the light it shone showed us that sin is worse than we could imagine.
Inability: Some have posited that the law had problems, and in a sense I agree with that thought. However, the problem with the law was not in the law itself. Given by God, it is spotless, but the problem is that something spotless demands perfection. The fault in the law was not with that law but with us. (Hebrews 8:8) By shining the light on the morality that God’s character demands and requires, it also shows us the inability we have in keeping it. Even if we could be determined from this point forward to go forth in perfection, it doesn’t nullify the littered pasts we all have. There was no law given that could have given righteousness, but every moral code God gave to man: Adam, Noah, Moses, and eventually His Son Jesus Christ points out in point after point that we are wholly unable to do what it requires.
Ceremony: Another major principle of the law was the ceremony it instituted. Whether the daily washings and cleansings, yearly sacrifices, feasts, or ordinances, the ceremony of the law was both detailed and full. For every season of the year and season of life, there was ceremony to be performed. For every man, woman, and child there were specific commands to perform. For the sick and the well, there were ceremonies to keep. I have often said when someone talks about how hard the law can be to read, “If you think reading it is hard, how’d you like to keep it?” Just as the moral code demanded perfection, the details of the ceremony were expected to be kept just as the Lord gave them. While these ceremonies didn’t cleanse one sin or purify one soul before God, they did highlight purification, cleansed the conscience, and encouraged the people’s fellowship with God. (Hebrews 9:13-14, 10:1-4)
Shadow: As the verses in Hebrews 10:1-4 show, the law was a shadow of good and better things to come. Just as a natural shadow points to a real entity, so the law pointed to something yet to come in the future. So every ceremony, moral code, and sacrifice not only showed people how truly wretched we are, but it also showed something above all those things. Moses even foretold of Him by calling Him a prophet that the people would hearken to. (Deuteronomy 18:15) Just as a shadow has the form of the real thing but lacks the detail, so the law had the general form of Him who was to come but without the replete fullness, rich detail, and august majesty that He possesses.
These areas of thought all were intended to lead us to Christ. Not in a saving way, but in a knowledge way. When the Jews saw the high priest go behind the veil (Leviticus 16), the reality is that Jesus went behind the veil when He ascended up on high out of their/our sight. Just as the ceremony brought a cleansing of the conscience, so the sacrifice of Christ should cleanse us today in our walk. All those ceremonies made them feel better about their fellowship with God. Today, we have something so much better in that the ceremonies that Christ has left – baptism, communion, feet washing, regular worship – are not only simple and concise but show us something better than the law. The law showed what would be and would come. Ceremony today shows us what has been and did come.
Most importantly in Christ though is the hope that His life, work, and sacrifice brings. There was no hope in the law outside of what it pointed to. Hope in the law itself is vain because it highlights our inability. Hope in Christ is great and powerful because it highlights His perfection, grace, and mercy. What the law did in bringing us to Christ was not only delivering generation after generation forward in a press and looking unto the coming Messiah, but it also brought people to Christ in a form of knowledge. Not only in what He would do but in also what He would overcome. When Christ came and fulfilled – rather than destroyed – all the law and the prophets, we can take solace in knowledge that everything God demanded, He fully and totally executed. Every now and then, I still hear the sentiment expressed, “Oh if I could have lived in _______ day and seen those things…” Foolishly, I have expressed the same myself at times, but I’m glad to live in the time where the schoolmaster is no longer needed as Christ has come and done, we can look back and rejoice, look forward with hope, and know that He will come again to manifest the full execution of His performance of morality, ability, and ceremony to need no more shadows ever again in the light of the eternal day.
In Hope,
Bro Philip
Two of the burning questions that have filled human philosophies down through the years are, “Who am I, and what is my purpose?” Interestingly enough, the more man’s philosophies study those questions, the further they seem to get from the truth. Whether ancient Greeks, Romans, or Babylonians, the writings of men are filled with interesting answers to these questions that are ultimately incorrect. Solomon – the wisest man on earth outside of Jesus – laid out the answer very plainly in Ecclesiastes 12. The first several verses describe who we are with the ultimate conclusion coming in verse 13 when he succinctly lays out the course for our lives.
Looking at the opening verses, our condition of who we are is not a pleasant portrait to consider. In some of the most illustrative language, Solomon describes our frame: keepers of the house shall tremble (nervous system fails), strong men bow themselves (we stoop with age), sound of the grinding is low (hearing fails), they that look out of the window are darkened (eyesight fails), grinders cease (teeth fall out), and then finally the end comes without any pleasantness whatsoever: fountain is broken at the cistern (bodily functions give out), golden bowl is broken (mind goes), silver cord is broken (back fails), until finally man goeth to his long sought home and the mourners go about in the street (die and have a funeral service). Not just our physical frame is weak and fails, but our minds are victims as well: fear shall be in the way (anxious and afraid of the future) and we fear those things that are high (afraid of what we don’t understand). Without verse 7, it’s not a pleasant picture is it?
Thankfully, verse 7 describes the immaterial portion of us – the spirit – that goes back to God which gave it. Who we are by natural estimation is not a lot to be honest. The idea that evolution holds any merit – things getting better and better – is absurd not just from Scripture but just regular observation. My evil days (old age) are starting to plague my frame, and without what God has done in giving us a new soul and spirit, that would be the end and as Solomon described over and over again would all be vanity of vanities and vexation of spirit. Without the work that God has done in and to us, there would be no purpose worthy of any consideration. The world’s mentality of, “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.” would be applicable. However, since God has done such a mighty work to His people in this world, what is our purpose?
Verse 13 says the whole duty of man is boiled down simply into: fear God and keep His commandments. One thing about God’s practical teaching and commandments is that they are simple. They may be hard to fulfill due to the weakness and frailty of this old flesh, but in concept, HIs commands are simple. What He laid down in two tables of stone to Moses, it takes man and governments whole libraries to catalogue and describe. Jesus boiled down the whole law into two principles: love God with all that we have and love our neighbor as ourselves. What Solomon says is our whole duty is simple.
Fear God: The word “fear” here literally means respect. We don’t fear God in slavish dread the way a beaten dog looks at a cruel master. We respect and reverence Him for who He is and the position He holds. Today, society is very slovenly and without much respect in any fashion. The aged are not respected as they once were, positions of authority are scoffed instead of honored, and simple propriety is ignored or despised. While we have a very close relationship with our God – Father, Husband, Brother, Friend – we should never forget that He is the potter, and we are the clay. My adoration of Him should be coupled with the highest respect of the One who is deserving like no other. How simple it is to simply acknowledge God for who He is and give unto Him what is due. What is due unto Him?
Keep His Commandments: As we have already alluded, God’s commands are simple and not overly complicated. However, man today looks at commandment keeping the way a lot of people look at dieting: where is a loophole to exploit? It is a simple dietary proposition that if the body takes in less calories than it consumes, that body will lose weight. Period. It is a simple spiritual proposition that whatsoever He commands, just do it. Period. Rather than look for ways to serve Him less and de-obligate ourselves, we should joyfully look for ways to serve Him better in the future than we have in the past. Over the years, I have often been asked, “How much should I read in the Bible?” “How often should I go to church?” “How much should I give?” etc, etc. My standard answer is, “More.” Paul knew that he hadn’t attained to what he strove after, but he kept pressing to hit the mark he was shooting for. (Philippians 3:11-13) Joyful and thankful hearts for God’s kind grace seek out ways to be better. Doing more. Why? Because no matter how much we learn about what He has done for us, the simple fact is He has done more: more than we can comprehend, more than we see, and more than we could ever repay.
When I look in the mirror, I see fading and dying every day. Who am I? A man born to die. When I look through the Scriptures, I see grace and mercy on every page. Who am I? A sinner saved by grace. When I look at the creation in contrast to God’s people, I see one that is crumbling every day while the other is being renewed day by day by the Holy Ghost. I have no doubt that many of the philosophers of old who struggled to express what they felt were much like Paul when in darkness without the revelation that Paul had about who and what he was in Romans 7. Part of us is dying all the time, while part of us is as fresh and vital as its ever been. What to do? Adore the one who rescued us from dark and stricken woe, and love Him so much that we keep His commandments.
Sometimes we short sell God due to our own broken frame and limited thinking. Paul uses an uncommon word to describe Jesus’ work and deportment: surety. (Hebrews 7:22) This not-oft used word describes the rich beauty of the work of Christ in a way that underpins the vastness of its depth. With a proper understanding of this one word, we can dispel a lot of false teaching and wonky thinking from our lives. I’m convinced that understanding this single principle is paramount to every single doctrine that the church holds to and has stood for down through the generations.
Many today would think that surety is the same thing as security. While they have a lot of similarities, there is a very important difference between the two. Let me illustrate it this way. If you – kind reader – and I were to go to the bank to get a loan for me, you could stand as “security” for my loan. In essence, you are telling the bank, “If he doesn’t pay it, I will.” However, in the same illustration, surety would be you telling the bank, “I’ll pay it no matter what he does.” This is the same principle the Good Samaritan had when he told the innkeeper that he would pay whatever the beaten traveler owed. (Luke 10) It was not a matter of means or opportunity, the man simply said, “I’ll pay it no matter what.”
Looking at Jesus, His surety for us was an absolute payment no matter what. While we understand from Scripture that we could not pay no matter what, Jesus didn’t operate on the, “If you won’t, I will” principle. He operated on the, “I will, period” principle. Just as Judah was willing to stand as surety for his brother Benjamin before going back into Egypt, so Christ stood for his brethren who were already in the darkness of Egypt. Just as Judah promised that Benjamin would be delivered back to Jacob no matter what, Jesus said we would be delivered back to the Father no matter what.
What a simple yet powerful word! This singular thought dispels all notions of means or activity for salvation and eternal glory. It also dispels the whispering of the enemy when he tells us that God could not love someone as rotten as we are. When we find ourselves in the throes of distress and adversity, our Surety is still as he ever has been. There are at least three ways that surety can fail in a natural way, none of which affect our Surety and His standing for and to us.
Means: If someone stands as surety that doesn’t have the means to do so, it fails. With God, no debt is too high or price too great for Him to pay. He redeemed us through His rich, infinite fulness through the blood of His Son. As the owner of the cattle of a thousand hills, all the gold of Ophir, and the fulness of this world, He paid with currency that is beyond compare. Not only does God have the means, He is the only one with the acceptable means as someone as rich as Solomon still didn’t have the currency needed for the transaction.
Integrity: Someone could lie about being surety or go back on what they said. The Bible tells us specifically that God cannot lie (Titus 1:2). It is not something He “chooses” not to do. It is so foreign to His character and essence, that it can’t be no matter what. John describes Him as having no darkness in His person and character. (I John 1:5) With such an upright Godman of integrity, there is simply no possibility that He will ever go back on His promise and surety.
Mortality: Someone on earth could be the richest and most upright person we know, but all men are faced with the reality of mortality. Without Divine intervention, such would be our state forever. Men die. It’s a reality seen and faced every day. I can look at myself and see the effects of death creeping in and say assuredly that I am born to die. While Christ did die for us, thank God that He is resurrected at God’s hand never to die again. As He told John, He may have been dead, but now He’s alive forevermore. (Revelation 1:18) Because He ever liveth to make intercession for us, we can rest in the immortality of our God that has freely imparted immortality to us.
Friends, to quote the bard of old, “What high displays of sovereign grace, What love to save a ruined race. My soul adore His lovely name, By whom thy free salvation came.” We can have “security” in the Lord’s “surety.” In other words, our own minds and hearts can be heartened by the fact that no matter the situation or circumstance, we belong to Him. We are blessed and highly favored to live in the time we do. Unlike those of the old covenant who looked forward to His surety with the promise, “I will” from Him. We can look back at HIs surety with the finished promise, “I have” freely given to us by Jesus Christ our Lord. Whether waking or sleeping, failing or succeeding, hungry or full, young or old, our Surety has both done and will one day show He has done by what He will do for us. Until that day, may we take solace in His great fulness and rich grace.
Too often times, we find ourselves perpetually living in the past or the future for the wrong reasons. We live in the past with regret, bitterness, and strife, and we live in the future with worry, fear, and anxiety. The Psalmist describes God as a present help in trouble. (Psalm 46:1) While He is a God at all times – past, present, and future – and a Friend that sticketh closer than a brother, we fail to find Him presently in the place or places He has promised to be. We will find Him in the future, because He holds tomorrow in His hand. We have found Him in the past, because it is He who has led us thus far and given grace to continue to this very hour. So, the past should be lived through thanksgivings and learning with the future lived in and through hope. However, the only space we really occupy is today: this moment, the present.
The word “present” in the verse literally means: to find, acquire, and attain. There is an inference of work or striving, and a sure reality of finding. Therefore, the Lord’s help today is often experienced through looking for it, striving to attain it, and expecting to find it. In other words, the blessings of today aren’t just dropped in our lap like a special mail service delivery. He is certainly able to bless in such a fashion, and we are recipients of general, kind providence such as this world, the sun, rain, life, breath, and being. However, helps for the moment in our times of need are striven for. We must look for them and expect to find them.
One of the surest and most readily available ways of acquiring help for the moment is through prayer. The Bible is rich and replete with commands, exhortations, and promises regarding prayer. If we seek Him, we will surely find Him. Effectual, fervent prayer avails much. This is why it should be done without ceasing: in the moment and presently. Today, the world and culture ascribe many things to happenstance, coincidence, and luck, while the negative is ascribed to fate, destiny, and karma. When someone prays and things don’t improve, the scoffer says, “Aha, prayer doesn’t work…” When people pray and good things happen, the scoffer says, “Ah, it just happened that way…” Friends, when we pray, present help comes. Maybe not in the way we thought or expected, but help comes. Sometimes it doesn’t even come in that moment, which is why the Psalmist goes on to declare, “be still, and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10), and there is help in that in and of itself.
Another sure way to find His help is to go where we know He is. While God is everywhere present and nowhere absent, He has promised to manifestly be with us in certain places. He has promised to be with His people in His house when they meet in His name. If you are looking for somebody, one of the first places to look is where they live: their home. When we look for help today, one of the first places to find that kind of help is in God’s house, assembling with His people. In this modern age, people think that things like audio/video, virtual rooms, and even not being there at all are perfectly acceptable alternates to public worship in the assembly of God in the church. Jesus and Paul made it a weekly pattern/habit to be in God’s house (Luke 4:16, Acts 17:2), and so should it be with us. If we should expect to find Him in His house, we should hope folks expect to find us there meeting with Him.
Now while we should always be in a state of prayer and make it a custom and habit to regularly and weekly be in God’s house, what about those times presently like now where it is no assembly? What about some random Wednesday afternoon or late-night Thursday? God does not just take up residence in His house, but He also resides in tabernacles of clay. He sends His Spirit to testify with our spirit that we are the children of God. (Romans 8:16) After regeneration, He makes our heart the temple of the Holy Ghost. If He is always there, we can’t find a place to be where He is not, for He promises to never leave us nor forsake us. One might then inquire, “Then why does He feel so far away at times and seasons?” When Elijah met with God in a cave, he experienced four things: wind, earthquake, fire, and a still, small voice. (I Kings 19) Holy Writ specifically tells us that God was not in the fire, wind, and earthquake. Though we know He is in those very things at times, He wasn’t here on this occasion. Side note: this shows that God is not the author or the doer of all things we see in this world. However, there is no one else that speaks in this manner. No other being can speak in a still voice. Voices move, but His voice can go in ways and places that sound cannot.
Sometimes, we feel far from Him because the winds, fires, and earthquakes of life are garnering our attention and claiming our priority. All the while the commotion of the world carries on, His voice is constant, faithful, and loving. He never fails to communicate or reside with His children. To acquire help, we need to drive away the blowing of our care, the quaking of our worry and fear, and the burning of our strife. When we do, we hear Him faithfully saying, “Fear not, it is I.” He ever abides to confirm and re-affirm His love. Yes, He has blessings untold, but there is nothing today – presently – that He cannot deal with. For today, may we seek today, and may we hope to find today real help and consolation for today. I do expect to see Him one day after a while, and I have looked back and seen His gracious hand in so many ways in my own meandering journey. But, may I look today through still calmness, prayer, and with opportunity in His house to find present help for my times of trouble.
When I was a boy listening to preaching from Sunday to Sunday or at big meetings, I would hear preachers use words like “eternal,” “timely,” “position,” and “condition.” Most of the time, they were highlighting what a specific verse’s frame of reference was. They would call it an eternal or timely text and discuss whether the thought pertained to our condition or position. For a long time, I didn’t realize how unique and precious those preaching points were. There is – to my best observation and study – no thought or discussion point that separates us from everyone else quite like this one.
To put it simply, some portions of Scripture deal with our eternal position in Christ, while others discuss our obligations in time and conditions that we should strive to meet. Other orders of people believe in concepts as we do. You can find people that believe in election, predestination, a Capella singing, unleavened bread and wine at communion, and many other things in common with us. However, I know of no other group of people that distinguish between the eternal position and timely conditions like we do. When we come across texts such as being elected and predestinated before time began (Ephesians 1:4-5), we understand that to be eternal position as we didn’t have an existence at that point. But, when we read about good works that we should walk in (Ephesians 2:10), we understand from the context that such conditions to be met are predicated upon a rich position that we had nothing to do with. (Ephesians 2:8-9)
Invariably, the question will arise, “How do you Old Baptists know that every time conditions are laid out, they don’t have eternal consequences?” In other words, how do we know the declaration of the gospel, our response to it, baptism, confession, belief, etc. are not of eternal consequence. The simple answer is the context lays it down for us. Another equally reasonable explanation is that such texts must be in a different frame of reference else they would fly in the face of texts that talk of our inability to do those things without the grace of God being first bestowed upon us. (John 6:37-44) Since no verses of the Bible contradict one another, conditions to be met by us must be in a different vein than those positional texts that describe the work as wholly of God Himself.
How does this translate to us today? Or more importantly, how should it translate to us today? One of the chief and choicest ways that it lands it that of rest and comfort. We can lay down at night supremely thankful for the Lord’s tender grace to pity us when none other could or would. The rest we find is that which declares that when all around us may go astray, this stands intact: the foundation of the Lord standeth sure, the Lord knoweth them that are His. (II Timothy 2:19) The response and timely condition to be met is inescapable: let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity.
Another precious way this rubber meets the road today in our life is that this rest we find also has a labour that we engage in knowing that the outcome of the war is not determined by our success. It should be easy to fight with the knowledge that the Captain of our salvation has already won the war. Yet, we still find ways to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory in our daily struggles. On the other hand, our foe knows he’s lost the war (Revelation 12), but he still fights every day trying to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. Ironic isn’t it that one acts like they might lose knowing they’ve won (us), while he acts like he might win knowing that he’s lost (Satan).
Beloved, our warfare is accomplished, our iniquity is pardoned, and the Lord has rendered double to us for all of our iniquities. What a position! What’s the output? A labour of rest. What are the conditions to meet? Departing from iniquity. Because God has worked in us to create a perfect position of holiness and righteousness, we need to work this salvation out in our lives to create good timely situations and conditions of purity and verity. I’m thankful that He has given the grace to place us in His hand never to be removed, but I’m also thankful that in this life and time world, He comforts His people on the path of righteousness so that labour is sweet, rest is precious, and righteousness contains a majesty the world knows nothing of. Praise be to Him for His marvelous ways and doings with His beloved.
In Hope,
Bro Philip
There are a pair of contrasting statements made by Jesus and Paul where we’re told we can do “nothing” and we can do “all things.” (John 15:5, Philippians 4:13) Both of these statements are hinged on the Person of Jesus Christ, because “nothing” happens without Him and “all things” happen because of His presence and strength. Now, the Bible critic would like to use verses like this to either prove a contradiction in Scripture or posit that false theology is the result of verses like these. It is inescapably clear from the Bible and personal observation that someone “without Christ” is not incapable of activity whatsoever, and the child of grace is not given strength for all activities under the sun. Rather, the inference based on the character of Christ is that we can do nothing that is good without Him, and through His strength, we are capable of all manner of righteousness and good deeds.
What these two verses actually show is the condition of someone based on their position. When someone has the position of being simply a child of Adam without Christ, they cannot do – condition – anything that is good because of their position – sinner by nature. Just as a pecan tree does not put forth pecans to become a pecan tree, so a child of nature does not sin to become a sinner. Pecan trees put forth pecans because they are pecan trees. Sinners sin because they are sinners. Likewise, no one does righteous deeds to become a child of God; we do righteous deeds because we are children of God. So, our righteous deeds that we commit – condition – is because of our position – redeemed by the blood of Christ.
How far does this carry? These verses teach us they carry far further than we many times contemplate or would like to admit. On both ends. The reach of these concepts is vast. How black and dirty is a child of Adam capable of being? I fear and shudder to think of the depth of that dark cavern. Without Christ, there is no little shred or spark of anything that is good. As Romans 1 declares, the eventual end of a condition outside of Christ is even going against nature itself. Man’s depravity is so foul, that nothing worthy or worthwhile is seen in it or coming from it. The very best state our nature has is altogether vanity. (Psalm 39:5) And, but for the grace of God would go I, so would I stay forevermore.
But what about the other end? The weight, reach, and hold of these all things is strong. What good thing could we truly say we are not capable of performing? Paul’s manner of life had seen all ends of the spectrum: full, hungry, up, down, etc. Through all of those pendulum swings, he declared that no good thing was unattainable when Christ’s strength was present. False teachers would like to say, “I couldn’t help it,” “the devil made me do it,” or some other foolish notion. Paul profoundly set forth the power of God’s grace here in this time is capable of heights that not only rival the depths of depravity but far outshine and excel. God’s grace always abounds greater than sin, and while we oftentimes contemplate that in an eternal sense – position – consider that the condition we find ourselves in is a result of our position.
Some might say, then why do we still sin? Because we have not ceased to be children of Adam. In this world, no good thing dwells in our flesh. However, in this world, no bad thing dwells within our soul and spirit. They are polar opposites and perpetually at odds with one another. We continue to be children of Adam as broken vessels of clay. However, we are today and right now children of the King who have been blessed with power to all manner of righteousness with honour. May we like Paul – regardless of time, place, and circumstance – uphold the grace of God’s goodness through our decorum and never undersell the great peaks that can be attained. While we continue to come short of perfection, may we strive for it all our days to do all things by and through His strength.
In Hope,
Bro Philip
Sometimes during our experiences, we have interactions that bring things vividly into focus and help re-align our thinking to a more correct viewpoint. Today I visited with a man while we both waited at the tire shop. During the course of our conversation, he shared with me that he had lost his wife of 39 years to cancer a little over a year ago. They were high school sweethearts, and raised their three boys who are now all grown. While he had retired, he picked up working again to try to drive away the depression that he felt after losing his mate. While the activity helped, he showed great faith by expressing to me that what helped more than anything was to realize, “Through all the changes of life, I am still in an unchanging hand.” Spoiler alert: I’ve already logged the saying in my mental files and will use it in preaching going forward!
The conversation reminded me again of the Lord’s declaration that we are not consumed because He changes not. (Malachi 3:6) Thinking about the ramifications of that, our greatest fears, frets, and concerns should dry up thinking about an unchanging hand. He holds us there, He always has, and because of His constant character, He always will. No doubt, this man I visited with still has moments of loneliness and sorrow. His story reminded me of the loss of my father to cancer over 23 years ago. There are times when it seems a lifetime ago, and at others, it feels like yesterday. I have lost many other family members, friends, and acquaintances, and the feeling is the same: near and far away at the same time.
Loss is a part of life. Changes are the only natural constant that we really find. When looking at life under the sun in the book of Ecclesiastes, Solomon expressed that there is nothing new. The changes we think of as new have been happening and will continue happening as long as life continues here. If that is our only vantage point, we will find the conclusion that Solomon reached time and time again: vanity and vexation of spirit. Those constant changes can weigh us down, drag our spirits, and make our knees feeble. But looking at a constant, unchanging hand will cause us to look above the sun at the ultimate Son.
It is comforting to the disciple of the Lamb to know that loved ones lost is just for a while. We will see them again in glory, but what about the pain we feel today? What about the sorrow that can reach out and slap us when we least expect it? As the man described his wife and their life, many faces washed across the plane of my memory and the part of life I experienced with all of them. When he made his statement about God’s hand, scene after scene washed across my mental image of God’s love, providence, kind grace, and gentle patience with me. Why am I still here? Why when I’m no longer here will that not be the end? The fact that I am not consumed in life or death is simply because of His unchanging character and person.
The man’s parting words couldn’t have been more fitting: “God bless.” Yes, He has. He does, and He will continue to do so. Beloved, my mind was re-aligned and my spirit heartened in a tire shop today. Did I entertain an angel unawares? I don’t think so, but I believe the man had blessings through our interaction that angels bore from heaven itself. May it be our happy lot to bear blessings for others, help lift the spirit of God’s people above this natural plane, and whatever the changes of life may bring, may we have the courage of faith to not only say but also state with our actions that we are in His hand and have no fear of what life may bring.