Links of Interest 3/31/2010

Kevin DeYoung writes “Exulting in Diverse Excellencies.”  In this article, he points out some excellent ways we should think about and worship Jesus, the Lion and the Lamb.  I found this encouraging.

 

Tim Keller reminds us that not nearly enough emphasis is being given by churches to reach the great cities of the world.  While he clearly is not saying that all spiritual people should move to a big city, Keller makes a strong case that denominations should be putting greater emphasis on reaching the cities of the world.

 

NRO offers a powerful piece written by a woman who well may have lost her husband because of pornography.  The article give some newer statistics on the damage this $97 billion ($97,000,000,000) US industry can do to people.  The author compares pornography to a dangerous and destructive drug that should be understood for what it is.

Make No Provision (Romans 13:14)

Romans 13:14

 

But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.

 

            How good it would be for Christians to take Romans 13:14b as a command from God.  Of course we believe it is a command, you might think, but do we indeed?  Do we really look to our lives and not only strive against sin but actually make no provision for the flesh?  Think through what that might look like.  [I readily acknowledge that I’m skipping the command of 14a, and that 14a is a key to obeying 14b,but we’ll get there another time.]

 

            Many pastors I know have an unbending policy never to be in a room alone with a woman who is not wife of the pastor in question.  This policy might seem over-rigid to some, but has prevented many a scandal or at least a raised eyebrow.  However, many more pastors I know have no such policy.  Add to this the fact that many married, Christian men I know have never considered such a standard for their lives, and you find a group of believers who are not making “no provision for the flesh.”

 

            Nearly every man I have ever met will honestly declare that he has to battle against the sin of lust.  Jesus himself told us not to even look at a woman lustfully lest we be guilty of the sinful heart of adultery (Mat 5:27-30).  Yet, how many of these same men regularly watch television shows or movies that display the bodies of unrealistically fit women with unrealistic appetites for men?  How many of these men fill their eyes with images unfair to the average woman who cannot work out for 4 hours per day and whose lines were not scripted by licentious men, but then wonder why their wives are not just the same?  Indeed, these men are not making “no provision for the flesh.”

 

            How many Christians are fighting the battle against obesity (if they are fighting at all)_ and losing the battle a pound at a time?  How many Christians bemoan their bodies’ rapid decline in health and elevation in girth?  Yet, how many of the same Christians are regulars at all-you-can-eat buffets?  While there may be nothing wrong with eating at such an establishment, is it not true that most who go to such a place have to go back for a second or even third round to “get their money’s worth?”  When we eat like this, are we making “no provision for the flesh?”

 

            Christians, I do not want to call us to prudishness or legalism.  I do not want to see us lose sight of grace.  But can we not be honest enough to know that we have not done well in obeying the clear command of God not to make provision for the appetites of our flesh?  What tempts you?  What is a weakness for you?  Stand, square your shoulders, and fight it.  Battle against sin with everything you’ve got.  If that means you turn off the TV, turn away an unaccompanied visitor from your office, or turn down a dinner invitation, at least you will be turning your strength to the battle against the lusts of your flesh.  We are called by God to organize our lives so that our flesh simply cannot win, and that kind of ordering requires solid, violent action against what tempts us.  Indeed, let us obey, making no provision for the flesh, that we might live lives of joy in the glorification of our Lord and master who is worth far more than any simple pleasure that this life can boast.

Links of Interest 3/30/2010

I cannot avoid linking to this article in the CS Monitor discussing the new rise of Calvinism in the US; it’s taking the blogosphere by storm.  This is an excellent, fascinating piece, regardless of whether you agree with the folks at CHBC or not.  What I personally love about the article is the way it very fairly presents reformed believers as very much centered on God, God’s glory, and the Scripture.

 

Mark Driscoll has also released for free the chapter on resurrection from his new book, Doctrine.

Rejoice that Jesus is in Control (Mark 11:1-6)

Mark 11:1-6

 

1 Now when they drew near to Jerusalem, to Bethphage and Bethany, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of his disciples 2 and said to them, “Go into the village in front of you, and immediately as you enter it you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever sat. Untie it and bring it. 3 If anyone says to you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ say, ‘The Lord has need of it and will send it back here immediately.’ ” 4 And they went away and found a colt tied at a door outside in the street, and they untied it. 5 And some of those standing there said to them, “What are you doing, untying the colt?” 6 And they told them what Jesus had said, and they let them go.

 

            On the Sunday prior to his resurrection, Jesus traveled from somewhere around Jericho to Jerusalem, a pretty difficult trek, uphill all the way.  As Jesus approached the Mount of Olives, a rise that slopes down into the Kidron Valley before the final ascent into Jerusalem’s east gate, he called for something special to be done.  Jesus sent two of his disciples on a little errand.

 

            Jesus sent two men to the next town to commandeer a donkey’s colt that had never been ridden.  Somehow, Jesus knows exactly where they will find this colt, exactly what the people who are keeping the colt will say to the disciples, and exactly what the disciples need to say to succeed in their mission.  Was this because Jesus is the omniscient God?  Was it because Jesus had worked out an agreement with the donkey’s owner in a previous visit?  Either Is possible. 

 

            When the disciples head off to the next town, they find things just as Jesus had told them.  There is the colt, tied up just as Jesus said.  The disciples start to untie it, and the folks sitting around there say, “Um, excuse me, that’s not your colt.  What do you think you’re doing?”  Can you just feel the disciples tense up and give each other one of those funny looks?  Have they just been punked?  I wonder which of the disciples ended up being the one to recite the line, “The Lord needs it.”  Under his breath, was he saying, “We’re about to get arrested”?  But, it all works out.  The folks say to the disciples, “OK then, just be sure to bring it back with a full tank.”

 

            Now, before we watch the celebration unfold, let’s make sure we don’t miss an important truth.  Jesus is in control.  Jesus sent his disciples off on a crazy-sounding mission.  He gave them crazy-sounding words to say.  And, you know what, Jesus took care of every crazy little detail in the process.  Jesus provided everything his disciples needed in order to accomplish the mission he sent them to accomplish.

 

            What was true of Jesus then is still true of Jesus now.  He still calls us to do things that the world around us thinks to be crazy.  He still tells us to go places and do things that just don’t make any sense to the lost.  He still calls us to take on challenges that we have no way to provide for or fulfill on our own.  And Jesus still provides everything we need.  Jesus will never call us to do something that he does not also provide for us the means of doing.  It might require faith and sacrifice on our part; but we can be sure that Jesus will always provide everything that we need to accomplish the ministry for his glory.

 

            Christians, this truth should give you joy and call you to action.  It is a call for joy, as we know that we are in the hands of our Lord who will supply all our needs as we serve him.  We need not hide from ministry.  We need not fear to serve him.  We can trust him and do his will.  We are called to action, because we can trust him and do his will.  Christians, rejoice that Jesus is in control.

Links of Interest 3/29/2010

This article from the Resurgence offers helpful and practical advice for those who struggle with their prayer lives.

 

Also regarding prayer, Jim Smith challenges us to pray one of the very few prayer requests that Jesus gives us:  Asking the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his fields (Luke 10:2).  Jim even calls us to think about setting an alarm at 10:02 to remember to pray this important request.

 

Jared Wilson reminds us that the gospel allows us the freedom to chill out.  This is good for me when I begin to beat myself up over things that are simply not sin.

 

Mark Driscoll is giving away a free chapter from his new book, Doctrine.  The chapter that is available is chapter 11 on worship.

 

John Piper is taking an 8-month leave of absence.  It looks like he has recognized that 24-7 public ministry is taking a hard toll on his life and his family relationships.  I would urge you to pray for such an influential pastor during this time.

When Helping Hurts - A Mini Review

            Good but not great is how I would describe the book When Helping Hurts: Alleviating Poverty Without Hurting the Poor...and Yourself.  I would argue that Christians can and should learn from the insightful way that these authors look at poverty and its alleviation.  I would also say, however, that the book can grow tedious and the ideas do not appear to be transferable to all contexts.

 

What I Liked

 

            The authors of this book have a clear love for the poor, but not the sort of adopt-a-stray-puppy love that many wealthy folks have toward those less fortunate.  The truth is, sometimes adopting a poor person or people group as your pet project might harm them and you, and Christians need to know this truth for themselves. 

 

            I found the authors’ description of different kinds of poverty very helpful.  Not all people who we think of as poor are impoverished in the same ways.  The poor could have extra need for healing in their relationship to God, self, others, or the rest of creation.  This book addresses all these categories.

 

            The authors also do very well when pointing Christians toward more than one kind of aid that a poor person might need.  While our gut reflex is to give immediate relief in the form of food, money, or service to someone in need, the authors wisely attempt to guide readers to a bigger-picture approach.  Sometimes immediate relief is needed.  Sometimes rehabilitation or skill-development is more appropriate.  The authors show us how wise decision-making in this category can be a life-saver for the needy and the helper alike.

 

What I Did Not Like

 

            While much of the book is very solid, I have to confess that this book simply grew hard to read after a while.  The authors obviously had even more information, volumes worth of information, that they wish they could have packed into this little book.  Unfortunately, the broadness of scope that they work toward in later chapters makes the reading far more tiresome than it is in the beginning of the text where readers are just becoming acquainted with this new view of poverty and help.

 

Recommendations

 

            This book would be an excellent resource for church deacons or benevolence committees who need to think very clearly about how to help the needy in their area.  It is a good work for pastors to ponder as they consider mission trips and giving for the congregation.  Even county ministerial groups might want to take a look at this work for guidelines for how a larger group of churches might think differently about the poor.  But, do not think many should pick this up for pleasure-reading.  It get’s thicker as you go.

How Do I Know If This Is of God? (Deuteronomy 13:1-5)

Deuteronomy 13:1-5 (ESV)

1 “If a prophet or a dreamer of dreams arises among you and gives you a sign or a wonder, 2 and the sign or wonder that he tells you comes to pass, and if he says, ‘Let us go after other gods,’ which you have not known, ‘and let us serve them,’ 3 you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams. For the Lord your God is testing you, to know whether you love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul. 4 You shall walk after the Lord your God and fear him and keep his commandments and obey his voice, and you shall serve him and hold fast to him. 5 But that prophet or that dreamer of dreams shall be put to death, because he has taught rebellion against the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt and redeemed you out of the house of slavery, to make you leave the way in which the Lord your God commanded you to walk. So you shall purge the evil from your midst.

 

        What is your standard for judging something true or Godly?  In our culture, we often determine what we will believe based on our own experience of what we consider to be true.  This, of course, is central to post-modernity.  Post-moderns reject any overarching truth claims in favor of miniature claims of each individual’s experience.

 

        Sometimes this kind of thinking leads people to judge a man to be of God or not of God based on what that man accomplishes.  If the TV preacher’s prophesy comes true, if the church growth expert gets a big crowd, if the crusade evangelist has hundreds walk the aisle, then Christians often determine that the man must be from God.  How else, they reason, would the person experience such success?

 

        Now, let your mind wander back through the first five verses of Deuteronomy 13.  God offers the people a set of very strange circumstances.  What if a man claims to be a prophet?  What if that man predicts something and it comes to pass?  What should we then assume about that man?  The answer is this:  nothing whatsoever.

 

        The way that we should judge a supposed prophet is not at all based on his success.  Perhaps we can prove that a man is not from God if he makes a prophesy that does not come to pass—God was clear about that.  However, just because a man predicts something truthfully means nothing.  God makes it plain that such a man could very well then turn to the people of God and lead them away from God.  No, the way to judge if a prophet is sound has more to do with whether or not his teaching leads the people to obey the commands of God.

 

        So, think through the Bible teachers and miracle-workers you have seen or heard.  Don’t judge them to be from God just because of success.  Nor should you judge a man to not be from God if his ministry is not huge.  Instead, judge a man’s ministry based on the word of God.  Is he teaching the word?  Is he obeying the word?  Is he calling the people of God to the word?  If he does these things, he is calling people to God.  If he ignores these things, regardless of his supposed flashy success, he is not of God.

Links of Interest 3/26/2010

Bob Kauflin continues his series on what worship leaders should say as they lead worship.  This is good stuff, practical and helpful for worship leaders to consider.

 

Men need table manners.  This article at “Art of manliness” offers a few tips that will help us to handle ourselves well in any situation.  It also tells you why you need to know this stuff in case you can’t figure that out too.

They Can't Handle the Truth; Tell them Anyway. (Matthew 26:63-68)

Matthew 26:63-68

 

63 But Jesus remained silent. And the high priest said to him, “I adjure you by the living God, tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God.” 64 Jesus said to him, “You have said so. But I tell you, from now on you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power and coming on the clouds of heaven.” 65 Then the high priest tore his robes and said, “He has uttered blasphemy. What further witnesses do we need? You have now heard his blasphemy. 66 What is your judgment?” They answered, “He deserves death.” 67 Then they spit in his face and struck him. And some slapped him, 68 saying, “Prophesy to us, you Christ! Who is it that struck you?”

 

        Cue up in your mind that legendary scene from “A Few Good Men.”  You know the one. 

 

Kaffee: I want the truth!

   

Jessep: You can't handle the truth!

 

        Does it seem strange to you that, at the point in the gospels where Jesus is the most open with the Jewish leaders about his identity, they lose their minds?  Is it strange that, the more the Son of God tells them the truth, the more they can’t handle the truth?

 

        The scene above is a powerful reminder of what man will do with God in his natural state.  As Jesus sits before the Jews who demand he tell them the truth, the court is infuriated by his silence.  Jesus, who knew his rights and knew he did not have to answer their questions, chose to give them the information that he knew that they would use to put him to death.  The strange thing is, the information that Jesus gives them is perhaps the clearest information that he ever gave them to demonstrate to this group of religious leaders who he really is, God in flesh, God’s own Son.

 

        Have you ever thought to yourself that you just wish God would be clearer with you or with a loved one about his identity?  Have you ever wished that God would reveal himself to people more clearly, and then people would believe in him?  The scene above shows you that God’s revealing himself to sinful humanity is not what will make sinful humanity worship God.  In fact, the very opposite is true.  The more a dead-hearted sinner sees of who God is, the more that sinner hates and rebels against God.  This is not any sort of indictment on the beauty and character of God.  On the contrary, God is wonderful, beautiful, holy, and glorious.  However, sinful man, in his natural state, desires to usurp God’s throne.  That was the sin in the garden when Eve ate the fruit because it would make her “like God” (Gen 3:5).  And that sin, the desire to be free from God’s standards and to rule the universe as we please is the sin that infects the heart of every person in the world today.  No, if God were to reveal himself to us as Jesus clearly spoke to the Jews, we would try to curse, spit upon, and slap him too if we were left by God in our natural, sinfully dead, state (Eph 2:1-3; Rom 3:9-17).

 

        What you need to pray, either for yourself or for your lost friends, is not that God simply show himself to them.  Rather, you should pray that God would make alive their sinfully dead hearts.  Pray that God would give them the ability to desire him.  Pray that God would draw them to himself (John 6:44), and that he would help them to see, not just who God is, but that loving and serving God is beautiful—more soul-satisfying than anything else in the universe.

 

        You might wonder how this impacts your evangelism?  There is only one way that I would let this impact my evangelism.  If we know that people need the power of God to draw them to God, we can be very honest with them about who God is.  We can be confident that God has the power to draw men and women to him, and that he can do so without our using sneaky tricks, silly gimmicks, or emotional ploys.  If God changes people’s hearts to help them to see him as glorious, we need not fear sharing the gospel with anyone, because God can change any heart, no matter how dead it appears to be.  The fact that God must do this heart work before a person will receive him should give us the confidence that we need to share the gospel openly, honestly, freely, boldly, prayerfully, regularly, and powerfully. 

 

        In general, people can’t handle the truth.  In general, people do not want to be faced with their God, because they have been living for themselves and rebelling against God all their lives.  But, God has the ability to break through those walls.  So, accept no excuses from people about wanting the truth.  They don’t.  At the same time, tell them the truth.  Maybe they can’t handle the truth, but, if you give them the truth, it might be that God will break through and change all that, saving their soul in the process.

 

Links of Interest 3/25/2010

Bob Kauflin is writing a couple of posts for worship leaders about what to say while leading worship.  I think this could be helpful stuff.

 

Russell Moore makes some fascinating comments about how the sort of false redemption of many a country song is notably present in the SBC.  Below is the quote from the interview that got my attention (HT: Denny Burk):

 

Americans are said to live within a contradiction in which a deep religiosity exists alongside a fairly pronounced ethical Antinomianism and many see country music as reflecting that paradox. Do you agree with that?

 

Moore: Yes, but I don’t think it’s American, I think it’s Southern Baptist. Most of the country music that we hear is coming from a person who has either been redeemed through a Southern Baptist version of Christianity or damned by a Southern Baptist version of Christianity. So, all of the best aspects of Southern Baptist “Just As I Am” revivalism are present in country music - the idea that no one is too far for redemption, the idea of new beginnings, being born again - all those are present in country music. But you also have the carnal, “Jesus is my Savior but not my Lord,” unregenerate person, keeping the hypocrisy hidden under the church attendance — all that is present too. Even from artists who are not Baptists, but are growing up in a Bible Belt South, where, as one sociologist put it, “Baptists are the center of gravity,” we (Southern Baptist culture) created country music for both good and for ill.

 

 

 

 

God's Choice (Deuteronomy 7:6-8)

Deuteronomy 7:6-8

 

6 “For you are a people holy to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth. 7 It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the Lord set his love on you and chose you, for you were the fewest of all peoples, 8 but it is because the Lord loves you and is keeping the oath that he swore to your fathers, that the Lord has brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.

 

        Why did God choose Israel?  Why did God make them his special possession?  Was it because God foresaw that Israel would love him faithfully?  No, that wouldn’t be it at all.  Was it because Israel was a numerous people, wise and strong?  No, God specifically says that this is not why he chose them.  Was it because Israel responded favorably to his call?  Not at all; God chose Israel and rescued them from Egypt before he made them his covenant people at Sinai. 

 

        Why did God choose Israel?  This passage of Scripture gives us the answer.  God chose Israel because he wanted to.  God chose Israel because he loved her.  God chose Israel because he promised Abraham, Isaac and Jacob to love their family.  Why did God choose those three forefathers?  Was it because they were wise, obedient, faithful, or because of their response to him?  No, God chose those guys, so far as we can tell, simply because they were the ones he wanted to choose.

 

        What about me, or you if you are a Christian?  The Bible calls you chosen of God time and time again (cf. John 15:16; Eph 1:4).  Why did God choose you?  Is it because you were good?  Of course not.  All of us have sinned and fallen short of God’s glory (Rom 3:23).  Was it because he foresaw that you would choose him?  No, the Bible makes it clear that you would not choose him on your own (Rom 3:9-12; Eph 2:1-3).  God makes it plain to us that, when we come to him, we have no grounds for boasting in our selves (Eph 2:8-9).  So, it is obvious that we are not chosen by God because he foresaw our choosing him; for then we could boast that we are chosen because we were more wise in our choices than the lost.

 

        No, God chose us, if we are saved, in the same way that he chose Israel as a nation or her forefathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.  God chose us simply because he wanted to.  It glorified him to choose to save sinners like us.  Sometimes I even think to myself that it is my very wickedness of heart, my nasty nature, that has made it so glorifying that God would save me, a man who gives Paul a run for his money as the chief of sinners. 

 

        I cannot say why God has chosen me.  I know it is because of no merit in me whatsoever.  Thus, God’s choice of me must be out of his own gracious and sovereign will.  I am grateful for that choice, though I brought nothing to the table other than the sin.  God is truly gracious, and I am truly blessed to be his child.  And if you are saved, you should be singing the same song.

Links of Interest 3/24/2010

Hershael York writes “When Eschatology Matters Most.”  This is one of those posts that is head and shoulders above the ordinarily interesting.  This is powerful, reminding us all what we’re doing in the service of our King.

 

Michael Krahn writes “Technology Has Convinced Us We Can’t Sing.”  In this post, Krahn compares our overexposure to auto-tuned music to our overexposure to Photoshopped images of perfect-looking people.  The fact is, most people do not have the electronically generated perfect pitch that we too often hear.  How much does this hurt our corporate worship?

Biblical Parenting 101 (Deuteronomy 6:4-9)

Deuteronomy 6:4-9

 

4 “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. 6 And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. 7 You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. 8 You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 9 You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

 

        What’s the job of a good parent?  It’s plainly here in Deuteronomy.  A good parent is not responsible to make his son into a good baseball player or his daughter into a Disney princess.  A good parent is not responsible for making her daughter into a doctor or her son into a scientist.  A good parent can do those things, but there is something that clearly overrides them in significance.  A good parent must teach his or her children the ways, the words, the law of the Lord.

 

        In the famous passage above, look what parents are to do.  We are to speak the word of God to our children, talking about it all the time.  We are to talk about God’s word at breakfast, while traveling, at bedtime, and anytime in between.  We are to have God’s word present as we enter our home.  We are to have God’s word on our heads, our minds, and on our hands, our actions.  Our lives are to be totally saturated with making sure that our children know who God is, what pleases him, and how they are to get under his grace.

 

        Oh, there are a thousand life skills I want my kids to have.  I want them to appreciate music, sports, art, literature, and fine food.  I want them to think well, grasp logic, understand philosophy, and love knowledge.  I want them to have good manners, to be kind, to care for the needy, and to be wonderfully outgoing.  I want them to be the kinds of people who others want to be around.  But, above all this, I want my children to know God by knowing his word and his ways.  If I fail to introduce them to God by failing to help them to know his word, I fail to parent them as I ought.

Links of Interest 3/23/2010

Mark Driscoll continues his Doctrine series with a post on the dangers of prosperity theology.  Hint:  Driscoll calls it idolatry, which is perfectly accurate.

 

Kevin DeYoung calls us to beware being a generation of bandwagon jumpers when it comes to doctrinal fads and teachers.  DeYoung warns that we should not embrace or reject a doctrine, speaker, book, etc. simply because others have accepted it or rejected it.

 

I’ve added the blog “Practical Shepherding” to my Google Reader and RSS feeds.  This looks like it could offer some very wise, practical advice for pastors who know things they should do, but have no idea how to do them.  How should I dress for this event?  How long should I say in the hospital room for this visit?  Questions like these and I’m sure many others will be addressed there.

 

Jonathan Parnell of DG offers a fascinating, brief thought that shows the irony between 450 bleeding prophets of Baal on one mountain, begging their god to reveal himself, and the true God of the universe hanging, bloody, on a cross, revealing himself to a people who do not care.

 

Links of Interest 3/22/2010

D.A. Carson on “Titanic”?  Kevin DeYoung gives us a fascinating Carson quote.

 

R.C. Sproul offers things to consider in analyzing our supposedly unanswered prayers.

 

Mark Driscoll offers some good reasons for Christians to study the doctrine of the trinity.

 

Note:  Find your own healthcare links; you don’t need my help there.

Good Fear (Deuteronomy 5:23-29)

Deuteronomy 5:23-29

 

23 And as soon as you heard the voice out of the midst of the darkness, while the mountain was burning with fire, you came near to me, all the heads of your tribes, and your elders. 24 And you said, ‘Behold, the Lord our God has shown us his glory and greatness, and we have heard his voice out of the midst of the fire. This day we have seen God speak with man, and man still live. 25 Now therefore why should we die? For this great fire will consume us. If we hear the voice of the Lord our God any more, we shall die. 26 For who is there of all flesh, that has heard the voice of the living God speaking out of the midst of fire as we have, and has still lived? 27 Go near and hear all that the Lord our God will say and speak to us all that the Lord our God will speak to you, and we will hear and do it.’

28 “And the Lord heard your words, when you spoke to me. And the Lord said to me, ‘I have heard the words of this people, which they have spoken to you. They are right in all that they have spoken. 29 Oh that they had such a mind as this always, to fear me and to keep all my commandments, that it might go well with them and with their descendants forever!

 

            Immediately after God first spoke to Moses and the nation of Israel at Mount Sinai, the people of God called Moses and begged him not to let God speak aloud to them again.  They saw the fire on the mountain and understood the deadly holiness of God.  It scared them so much that they pleaded with Moses to be their go-between so that they would not have to hear that terrifying voice again.  This was not to say that they did not think God was good or loving, but simply to say that they understood, as Isaiah in Isaiah 6, that God is holy and they were a people who were unclean and in desperate danger of being destroyed, undone, by God.   

 

            What caught my attention in this reading was not that the people were so afraid of God, but God’s reaction to their fear.  God told Moses that what the people had said was right, very right.  They were right to tremble at his voice.  They were right to fear him.  They were right to fall on their faces at his revelation of himself.  And God said that it would be good, so very good, if the nation would always keep that fear of God and respect for his word at the forefront.

 

            Of course we know that God’s people did not keep the fear of God that they demonstrated at the mountain.  Even within a few days, the people allowed the terror of the Holy One to fade in their hearts.  They turned away from God’s commands toward idolatry and licentiousness.  The nation never again trembled at God’s presence in the way that they did on this holy day before the mountain.

 

            It’s easy to judge Israel, but then, what about our own hearts?  IF you are a Christian, there is a time when you trembled at the presence of God too.  There is a time in your life when you recognized that God is holy and you are not.  There was a time when you realized that God, if God gave you justice, would immediately cast you into hell and pour out his wrath on you for all eternity.  There was a time that you realized that your hope was only Jesus, the perfect Son of God, and Jesus’ perfect work to propitiate the wrath of God that was rightly aimed at you.  I don’t know if you wept.  I don’t know if you had an overly emotional experience.  But, if you are a believer, you realized that God should judge you and that Jesus, merciful and wonderful Jesus, interceded to rescue you and make you God’s child.

 

            Has that terror and awe and love faded?  Are you like Israel, trembling one moment and then fading into an ordinary existence the next?  Have you become so accustomed to Christian language and Christian music and Christian activities that you no longer tremble at the holiness of God and the glorious grace of Jesus?  IF this is true, Christians, you need to look into the gospel and find again that holy reverence for your Lord.  You need to again find that trembling at the awesome majesty of God.  Put on a liberal dose of that holy fear, and wear it all throughout the day.  Let the fear of God lead you to obey his word, follow his commands, and love him with all your heart.

God's Good Law (Deuteronomy 4:5-8)

Deuteronomy 4:5-8

 

5 See, I have taught you statutes and rules, as the Lord my God commanded me, that you should do them in the land that you are entering to take possession of it. 6 Keep them and do them, for that will be your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples, who, when they hear all these statutes, will say, ‘Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.’ 7 For what great nation is there that has a god so near to it as the Lord our God is to us, whenever we call upon him? 8 And what great nation is there, that has statutes and rules so righteous as all this law that I set before you today?

 

        As Israel prepared to enter into the Promised Land, Moses reminded this younger generation of the significance of the law of God.  Notice, in Moses’ words, one purpose of the law that we modern folks tend to ignore.  Moses told the people that one reason that he was giving them the law was so that other nations would be able to see the wisdom and justice of God illustrated by the nation that bears his name.

 

        When most Christians think of the Old Testament, they often turn up their noses or look for code words for Jesus.  IN fact, it is true that the Old Testament points us toward and prepares us for Christ.  But the law is not useless apart from that.  When God gave his people the law, he taught them of his justice, his holiness, his power, and his perfection.  God was not cruel but incredibly wise when he commanded the Hebrews how to punish crimes, how to order their camp, how to handle their debtors and creditors, how to raise their crops, and how to make their sacrifices.  Had the Israelites followed the law of God, there is no doubt that the surrounding nations would have seen the blessing and glory if God in this nation that had a system of law that was far different and far better than anything around it.

 

        Even today, we Christians have the law of God, expanded and applied, in the complete word of God, the Scripture.  Some standards, such as the sacrificial system have been perfectly fulfilled by Jesus.  Some standards have been lifted by direct command of God, such as the laws about clean and unclean foods (though I still think catfish, fish without scales, might need to be off the list).  But the word of God still tells us about how God would have us do justice, how God would have us order our families, how God would set up roles in our households, how God would have us teach our children, how God would have us live for his glory.  Why then are we so apt as Christians, little followers of Jesus, to ignore God’s standards for the standards of broader society?  Why are we so apt to accept that which God forbids?  Why are we so tempted to pretend that the standards of God, Old and New Testament, are guidelines but not mandatory for his followers?

 

        Please do not hear me seeking to call us to a legalism that would destroy us.  No person will ever be made right with God by obeying laws, because it is God’s perfect law that makes us conscious of our sinfulness (Romans 3:20).  However, the law of God, his set of orders and rules for life, is very good.  God did not command anything bad.  God did not command anything that we have outgrown.  Maybe some of God’s commands will look different in our culture than in older cultures, but there is no doubt that all of God’s commands are still applicable in one form or another.

 

        Christians, God said that the nation who obeys his laws will eventually show itself to be wise and blessed by God.  Would this not be true of the household that follows the ways of God?  Would this not be true of the church family that obeys and treasures the word of God?  IF we do that which God has commanded, will we not demonstrate to the world around us that God is good, God is mighty, and God’s words are true?  Christians, let us love and obey the word of God. 

The Word, No More, No Less (Deuteronomy 4:2)

Deuteronomy 4:2 (ESV)

 

You shall not add to the word that I command you, nor take from it, that you may keep the commandments of the Lord your God that I command you.

 

            When you think of a good sermon or Bible study, what do you think of?  When you think of a solidly spiritual person, what comes to mind?  In both instances, is your thought limited to the Scripture and those clearly written and revealed commands of God?  Or, in your thoughts, to you slip to a sermon or event that takes people beyond the Scriptures and into the mystical?

 

            It is significant that, in Moses’ reiteration of the law to the people of Israel before their crossing into the Promised Land that he so quickly reminds the people, at God’s behest, not to add to or subtract from his law.  Why should the people not add to the law?  Anything they add to God’s word is more than God said.  Anything the people take away from the word of God is less than what God said.  Thus, for the people to live in accord with their Lord, they must live in accord with the written word of God, no more and no less.

 

            If this was true in days when the canon of Scripture, the authoritative and complete Bible, had not yet been put together, how much more true must it be of us today?  If God told his people early on that they can only please him if they follow his commands, how much should we, who have the completed canon, recognize that God wants us to live in accord with and treasure the Scripture?  We have the very words of God. 

 

            So, what makes a good sermon?  It should be that a good sermon exposes you to and helps you to understand the clearly written commands of God.  IF the sermon goes further, teaching you things that do not directly relate to the Scripture, you should be suspicious.  If the sermon teaches you the same things that you could have learned in a secular psychology, management, or financial class, you should be concerned.  Yes, the secular world sometimes stumbles upon truths that God has already revealed in his word; but we should be very careful to demand from our pulpits the clearly opened, clearly taught, and clearly applied word of God—no more and no less.

 

            What about the question of who is a spiritual person?  Let the same standard apply.  If a person you know constantly claims to hear things from God that are not written in the word of God, watch out.  If a person you know ignores the written word of God, watch out.  Those who please the Lord are those who have such a high view of his word that they do not add to it or subtract from it.  Those who would please God will study, meditate upon, apply, and obey his word.

 

            Christians, we have been given a treasure in the word of God.  Jesus told us that the one who loves him will obey his commands (John 14:15), and his commands have been written for us in his word.  Jesus will not command us to do anything that is not already in his word.  God has given us all that we need for a godly life (2 Peter 1:3), and we must live that Godly life in constant contact with the treasure that is the written word of God.

Links of Interest 3/19/2010

John Bloom of DG points us to an article in China’s official English language newspaper which tells the story of a bright university student who has converted to Christianity.  The mere printing of this article in a communist country’s newspaper is significant, and Bloom talks about why.

 

Dave nannery tells us how to become a legalist in three easy steps.  This is funny, but with a very good point.

 

Speaking of legalism, Tullian Tchividjian from the Gospel Coalition compiles for us a list of seven false gospels people tend to gravitate toward.  The list comes out of one of Paul Tripp’s books, and is again helpful and challenging.

Wisdom Cries Aloud, "Learn!" (Proverbs 1:20-22)

Proverbs 1:20-22 (ESV)

 

20 Wisdom cries aloud in the street,

in the markets she raises her voice;

21 at the head of the noisy streets she cries out;

at the entrance of the city gates she speaks:

22 “How long, O simple ones, will you love being simple?

How long will scoffers delight in their scoffing

and fools hate knowledge?

 

     How Long will the simple love being simple and fools hate knowledge?  This question is posed in Proverbs by the personified wisdom of God, and it’s not asked for information.  The point of the question is to call upon the simple and the foolish to stop being simple and to stop despising knowledge.

 

     You might think to yourself, “Nobody remains intentionally uneducated.”  If you think that, however, you’re simply not correct.  Just as there are men and women who worship education, thinking the number of books they have read makes them super special, there are also men and women who refuse to ever read books, listen to teachers, take classes, or do anything that genuinely looks like learning.  There are people who are simple-minded, and who actually wear their lack of education (not formal education, just education mind you) as a badge of honor.  There are people who are proud of the fact that they don’t worry themselves with concepts that they consider to be over their heads.

 

 

     Let me share with you the words of Mortimer J. Adler from an essay entitled “Invitation to the Pain of Learning” which was published in The Journal of Educational Sociology, February 1941

 

“

Not only must we honestly announce that pain and work are the irremovable and irreducible accompaniments of genuine learning, not only must we leave entertainment to the entertainers and make education a task and not a game, but we must have no fears about what is "over the public's head." Whoever passes by what is over his head condemns his head to its present low altitude; for nothing can elevate a mind except what is over its head; and that elevation is not accomplished by capillary attraction, but only by the hard work of climbing up the ropes, with sore hands and aching muscles. The school system which caters to the median child, or worse, to the lower half of the class; the lecturer before adults—and they are legion—who talks down to his audience; the radio or television program which tries to hit the lowest common denominator of popular receptivity-all these defeat the prime purpose of education by taking people as they are and leaving them just there.

”

 

     Adler is saying this:  If you never have to strain to learn, you never learn.  If you never have to grasp what is over your head, you never grow.  If all you will reach for is that which is easy to grasp, you will never have that which has ever been out of your reach.  Learning is hard work, and we should eagerly do the hard work for the reward.

 

     Wisdom might say the same thing.  Don’t love being simple.  Don’t reject knowledge.  Don’t scoff at learning.  Don’t turn your nose up at what is too formal, too hard, too complicated.  Don’t shut down if teaching seems to be over your head.  Don’t give up.  Cry out for wisdom, and God will grant it to you.

 

     Again, just because a topic seems scholarly and complicated does not make it valuable.  There are many folks who think they are dealing with high-level issues who are really wasting oodles of time and energy.  On the other side of the coin, just because something seems complicated or high-level does not make it not worth your time.  Part of learning and growing in Christ is a simple faith.  Part of learning and growing in Christ is a complex understanding of Scripture and doctrine. 

 

Knowledge, apart from the fear of the Lord, will puff a man up and make him arrogant.  Ignorance or mental laziness, however, displays that a person does not take the truth of God seriously enough to put forth disciplined effort to gain more knowledge of the Lord, his ways, and his teachings.  Let us fear our God rightly.  Let us answer the cry of wisdom.  Let us not be happy being simple or foolish.  Let us pursue wisdom and knowledge for the glory of our God and for the joy of our lives.