In God's great providence, He saw fit to give me one of those minds that has a hard time 'stopping'. Hours after reading a book, my mind is often found digesting and analyzing and contrasting and comparing and dissecting. Needless to say, more often than not, sleep can become more of a chore than anything. One of the ways I have learned to combat this 'gift' is to read "non-theological" books (especially biographies) at night time as I'm 'settling down' to go to bed, as doing so often has the effect of putting my brain into more of a screensaver mode.
Last night, I began reading A Heart for Freedom, the story of Chai Ling and her courageous determination to seek the freedom of her fellow countrymen (and women) in China. Though best known for her leading role in one of the greatest uprisings in world history (Tiananmen Square), what she is not known is for the amazing journey that God had predetermined for her before the foundation of the world (Eph. 1:3-14).
But before she gets to her freedom in Christ, she recounts for us in the beginning of the book the slavery associated with her upbringing in Communist (read: Atheist) China, along with the massive effects and implications that this had upon her life. In these introductory chapters, she paints the landscape of her upbringing in a small town in China, highlighting especially the pain of growing up without her parents, who were somewhat renown doctors and loyalists to the People's Liberation Army (PLA). So loyal were they to this 'cause', that they were never home for their children; often they were away from home for up to a year at a time. Though well fed physically, they were starving spiritually.
By the time she gets to the sixth chapter, which chronicles her University life in Beijing, we begin to see the ramifications of a godless [read: God-hating] upbringing. For example: having never had a godly male figure in the home - she literally was raised by her grandmother, and then by the age of ten, was raising the rest of her family - she never was taught what true love from a man looked like. And so we should not be surprised when she recounts how in her time at University she began dating a guy whom she didn't love. The reason she dated him: he would be a stable husband, much the way her dad was to her mother.
Then, one day, before Chai Ling knew what had been happening, one thing led to another, and, while visiting her parents during a University break, was found to be with child (Chai had no idea, though her mom of course did). Being brought up in a culture that is completely foreign to us, namely a culture of respect and shame, Chai Ling's father was furious, as the very mention of this would destroy the generations of hard work he and his ancestors had exerted to build the family a respectable name in the their town (not to mention the Army they so loyally served). Without even discussing the options, her father dragged her to an abortion clinic two hours away (no one would know them in the remote village they went to), where an abortion was administered without any questions whatsoever (again, we need to remember that at that time, China was under the one-child policy).
The details were gory. As wicked and gruesome as abortion is in "modern and sanitized" America, how this abortion was administered was far more disturbing. Having the joy of being blessed with children, as well as the pain of losing two via miscarriage and stillbirth, I confess reading this was quite difficult and emotional for me.
And yet, as much as I was grieving over the murder of her first child, I actually was grieving over Chai Ling as well. In a very real biblical sense, she knew better, namely that murder is wrong (Romans 1:18ff.; 2:12-16). And yet in another real sense, she was the victim of ignorance and a Satanic government system. She was the victim of trying to find love in a finite man, because she had never truly heard of the love of God for the world in Jesus Christ. She was, as Paul says, an ignorant Gentile having no hope and without God in this world (Eph. 4:17-18; 2:11-12).
To console herself from the emotional, physical, and spiritual pain of abortion, she threw herself even more into her studies, which of course as an idol could never deliver her. Before she knew it, she was pregnant again, and this time concealed her going to the abortion clinic for fear of her dad's wrath.
By the end of the book (I don't know why I read the endings so often), she has become a Christian and is fighting for more than mere political freedom in her country; she is fighting for the freedom that only comes in a personal relationship in the God-man Jesus Christ (Gal. 5:1).
The moral of the story: we don't know the depths of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God (Rom. 11:33). So often, in our rage against injustice we forget that sinners sin by nature. We really shouldn't be all that surprised. The reason the world is broken is because it is desperately in need of the saving gospel of Jesus. Like Chai Ling, the world will continually seek solace & comfort from the "course of this world", which only brings more bondage & slavery to the god of this world (cf. Eph. 2:1-3; 2 Cor. 4:4).
Last night at prayer meeting, we grieved over another instance of injustice in the Federal court system. Basically, a hockey coach, guilty of numerous accounts of sexual abuse of boys he had been coaching, was given a slap on the wrist (2 years in prison). But what was sweet was that we not only prayed for justice to be meted out by God; we also, and especially, asked that this man would be regenerated and saved by Jesus Christ. Vengeance is not ours to repay. God alone holds that prerogative (Rom. 12:19-21; Heb. 10:30).
How are we to respond to sinners in a fallen world? Even sinners who kill babies? Sinners who are trying to change the laws in our education system? Sinners who gossip about us, lie about us, hurt us, use us, abuse us?
Rather than hating our enemies, Jesus explains how His kingdom works: "Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, revealing that you are children of your Father in heaven" (my translation of Matt. 5:45a). Why? "Because," Jesus continues, the Father acts in the same way towards those who hate Him (5:45b).
Paul says that instead of acting in wrath & rage against those who oppose the Kingdom, we are to feed our enemies when they are hungry, and to give them something to drink when they are thirsty, "for by so doing you will heap coals upon their head" (Rom. 12:20). Paul closes the chapter by encouraging the gospel-remembering believers (12:1-2) "not to be overcome by evil, but to overcome evil with good" (12:21).
In 1 Cor. 6, after listing & categorizing a motley crew of Hell-deserving sinners, Paul says, "And such were some of you." I wonder what Chai Ling's reaction was when she read the glorious verse for the first time. I wonder if she wept for the praise of the mercy she found in Jesus when she read the next sentence, "But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God" (6:11). Brethren, because of grace, mercy triumphs over judgement! (James 2:13)
May God give us the grace to love our enemies, and pray that God would save them. They are already condemned. Jesus came not into the world to condemn the world (because it already is), but that through Him the world might be saved (John 3:17). May the gospel of hope for the chiefest of sinners be the theme of our song, for truly, beloved, such were some [read: "all"] of us!
In Christ, and for the glory of His name to the ends of the earth, China included,
Pastor Ryan
Thursday, March 22, 2012
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Can One Be a Christian if Jesus is Not Their Lord? (Part 10 - Ephesians)
Ephesians also destroys the unbiblical notion that one can be a Christian whilst living a life characterized by unrepentant sin.
As mentioned in the very first part of this series, Paul addresses his Christian readers as "saints". Though the Catholics are certainly wrong in their depiction of such people as being a sinless subclass of super Christians, some Protestants have overreacted in the other direction, completely emptying the Greek word (which is derived from its Hebrew ancestor) of its original meaning.
The word translated by many English versions as "saint" is hagios. Derived from the Hebrew quadosh, the word is often used of Yahweh Himself, and carries the connotation of being "set apart". When used for God's people, the idea becomes "set apart for special [i.e. "Yahweh's] use." Thus, we see that often in the OT, God's people were to be "different" from the nations, because the God whom they worshiped was likewise set apart from the false gods of the nations. In the OT world, the "god" whom one worshiped determined one's lifestyle. This is why I am so often perplexed when I see so many 'professing' followers of Christ resembling not Him, but the world (which likely betrays the fact that despite their profession, they really worship themselves & the world, not Christ).
When Yahweh calls Israel to be "holy even as [He] is holy" (Lev. 11:44-45), the word translated "holy" both times is quadosh. And so the full force of the word is seen when God calls His quadosh (saints) to be quadosh (holy). Those who are called by God are to resemble Him in the world and to the world, which is ultimately for the world (see Exo. 19:5-6).
This is the background that Paul is drawing from. Saints are simply those who have been set apart by God and for God. The idea of someone calling themselves a Christian, yet living a life that looks no different from the world is an unfortunate & God-belittling anomaly.
Likewise in 1:2, the believers (pistoi) in Ephesus are also called "faithful" (pistoi). Again, the notion that a believer (pistos) can live a life of unfaithfulness (apistos) to Christ is something that entirely foreign and alien to the Word of God.
A couple of verses later, Paul says that such believers were "chosen in Christ from before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless before Him in love" (1:4). Thus, those who are not growing in holiness ought to question their calling & election (cf. 2 Pet. 1:10).
Moreover, God's people have literally received "the redemption" in Christ (1:7). Not only have they been emancipated from the penalty of sin; in addition to this glorious truth, the cross has also dealt a severing death blow to the power of sin, the flesh, the world, and the devil. "In Christ", believers are no longer slaves to sin, and are thus to live lives in conformity to this truth. Therefore, believers must "no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds" (4:17). Those who have truly "learned Christ" are to daily put off the old man, as well as put on the new man, "created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness" (4:21-24).
In addition to this, those who have received the monergistic gift of regeneration, evidenced by believing the gospel of our salvation (1:13), are to work out their salvation by walking in the good works which God has prepared for His people. Not only does God predestine that we be saved; He also predestines that those who are saved will indeed live progressively holy lives (cf. 2:5-10). Who are those who have been saved by grace through faith in Christ? Who are "God's workmanship created in Christ"? The answer is simple: those who "walk in good works," that is, those whose lives are characterized by grace-enabled good works (which Paul elaborates upon in chapters 4-6).
The temple that believers are incorporated into (i.e. the church) is called "holy" in 2:21. As God's elect people in the earth, they are thus called to be different from the nations (see 4:17ff.). As God's holy temple, believers are called to be "imitators of God" (5:1), which involves positively walking in love (5:2), as well as negatively putting off things like sexual immorality, impurity, covetousness, filthy talk, crude joking, and ungodly relationships (5:3-7). Rather than being like the world, believers, as light, are to expose the world's darkness, rather than participate in it (5:8-13).
Believers are watch carefully how they "walk" in this world (5:15; cf. 2:10), redeeming the time (5:16). This requires not being filled with wine or living debauched lives, but rather being filled with the Holy Spirit who enables us to live lives of obedient worship (5:17ff.).
Jesus has not only saved His bride (i.e. the church) to be saved from the penalty of sin; He has also saved her for the purpose of presenting her to Himself "in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish" (5:27). He cleanses His people by the "washing of the water of the Word" (5:26).
Thus those whose lives do not evidence such cleansing have "no part" in Jesus (cf. John 13:8, 10); such people should question if they have ever been "set apart", or "sanctified" (Eph. 5:26, verbal form of hagios) by Jesus (recall the similar argument made in the beginning of this post regarding 1:2).
Of course, as I have mentioned in almost every post ad nauseum, I am not advocating or teaching perfectionism here. 1 John 1:5-10 negates that. God's people still battle with sin because they still are bearing the weight of a fallen body, living in a fallen world (kosmos), and battling a ruthless enemy (Eph. 6:10ff.). However, God's people will nonetheless, by the power of the gift of the Holy Spirit (1:13), live differently in this world. That's what it means to be holy. As God's people gaze upon Christ in the gospel, they will inevitably be transformed, or cleansed by it (2 Cor. 3:18).
Those who walk not in love to Jesus are anathema (cf. Eph. 6:24). Those who do not walk in loving obedience to Jesus (cf. John 14:15, 21, 23-24) simply do not belong to Him.
In Christ and for His glory to the ends of the earth, through His "set apart" bride,
Pastor Ryan
As mentioned in the very first part of this series, Paul addresses his Christian readers as "saints". Though the Catholics are certainly wrong in their depiction of such people as being a sinless subclass of super Christians, some Protestants have overreacted in the other direction, completely emptying the Greek word (which is derived from its Hebrew ancestor) of its original meaning.
The word translated by many English versions as "saint" is hagios. Derived from the Hebrew quadosh, the word is often used of Yahweh Himself, and carries the connotation of being "set apart". When used for God's people, the idea becomes "set apart for special [i.e. "Yahweh's] use." Thus, we see that often in the OT, God's people were to be "different" from the nations, because the God whom they worshiped was likewise set apart from the false gods of the nations. In the OT world, the "god" whom one worshiped determined one's lifestyle. This is why I am so often perplexed when I see so many 'professing' followers of Christ resembling not Him, but the world (which likely betrays the fact that despite their profession, they really worship themselves & the world, not Christ).
When Yahweh calls Israel to be "holy even as [He] is holy" (Lev. 11:44-45), the word translated "holy" both times is quadosh. And so the full force of the word is seen when God calls His quadosh (saints) to be quadosh (holy). Those who are called by God are to resemble Him in the world and to the world, which is ultimately for the world (see Exo. 19:5-6).
This is the background that Paul is drawing from. Saints are simply those who have been set apart by God and for God. The idea of someone calling themselves a Christian, yet living a life that looks no different from the world is an unfortunate & God-belittling anomaly.
Likewise in 1:2, the believers (pistoi) in Ephesus are also called "faithful" (pistoi). Again, the notion that a believer (pistos) can live a life of unfaithfulness (apistos) to Christ is something that entirely foreign and alien to the Word of God.
A couple of verses later, Paul says that such believers were "chosen in Christ from before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless before Him in love" (1:4). Thus, those who are not growing in holiness ought to question their calling & election (cf. 2 Pet. 1:10).
Moreover, God's people have literally received "the redemption" in Christ (1:7). Not only have they been emancipated from the penalty of sin; in addition to this glorious truth, the cross has also dealt a severing death blow to the power of sin, the flesh, the world, and the devil. "In Christ", believers are no longer slaves to sin, and are thus to live lives in conformity to this truth. Therefore, believers must "no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds" (4:17). Those who have truly "learned Christ" are to daily put off the old man, as well as put on the new man, "created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness" (4:21-24).
In addition to this, those who have received the monergistic gift of regeneration, evidenced by believing the gospel of our salvation (1:13), are to work out their salvation by walking in the good works which God has prepared for His people. Not only does God predestine that we be saved; He also predestines that those who are saved will indeed live progressively holy lives (cf. 2:5-10). Who are those who have been saved by grace through faith in Christ? Who are "God's workmanship created in Christ"? The answer is simple: those who "walk in good works," that is, those whose lives are characterized by grace-enabled good works (which Paul elaborates upon in chapters 4-6).
The temple that believers are incorporated into (i.e. the church) is called "holy" in 2:21. As God's elect people in the earth, they are thus called to be different from the nations (see 4:17ff.). As God's holy temple, believers are called to be "imitators of God" (5:1), which involves positively walking in love (5:2), as well as negatively putting off things like sexual immorality, impurity, covetousness, filthy talk, crude joking, and ungodly relationships (5:3-7). Rather than being like the world, believers, as light, are to expose the world's darkness, rather than participate in it (5:8-13).
Believers are watch carefully how they "walk" in this world (5:15; cf. 2:10), redeeming the time (5:16). This requires not being filled with wine or living debauched lives, but rather being filled with the Holy Spirit who enables us to live lives of obedient worship (5:17ff.).
Jesus has not only saved His bride (i.e. the church) to be saved from the penalty of sin; He has also saved her for the purpose of presenting her to Himself "in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish" (5:27). He cleanses His people by the "washing of the water of the Word" (5:26).
Thus those whose lives do not evidence such cleansing have "no part" in Jesus (cf. John 13:8, 10); such people should question if they have ever been "set apart", or "sanctified" (Eph. 5:26, verbal form of hagios) by Jesus (recall the similar argument made in the beginning of this post regarding 1:2).
Of course, as I have mentioned in almost every post ad nauseum, I am not advocating or teaching perfectionism here. 1 John 1:5-10 negates that. God's people still battle with sin because they still are bearing the weight of a fallen body, living in a fallen world (kosmos), and battling a ruthless enemy (Eph. 6:10ff.). However, God's people will nonetheless, by the power of the gift of the Holy Spirit (1:13), live differently in this world. That's what it means to be holy. As God's people gaze upon Christ in the gospel, they will inevitably be transformed, or cleansed by it (2 Cor. 3:18).
Those who walk not in love to Jesus are anathema (cf. Eph. 6:24). Those who do not walk in loving obedience to Jesus (cf. John 14:15, 21, 23-24) simply do not belong to Him.
In Christ and for His glory to the ends of the earth, through His "set apart" bride,
Pastor Ryan
Monday, February 20, 2012
A Picture of Hope
As I get older, I am beginning to notice just how many of my parents' peculiar hobbies are beginning to evidence themselves in my own life. Things like the love of cooking and gardening, things I used to think were for old, boring people, have intruded the desires' chamber in my heart, as I now find myself getting excited over the same things I once used to think were lame.
My mom is a "plant-o-holic". The house I grew up in literally is filled with all sorts of plants: big, small, tree, flower, common, exotic, tender, tough, pretty, ugly...you name it.
In my room, I only have two. They were given to me by a couple that attended our church for a year or so, and then left. In an earlier post, I mentioned that I keep them in my room, as I see in them beautiful & living illustrations of some important biblical truths for the Christian life.
This plant was once a thriving beast. And then it got some kind of infection that began decimating all the leaves, and even the stalks. So, in an emergency effort to save the plant, I gave her a good ol' pruning. Though the plant does not look like much now, the disease has been removed, and the process of recovery has begun. New shoots are appearing out of their former, apparently lifeless stalks.
This is a beautiful picture of the hope of Israel in the 7th century B.C. Israel, because of Yahweh's sovereign grace, was a thriving nation, flourishing under God's unique blessing upon His chosen people. However, in her prosperity she let her guard down and allowed a ruthless & cancerous contagion - sin - to enter, which left unchecked began to decimate the nation at every level. Because Yahweh loved His people too much to let them wallow in their sin, some painful pruning was in order. Emergency surgery was required to save the nation from self-destructing into oblivion. And so, metaphorically speaking, He cut her down, using the foreign nations to purge & discipline her.
Inevitably such pruning would bring about despair to God's people, as they would certainly wonder if He had forsaken His covenantal promises made to Abraham, Isaac, & Jacob. And so Yahweh, Israel's intimate Savior, inspired a prophet named Isaiah to prophesy hope to Israel, even though all she saw around her was hopelessness. In Isaiah 11:1-3, 8-9 we read:
This pathetic looking plant reminds me that regardless of how hopeless and despairing things might appear to my eye, God is at work. His promises to His people will never fail. About 100 years after Isaiah prophesied, God raised up another prophet named Habakkuk, who reminded the people:
Pastor Ryan
My mom is a "plant-o-holic". The house I grew up in literally is filled with all sorts of plants: big, small, tree, flower, common, exotic, tender, tough, pretty, ugly...you name it.
In my room, I only have two. They were given to me by a couple that attended our church for a year or so, and then left. In an earlier post, I mentioned that I keep them in my room, as I see in them beautiful & living illustrations of some important biblical truths for the Christian life.
This plant was once a thriving beast. And then it got some kind of infection that began decimating all the leaves, and even the stalks. So, in an emergency effort to save the plant, I gave her a good ol' pruning. Though the plant does not look like much now, the disease has been removed, and the process of recovery has begun. New shoots are appearing out of their former, apparently lifeless stalks.
This is a beautiful picture of the hope of Israel in the 7th century B.C. Israel, because of Yahweh's sovereign grace, was a thriving nation, flourishing under God's unique blessing upon His chosen people. However, in her prosperity she let her guard down and allowed a ruthless & cancerous contagion - sin - to enter, which left unchecked began to decimate the nation at every level. Because Yahweh loved His people too much to let them wallow in their sin, some painful pruning was in order. Emergency surgery was required to save the nation from self-destructing into oblivion. And so, metaphorically speaking, He cut her down, using the foreign nations to purge & discipline her.
Inevitably such pruning would bring about despair to God's people, as they would certainly wonder if He had forsaken His covenantal promises made to Abraham, Isaac, & Jacob. And so Yahweh, Israel's intimate Savior, inspired a prophet named Isaiah to prophesy hope to Israel, even though all she saw around her was hopelessness. In Isaiah 11:1-3, 8-9 we read:
Behold, the Sovereign LORD of Hosts will lop the boughs with terrifying power; the great in height will be hewn down, and the lofty will be brought low. He will cut down the thickets of the forest with an axe, and Lebanon will fall by the Majestic One.
There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit. And the Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon Him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD...
In that day the Root of Jesse, who shall stand as a signal for the peoples - of Him shall the nations inquire, and His resting place shall be glorious. In that day, the Lord will extend His hand yet second time to recover that remains of His people.Any Jew alive at that time knew that this was explicitly referring to God's promise to send His Messiah to the earth to rescue His beaten down & broken people, and then set up the Kingdom of God among the elect remnant.
This pathetic looking plant reminds me that regardless of how hopeless and despairing things might appear to my eye, God is at work. His promises to His people will never fail. About 100 years after Isaiah prophesied, God raised up another prophet named Habakkuk, who reminded the people:
"The vision awaits its appointed time; it hastens to the end - it will not lie. If it seems slow, wait for it: it will surely come, it will not delay" (2:3).If God has saved you, look with eyes of faith to the fact that God's promises to His people will not return to Him void (Isaiah 55). Even in the great pains we experience in life, He is sovereignly working all things out to conform to the end He designed, for His glory (Eph. 1:10, 13-14; cf. 1:6; Rom. 8:28). Not only is He God. He is good.
Pastor Ryan
Saturday, February 18, 2012
Can One Be a Christian if Jesus is Not Their Lord? (Part 9 - Galatians)
If the gospel that Paul preached was Jesus Christ as Lord (Rom. 10:9, 13; 2 Cor. 4:5; Col. 2:6), then we must be mindful of the eternally serious warning he gives to the churches in Galatia: "There are some who want to distort the gospel of Christ...As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed" (1:7, 9). Herein, Paul uses extremely strong & poignant language that many ear-tickling, goat-feeding, & numbers-counting pastors should be warned of, as the Greek word (Anathema) which the ESV translates as "cursed" really means to be "condemned to Hell" (NET, CSB f/n) or "eternally condemned" (NIV).
So, if we have grown weary of this long study, let us be reminded of the stakes that are involved when the 'church' preaches another (the Greek word heteros means "different") gospel than the one that Paul and the other apostles preached (as proven in our previous studies in this series).
Let us now look a little more closely at Paul's letter to the Galatians.
Indeed, as Paul intimates, the gospel of grace does indeed save us for freedom (Gal. 5:1). However, he equally asserts that those who are truly saved will not abuse God's grace in order that they may have an excuse for a lifestyle of unrepentant sin (cf. Rom. 6:1). No. God forbid! As Paul writes, "You were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another" (Gal. 5:13). As we have seen earlier, overcoming our innate proclivity to live solely for the advancement & comfort of ourselves requires the divine gift of a heart transplant. While the old, natural heart gratified the desires & lusts of the flesh, the new heart "from above" makes war against it, seeking to kill it (cf. Rom. 7; 8:13).
This is precisely what Paul iterates in Gal. 5:16-17, wherein we read:
If you have not read any of the previous posts, you might be asking, "What is the evidence, or fruit of true conversion?" May the words of Paul answer your question: "And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires" (5:24). Those who have not crucified their flesh still live in the flesh. You never crucify what you love. You crucify your enemies, not your friends.
You might further ask, "What does such a person look like, in real life?" Again, let Paul satisfy your query:
This is no mere game, dear reader. For those who belong to churches that make much of numbers, remember this: it is not the number of people who raise a hand or sign a card that matters to God, but those whom are truly saved (again, see above for the portrait Paul paints of what such people look like). Before we confer salvation upon someone, let us remember how conversion is defined biblically, as well as what it looks like practically. How unmerciful the evangelical church at large is to many of its unregenerate members! How often do we, for selfish reasons, let them come to our church, and yet never confront them of their unrepenant, and thus unforgiven, sins? We laugh with them, coddle them, encourage them, but never confront them. And then they go to Hell. Is this love?
Finally, let us remember that although Paul repeatedly fought to defend that salvation is freely by faith alone in the finished work of Christ (2:16, 20-21; 3:2-14, 22-26; 5:5-6; cf. Eph. 2:5, 8-9), he also reminds us that those who have been saved by faith alone also (must!) have God the Holy Spirit dwelling within them, enabling them to bear fruit as Christ's new creation. Or, in Paul's own words:
As harsh as some of these studies may appear, I hope they are received in love. I love people too much to lie to them. I believe that eternal condemnation is a reality that is repeatedly set forth in the Word of God. As a pastor, I personally feel the temptation to make people feel safe and secure even when they're not. That way, they keep coming to 'my' church, which thus makes me look 'successful'. But like Paul, I believe that pastors who do this are "hucksters" who "peddle" God's Word for profit. May God remind us that those of us who teach have to give a much stricter judgment on that Day!
In Christ, and for His eternal glory,
Pastor Ryan
So, if we have grown weary of this long study, let us be reminded of the stakes that are involved when the 'church' preaches another (the Greek word heteros means "different") gospel than the one that Paul and the other apostles preached (as proven in our previous studies in this series).
Let us now look a little more closely at Paul's letter to the Galatians.
Indeed, as Paul intimates, the gospel of grace does indeed save us for freedom (Gal. 5:1). However, he equally asserts that those who are truly saved will not abuse God's grace in order that they may have an excuse for a lifestyle of unrepentant sin (cf. Rom. 6:1). No. God forbid! As Paul writes, "You were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another" (Gal. 5:13). As we have seen earlier, overcoming our innate proclivity to live solely for the advancement & comfort of ourselves requires the divine gift of a heart transplant. While the old, natural heart gratified the desires & lusts of the flesh, the new heart "from above" makes war against it, seeking to kill it (cf. Rom. 7; 8:13).
This is precisely what Paul iterates in Gal. 5:16-17, wherein we read:
But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh (NIV, NLT = "sinful nature", NJB = "self-indulgence"). For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do.Moreover, those who live in the flesh, regardless of their profession, must heed Paul's warning in the final chapter: "Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life" (6:7-8). Those who bear no fruit of the Spirit should not expect eternal life, since there is no evidence that they belong to Christ.
If you have not read any of the previous posts, you might be asking, "What is the evidence, or fruit of true conversion?" May the words of Paul answer your question: "And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires" (5:24). Those who have not crucified their flesh still live in the flesh. You never crucify what you love. You crucify your enemies, not your friends.
You might further ask, "What does such a person look like, in real life?" Again, let Paul satisfy your query:
Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God" (5:19-21)Those who live "according to the flesh" are not alive, but dead (cf. Rom. 8:13). Regardless of what they think, such professors of Christ's name are not possessors of Christ's kingdom. Unless such people truly are born from above to truly see both Jesus and themselves, they will never truly repent and believe the gospel. Despite hearing many a comforting word from pastors who are content to let them fill their pews and membership roles, they will go on this life deceiving others, having themselves been deceived, only to die one day and stand before the Lord Jesus Christ on Judgement Day. What words will they hear? "I never knew you. Depart from Me, your who practice lawlessness." This is sobering stuff.
This is no mere game, dear reader. For those who belong to churches that make much of numbers, remember this: it is not the number of people who raise a hand or sign a card that matters to God, but those whom are truly saved (again, see above for the portrait Paul paints of what such people look like). Before we confer salvation upon someone, let us remember how conversion is defined biblically, as well as what it looks like practically. How unmerciful the evangelical church at large is to many of its unregenerate members! How often do we, for selfish reasons, let them come to our church, and yet never confront them of their unrepenant, and thus unforgiven, sins? We laugh with them, coddle them, encourage them, but never confront them. And then they go to Hell. Is this love?
Finally, let us remember that although Paul repeatedly fought to defend that salvation is freely by faith alone in the finished work of Christ (2:16, 20-21; 3:2-14, 22-26; 5:5-6; cf. Eph. 2:5, 8-9), he also reminds us that those who have been saved by faith alone also (must!) have God the Holy Spirit dwelling within them, enabling them to bear fruit as Christ's new creation. Or, in Paul's own words:
"Neither circumcision counts for anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation" (5:16)Regardless of what anyone says, the only thing that counts is that a person is a new creation. As we will see in our next post, those whom God has created us in Christ Jesus has created them "for good works, that they might walk in them" (Eph. 2:10).
As harsh as some of these studies may appear, I hope they are received in love. I love people too much to lie to them. I believe that eternal condemnation is a reality that is repeatedly set forth in the Word of God. As a pastor, I personally feel the temptation to make people feel safe and secure even when they're not. That way, they keep coming to 'my' church, which thus makes me look 'successful'. But like Paul, I believe that pastors who do this are "hucksters" who "peddle" God's Word for profit. May God remind us that those of us who teach have to give a much stricter judgment on that Day!
In Christ, and for His eternal glory,
Pastor Ryan
Picture of a Healthy Church
In my room, I have a couple of plants that my wife, Christina, keeps threatening to throw out, as they're just, well, plain ugly. However, I've asked her to humor me, as I believe both of them are constant reminders to me of how God in Christ has seen fit to spread His glory to the ends of the earth through the body of Christ, which is the [local] church.
As the picture shows, a healthy plant sends out shoots, or copies of itself. It expends great resources in doing so, as the entire organism will fill up one's garden much more quickly this way (the innate purpose and goal of the plant). Though it is much easier to maintain 'control' of the plant by continually cutting off these costly suckers, which 'drain' the 'main' plant of much of its resources, it is ultimately, in the grand scheme of things, detrimental to the life cycle of the plant.
Anyone who knows anything about strawberries knows that it is the new plants that extend from the home base that bear the largest and most juicy berries after a year of growth. Statistics show that most church growth - that is, conversion growth (and not just the "church shuffle" of disgruntled consumers looking for a better worship band, less offensive message, or better youth 'ministry') - occurs in church plants, as they are vigorous, and have not grown comfortable in their comfy atmosphere (hip & inviting lobbies, professionals running profession ministries, coffee bars, and every other amenity available to make us forget every Christian has been called to be a front-line soldier advancing the line, with Jesus' banner of the cross, in a brutal battle).
In our consumeristic, market-driven culture where companies are 'successful' if they are large & profitable, Jesus' church needs to swim upstream & follow the NT mandate of costly-to-self church planting, rather than the comfortable-to-flesh North American model of the complacent, meet-my-needs-and-forget-the-world-of-perishing-sinners church.
I close with a verse that I think best sums up this memorable reminder to the church, and especially us as pastors, who are often prone to see ourselves as exalted CEOs rather than humble baton-passers in a gloriously rewarding marathon:
To sum up: what then does a healthy church really look like? To put it simply & soberly, a healthy church is one that seriously takes Jesus' command to make disciples, grow disciples, and train up godly men to plant godly, Christ-exalting, fruit-bearing, & church-planting churches.
Cover Your world with Your glory through Your church, Lord Jesus, even as the waters cover the sea!
As the picture shows, a healthy plant sends out shoots, or copies of itself. It expends great resources in doing so, as the entire organism will fill up one's garden much more quickly this way (the innate purpose and goal of the plant). Though it is much easier to maintain 'control' of the plant by continually cutting off these costly suckers, which 'drain' the 'main' plant of much of its resources, it is ultimately, in the grand scheme of things, detrimental to the life cycle of the plant.
Anyone who knows anything about strawberries knows that it is the new plants that extend from the home base that bear the largest and most juicy berries after a year of growth. Statistics show that most church growth - that is, conversion growth (and not just the "church shuffle" of disgruntled consumers looking for a better worship band, less offensive message, or better youth 'ministry') - occurs in church plants, as they are vigorous, and have not grown comfortable in their comfy atmosphere (hip & inviting lobbies, professionals running profession ministries, coffee bars, and every other amenity available to make us forget every Christian has been called to be a front-line soldier advancing the line, with Jesus' banner of the cross, in a brutal battle).
In our consumeristic, market-driven culture where companies are 'successful' if they are large & profitable, Jesus' church needs to swim upstream & follow the NT mandate of costly-to-self church planting, rather than the comfortable-to-flesh North American model of the complacent, meet-my-needs-and-forget-the-world-of-perishing-sinners church.
I close with a verse that I think best sums up this memorable reminder to the church, and especially us as pastors, who are often prone to see ourselves as exalted CEOs rather than humble baton-passers in a gloriously rewarding marathon:
You then, my child, be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus, and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. (2 Tim. 2:1-2)May Christ give His church this glorious vision of what it means to make disciples of all the people groups of His world through faithful church planting. May He give us many godly men who will be groomed as Timothy was to groom other planters.
To sum up: what then does a healthy church really look like? To put it simply & soberly, a healthy church is one that seriously takes Jesus' command to make disciples, grow disciples, and train up godly men to plant godly, Christ-exalting, fruit-bearing, & church-planting churches.
Cover Your world with Your glory through Your church, Lord Jesus, even as the waters cover the sea!
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Can One Be a Christian if Jesus is Not Their Lord? (Part 8 - 2 Corinthians)
As we have shown through the exegesis of key NT passages in our previous posts, a true Christian is one who not only receives Jesus Christ as the Savior of their sins, but also receives Jesus Christ as the Lord of their lives; that is, their life evidences a submissive heart to His commands, and are as James says, "Doers of the word and not merely hearers" (1:22-25).
Today we look at Paul's second letter to the Corinthians.
Consistent with the initial apostolic message preached in the book of Acts (see part 3 & 4 of this series), Paul also preached the message of Jesus (cf. Mark 8:34ff.), namely, the gospel of repentance towards God and faith in the Lord Jesus (cf. Acts 20:21). He did not merely tell stories to tickle ears or emotionally manipulate hearts. No, he determined to preach only Christ crucified (1 Cor. 2:2). However, the crucified Jesus, upon resurrection, was declared by the Father Himself to be Lord of lords (cf. Phil. 2:9-11), and was not merely to be believed & received, but also was to be humbly followed as Master (cf. Rom. 10:13ff). The Jesus that Paul preached was "Lord" (2 Cor. 4:5; Col. 2:6), not a reconstructed Christ "according to human traditions" (Col. 2:8).
In 2 Cor. 5:17, Paul reminded the believers who were prone to believe the false gospel of the false teachers that those who are truly "in Christ" by faith are "a new creation." Indeed, for those who are truly regenerate, or born from above, "The old has passed away; behold the new has come." Why the stern reminder? Because Paul knew that there were many false professors lurking in the congregations who were prone to "receive the grace of God in vain" (6:2).
Paul, like the rest of the apostles, admonished his hearers not merely to make some flippant or rash decision after the preaching of a sermon (like the modern day abomination called the "altar call"), but to live lives of holiness reflecting the nature of the One whom is thrice holy and actually resides inside every true believer. This is Paul's argument in 2 Cor. 6, where he clearly reminds believers that there ought to be a clear distinction between them and the world. God's people, who are His new Temple wherein He dwells and makes His glory & holiness known (6:16), thus says, "Therefore go go out from their midst, and be separate from them...and touch no unclean thing; then I will welcome you, and I will be a Father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to Me, says the Lord Almighty" (6:17-18). Paul's logical deduction: "Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God" (7:1). This is precisely what our previous posts have asserted over and over again.
Finally, before we leave 2 Corinthians, we look at the final chapter, where Paul pleads with his readers to not be so trivial with the apparent professions of faith. "Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you? - unless indeed you fail to meet the test?" (13:5) Following Jesus Christ is no mere trivial 'decision'. Making "disciples" is not some kind of game that churches are to play. How often our biblically ignorant evangelical churches pronounce salvation upon any and everyone who makes any kind of response (e.g. raising a hand, talking to the pastor after a service, praying a prayer, etc.), regardless of whether or not a changed life is evident!
Do we really believe that God's sovereign and effectual grace actually transforms people? That the gospel of Christ is actually the power of God "for salvation to everyone who believes" (Rom. 1:16)? Let us be reminded that when we pronounce people who willfully live in unrepentant sin as "saved", we implicitly proclaim a weak gospel that can only "save" sinners from the penalty sin, but not from their love of sin, or the power of sin, or the presence of sin. Oh how this must grieve our Savior!
Dear reader, when is the last time you have examined yourself? Oh may you truly be found in Christ today!
Finally, I close with a plea to pastors. If someone comes into your office who is concerned they may not be saved, take the admonition of Dr. John MacArthur to heart: they may not be saved! Don't be rash in comforting them if their lives bear no fruit of the divine gift of a new heart. Take them to the book of 1 John (which we will eventually deal with). Don't offer assurance if none is warranted. Take them to the cross! Point them to Jesus! The gospel alone has the power to either save the unconverted sinner, or comfort the broken Christian who has lost his way. Offering rash "assurance" to an unbeliever is one of the most cruel, unloving things we as pastors can do. Take the time to assess the situation. It will be worth it.
Lord Jesus, be glorified, even in this long, drawn out study. We have dealt carefully with Your Word. It is worthy to be handled this way. Give me grace to follow You today as my sovereign Master, King, and Lord.
Pastor Ryan
Today we look at Paul's second letter to the Corinthians.
Consistent with the initial apostolic message preached in the book of Acts (see part 3 & 4 of this series), Paul also preached the message of Jesus (cf. Mark 8:34ff.), namely, the gospel of repentance towards God and faith in the Lord Jesus (cf. Acts 20:21). He did not merely tell stories to tickle ears or emotionally manipulate hearts. No, he determined to preach only Christ crucified (1 Cor. 2:2). However, the crucified Jesus, upon resurrection, was declared by the Father Himself to be Lord of lords (cf. Phil. 2:9-11), and was not merely to be believed & received, but also was to be humbly followed as Master (cf. Rom. 10:13ff). The Jesus that Paul preached was "Lord" (2 Cor. 4:5; Col. 2:6), not a reconstructed Christ "according to human traditions" (Col. 2:8).
In 2 Cor. 5:17, Paul reminded the believers who were prone to believe the false gospel of the false teachers that those who are truly "in Christ" by faith are "a new creation." Indeed, for those who are truly regenerate, or born from above, "The old has passed away; behold the new has come." Why the stern reminder? Because Paul knew that there were many false professors lurking in the congregations who were prone to "receive the grace of God in vain" (6:2).
Paul, like the rest of the apostles, admonished his hearers not merely to make some flippant or rash decision after the preaching of a sermon (like the modern day abomination called the "altar call"), but to live lives of holiness reflecting the nature of the One whom is thrice holy and actually resides inside every true believer. This is Paul's argument in 2 Cor. 6, where he clearly reminds believers that there ought to be a clear distinction between them and the world. God's people, who are His new Temple wherein He dwells and makes His glory & holiness known (6:16), thus says, "Therefore go go out from their midst, and be separate from them...and touch no unclean thing; then I will welcome you, and I will be a Father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to Me, says the Lord Almighty" (6:17-18). Paul's logical deduction: "Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God" (7:1). This is precisely what our previous posts have asserted over and over again.
Finally, before we leave 2 Corinthians, we look at the final chapter, where Paul pleads with his readers to not be so trivial with the apparent professions of faith. "Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you? - unless indeed you fail to meet the test?" (13:5) Following Jesus Christ is no mere trivial 'decision'. Making "disciples" is not some kind of game that churches are to play. How often our biblically ignorant evangelical churches pronounce salvation upon any and everyone who makes any kind of response (e.g. raising a hand, talking to the pastor after a service, praying a prayer, etc.), regardless of whether or not a changed life is evident!
Do we really believe that God's sovereign and effectual grace actually transforms people? That the gospel of Christ is actually the power of God "for salvation to everyone who believes" (Rom. 1:16)? Let us be reminded that when we pronounce people who willfully live in unrepentant sin as "saved", we implicitly proclaim a weak gospel that can only "save" sinners from the penalty sin, but not from their love of sin, or the power of sin, or the presence of sin. Oh how this must grieve our Savior!
Dear reader, when is the last time you have examined yourself? Oh may you truly be found in Christ today!
Finally, I close with a plea to pastors. If someone comes into your office who is concerned they may not be saved, take the admonition of Dr. John MacArthur to heart: they may not be saved! Don't be rash in comforting them if their lives bear no fruit of the divine gift of a new heart. Take them to the book of 1 John (which we will eventually deal with). Don't offer assurance if none is warranted. Take them to the cross! Point them to Jesus! The gospel alone has the power to either save the unconverted sinner, or comfort the broken Christian who has lost his way. Offering rash "assurance" to an unbeliever is one of the most cruel, unloving things we as pastors can do. Take the time to assess the situation. It will be worth it.
Lord Jesus, be glorified, even in this long, drawn out study. We have dealt carefully with Your Word. It is worthy to be handled this way. Give me grace to follow You today as my sovereign Master, King, and Lord.
Pastor Ryan
What a "peculiar" person looks like in Nazi Germany
A lone dockworker refuses to raise his hand in the Nazi salute, 1936.
Oh God, give me the grace to "stand against the tide". May we be found faithful. As one member of our church once told me, "Dead fish float with the current; living fish swim against the current."
For those who want a biblical example of this exact same situation, read Daniel 3.
For those who want a biblical example of this exact same situation, read Daniel 3.
1 Peter 2:9 - "But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.
Father, in Jesus' Name, may we shine as Your lights in Your world for Your glory.
**Pictures borrowed from the DesiringGod blog.
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