New Wineskins – the Pharisees compared to the Restoration Era

Recently I was teaching on the life of Christ, and while doing so I considered the Pharisees and the specific emphasis they placed on certain practices. As I was coincidently reading Nehemiah at the same time, it became apparent that in many ways they were following in the steps of Nehemiah, only more so. Like all sects that live in the past, they did not hang on to what Nehemiah and the others of the restoration era had, but rather distorted it, placing undue proportion on certain parts and totally missing others. I’d like to look at some of the similarities and differences here in this post and see if there are lessons we can learn from this. Tithing and the yearly Temple tax With the rebuilding of the temple came the expense for its offerings and maintenance. Nehemiah instituted an oath for like-minded people who out of love for God covenanted to pay their tithes and first fruits to support the temple so that the priests and Levites would be able to minister (Neh. 10:32-39). They also instituted a yearly one third of a shekel temple tax which in the time of Christ was raised to a half shekel. At the time these reforms were very necessary as without regular tithing and support it would be impossible to get the temple up and running again. We see in the book of Nehemiah that even with this oath he had to specifically intervene to ensure that the Levites were able to minister and not obliged to quit and work in their fields (Neh. 13:10-13). The problem in the time of Christ was that these things had become the major part of religion to the exclusion of other things. So instead of looking at the other aspects of God’s law it was assumed that as long as a person tithed and gave to God they were in a good standing with Him. The Sabbath The second area that the Pharisees emphasized was the keeping of the Sabbath day. In this it can be seen they were like Nehemiah only more extreme. Nehemiah, as governor, had insisted that the gates be guarded to keep merchants out on the Sabbath. He also had to rebuke the people who were treating it as an ordinary work day (Neh. 13:15-22). The oath he and others took in Nehemiah chapter 10 also stated that they would refrain from purchasing things on the Sabbath. Thus again we see that Nehemiah set a precedent for the later Pharisees in Sabbath day observance. There was, however, a difference in the stringency of the observance. The things that Nehemiah rebuked were clearly work, and not a work of necessity either, and clearly were not keeping the Sabbath holy. The Pharisees by the time of Christ had introduced many rules with exceptions to those rules and exceptions for those exceptions, and thus made the Sabbath more burdensome than God had ever intended or Nehemiah had ever enforced. Marriage Issues In the time of Nehemiah there were many Jewish men who had married foreign women, many of them had divorced their Jewish wives to do this, and the children of these unions could not even speak Hebrew and were thus not being taught the law of God and were outside of the covenant (Neh. 13:23-31, Mal. 2:11-16). It should be noted here that the marriages were not forbidden based on ethnicity but because of religion, indeed when women joined themselves to the God of Israel they were accepted no matter what their ethnicity as the cases of Rahab and Ruth show. In the time of Christ the nationalistic part of this reform was zealously enforced, and there was little intermarriage between Jews and other nationalities, but the other issue addressed concerning being faithful to the marriage covenant also contained in Mal. 2:11-16, was ignored. Conclusion Clearly the Pharisees thought they were walking in the footsteps of Nehemiah and the previous move of God in the Water Gate revival, and yet like all movements that cling to the past, they had drifted from it. Just as present day Calvinism is more Calvinistic than Calvin was, and Lutheranism became very Luther-like in some respects while ignoring certain aspects of his theology altogether, and various forms of Methodism took certain aspects of John Wesley’s teaching and emphasized them in varying degrees to the exclusion of others, all showing that it is impossible to live in the past, either we progress or we take things that were taught us and blow them further out of proportion. The circumstances of the time have a degree of influence over our actions that cannot be ignored. For Daniel to open hos windows and pray in public in spite of the king’s decree risking death was a noble thing, as were similar deeds during the time of Antiochus IV when Judaism was illegal and under persecution. However, a Pharisee praying publicly with no danger to himself, to gain credit for holiness from men is an entirely different matter. In the same way just because we are doing what our godly forefathers have done is no guarantee that what we are doing is right. May God grant that we are never satisfied until we truly walk with Him and be where He is now (John 12:26). Amen.

A quick thought on Jesus bearing our griefs and how that relates to His bearing our sins

While I was working on my previous post I had another thought concerning Isaiah 53. If when Christ bore our griefs He did not bear Mr. X saying so and so about us, but rather slander in general and worse than we have or could have received in the same way did He bear each individual sinful deed, or in His being numbered as a transgressor did He not bear sin in general, in the sense that James gives of one who breaks any of the laws is a transgressor (James 2:9-11). Anyway this is more of a question I would like to throw out for people than a statement of what I believe. I just am trying to consider if this is true and a viable way of understanding the atonement or if I am missing something here. God bless!

Truly He bore our griefs – Thoughts from Isaiah 53

“He had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned--every one--to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.” Isaiah 53:2b-6 - ESV. Recently a friend of mine shared something that they were facing, which while I could see why it would be very hard, I could not truly say that I understood, because I had never faced a challenge similar enough. Sometimes even when we want to be there for people, we find that we don’t have the real answer. Fortunately that cannot be said of Christ. He bore our griefs. He knew what it meant to be born under the shame of (supposed) illegitimacy. He knew the sting of rejection and betrayal. At the cross not only was He betrayed by Judas, but most of his closest friends made themselves scarce, one denied even knowing Him, and the one who held the most steadfast was at the trial and crucifixion, but apparently did not voice one word in His favour during any of the proceedings. He bore our griefs. He knew the shame of poverty, and the appearance of failure. There is nothing that touches us which He did not experience in a greater measure and to a deeper degree. So when we have a grief, a burden, a care go to Him, He will understand!

Biblical Inerrancy, human language and usage

A few weeks ago as I was reading my Bible I came to the list of clean and unclean animals in Leviticus 11. In this passage are a few things that people sometimes use to attack Biblical inerrancy: 1. The Hyrax said to chew the cud (v.5); 2. Insects mentioned as creeping on all fours (v.20-23); 3. Bats listed among the birds (v.19). These things really have little to do with inerrancy and far more to do with human language as it is used. God in teaching the Israelites what animals were clean and unclean would use language to describe them fitted to the Israelites usage, whether technically accurate or not. No one would claim that a zoologist is in error who uses the word cuttlefish (even though that is a mollusk and not a fish) or the words millipede and centipede (neither of which have the right number of legs) to refer to specific creatures bearing those names. Likewise no one would laugh at a doctor who diagnoses a patient with malaria because he called it malaria even though we know it is carried by mosquitos and not by the swamp air that they infest. He is merely using a familiar word to convey information. In the same way it is quite possible, and with the paucity of premosaic Hebrew hard to disprove, that four–legged-creepers was roughly the equivalent of our English words insect and bug at the time. Certainly the Israelites understood what was meant and consequently ate locusts, crickets, etc, but not any other bugs. That people would try to make these things into a big deal shows more of their desire to have an excuse to ignore God’s clear cut standards of morality, than anything amiss in the Word of God.

Cyprian’s views contrasted with the Apostle John – Schism, Heresy

Those of you who know me well are probably aware that I enjoy history and especially Church history. Much of my spare time is spent in studying Church History and the writings and biographies of various churchmen. A few weeks ago I was reminded of Cyprian’s famous doctrine that outside of the Church there is no salvation. Cyprian applied this not only to heresy but also to schism and later Augustine in his writings against the Donatist schism would quote 1 Corinthians 13 and say that since the Donatists were not in fellowship with the Catholic church they lacked love and thus whatever their good works they did not profit. Of course this is a very superficial definition of love, and two of Augustine’s contemporaries Jerome and Rufinus who were both in fellowship with the Church as they blasted each other publicly hardly bring to mind the words of Paul, “love is patient, love is kind.” Still these doctrines and attitudes would not be a cause for concern if they had not outlived their authors, and even in Protestant circles still exist but not so flagrantly. There are many attributes to Cyprian’s doctrine, but rather than dealing with apostolic succession and several of the minor points, I would just like to deal with the main point. There are 4 tenets that he held, some of which are fairly shaky in themselves, but even if they held true the premise can be shown to be false as I will show. His 4 main tenets could be summed up as: 1. Receiving the Apostles is to receive Christ 2. Bishops are the successors of the Apostles 3. To Receive the Bishop is to receive Christ 4. No one can be separated from the Bishop and be joined to Christ Point number one is clearly Scriptural (Matt. 10:4), point number two is far less provable and point number three is dependent upon two, but even allowing all of these for the time, point four is untenable. The book of Third John throws light on this whole subject. It is addressed to Gaius who had apparently received some of John’s fellow-workers with hospitality(v.1-6). John goes on to complain of Diotrophes who had in effect introduced a schism into the church by not receiving John or his messengers and by putting out those in the church who did (v.9-10). It is interesting that John while speaking of Diotrophes personal evil-doing never mentions a danger incurred by those who stayed in the church with him. He merely exhorts Gaius to imitate good and not evil (v.11), which strongly implies that John was not concerned for the salvation of those in Diotrophes church provided they did not personally partake of his evil ways. Cyprian cannot be contrasted more unfavorably than this since he refused to even acknowledge the baptism practiced by the Novatians, which was schism and not a doctrinal breach, and believed all who broke fellowship with himself were damned. Clearly the true Apostle was far more forbearing than his supposed successor. John’s attitude, however, was very different towards heresy – specifically heresies which deny Christ’s incarnation and His messiahship (1 John 2:18-23, 2 John 1:7). He refers to these heretics as antichrists and says they were never part of us – that is of the Church, even though they went out of us. We thus see a marked difference here, when John’s own authority is disregarded and he is slighted, he will take steps to reprove the offender but still calls the assembly a church, but when the doctrine is a direct denial of Christ and His work, then whatever these assemblies and teachers are is of no consequence, because they are not of us. This is the true attitude we should have towards those in schism with us and those in heresy. Schism we blame on the leaders of it and hope that their flocks do not pick up the contagion, heresy we abhor and deny to bear the name of Christianity in any real sense. Grace be with all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with love incorruptible. Amen.

On the True Method of Ministry and the Supremacy of God’s Word – Conclusion

What I was hoping to show in this series of posts is just how much even the apostles themselves taught only what Christ and the Old Testament taught and added nothing materially of their own. Paul was pleased with Bereans because they examined what he taught in light of the Scriptures rather than taking it based on his authority and teaching ability or even the miracles he had performed. The problem with a doctrine accepted on human authority is that a generation later it becomes a tradition, and a tradition if not based in Scripture is a binding chain. When Origen was questioned concerning the book of Susanna being in the canon since it contained a Greek pun and thus could not be part of the original Hebrew and Aramaic book of Daniel, he accepted the book because of tradition. Thus because he felt he could not move the boundary which the fathers had set up for several centuries the Church had manifestly fraudulent books mixed in with the Truth of God! With the Protestant reformers I say that the boundaries of the Fathers are those found in Scripture and no more or less. If I am to accept any tradition it must be one which shows clearly that it was handed down by the Apostles. The only tradition that I can think of that comes close to this in plausibility would be the exclusion of the unbaptized from the Lord’s supper and I am not sure I would fight and die for this one. Respect for a ministry that God has given is not enough to justify embracing everything taught. I greatly admire William Booth and his work in founding the Salvation Army was blessed by God, but I am not going to give up Christ’s ordinances of baptism and communion because he chose to. In the same way though I respect John Wesley of the Methodist revival and Frank Bartleman of Azuza street I do not follow them or Adam Clarke in their rejection of the use of musical instruments in worship, because the Psalms specifically teach praising God not only by song, but also by playing instruments. I do sympathize however with their motive which was to insure that the congregation did not become mere spectators in the time of song. While I see that God is restoring to the church the Tabernacle of David as promised with its use of instruments and singers the tendency to have spectators rather than worshippers must be guarded against. Clinging to all that was said by our forebearers is neither good nor bad, and is both commended and censured in Scripture depending on who the forebearer is and what they said. Jonadab’s descendants are commended for it (Jer. 35:18-19), but it is shown as a condemnation in Psalm 49:10-13, where men strive for earthly riches and glory and call places after their own names, yet the folly they teach is approved by their children. Sometimes even the mannerisms of a forebearer are idolized, Hillel the most revered of ancient Rabbis, sometimes referred to as the second Moses, is said to have mispronounced certain words, because his teacher who was a Babylonian Jew had done so. This is the attitude that Christ was addressing when He said, “But you are not to be called rabbi, for you have one teacher, and you are all brothers. And call no man your father on earth, for you have one Father, who is in heaven. Neither be called instructors, for you have one instructor, the Christ” (Matt. 23:8-10). Christ here forbids any to be a father, in the sense of originator of an absolute pattern of life to be followed other than God the Father (Gen. 4:20-21; Eph. 5:1). He also forbids any to be an unquestionable or unimpeachable teacher other than Christ. In ending this post I would like to quote John Robinson the pastor in Leyden of the Mayflower Pilgrims in his farewell to them as printed in Daniel Neal’s History of the Puritans when they left for America, He being too old to join the voyage: "Brethren, We are now quickly to part from one another, and whether I may ever live to see your faces on earth any more, the God of heaven only knows; but whether the Lord has appointed that or no, I charge you before God and his blessed angels, that you follow me no farther than you have seen me follow the Lord Jesus Christ. If God reveal anything to you, by any other instrument of His, be ye as ready to receive it as ever you were to receive any truth by my ministry; for I am verily persuaded, the Lord has more truth yet to break forth out of his holy word. For my part, I cannot sufficiently bewail the condition of the reformed churches, who are come to a period in religion, and will go at present no farther than the instruments of their reformation. The Lutherans cannot be drawn to go beyond what Luther saw; whatever part of his will our God has revealed to Calvin, they will rather die than embrace it; and the Calvinists, you see, stick fast where they were left by that great man of God, who yet saw not all things. This is a misery much to be lamented, for though they were burning and shining lights in their times, yet they penetrated not into the whole counsel of God, but were they now living, would be as willing to embrace farther light as that which they first received. I beseech you remember, it is an article of your church covenant, that you be ready to receive whatever truth shall be made known to you from the written word of God. Remember that, and every other article of your sacred covenant. But I must here withal exhort you to take heed what you receive as truth,— examine it, consider it, and compare it with other scriptures of truth, before you receive it; for it is not possible the Christian world should come so lately out of such thick antichristian darkness, and that perfection of knowledge should break forth at once. "I must also advise you to abandon, avoid, and shake off, the name of Brownists; it is a mere nickname, and a brand for the making religion and the professors of it odious to the Christian world." Hear I say, “Amen!”

On the True Method of Ministry and the Supremacy of God’s Word – Part 3 –Peter

The Apostle Peter’s attitude toward the Scriptures cannot be better seen than in 2 Peter 1:16-21, “For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. For when he received honor and glory from God the Father, and the voice was borne to him by the Majestic Glory, ‘This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased,’ we ourselves heard this very voice borne from heaven, for we were with him on the holy mountain. And we have something more sure, the prophetic word, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts, knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone's own interpretation. For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.” Notice how he points back to the Mount of Transfiguration, where they saw the glory of Christ which passed any mortal glory and heard a voice from heaven bearing witness, yet, and here is the amazing thing, he considered the Old Testament prophecies to be more true than even this experience and what he had seen with his own eyes and heard with his own ears! In these verses Peter has said the most that can ever be said for the submission of all spiritual experiences, revelations and doctrines to the Word of God. He did not believe in Christ merely because he saw him shining brightly with miraculously whitened clothes, or even because he saw Moses and Elijah with Him, and heard the Father thunder from heaven! No, he believed because it was all in line with Old Testament prophecy, so these outward manifestations were merely confirmations of what the Old Testament already had prophesied. The attitude of Peter seen here should serve as a lesson for us, since in many instances Christians accept things based solely upon a revelation or because it has been taught us. Peter instead looked into the Scriptures remembering even as Jesus promised there would be false prophets and wonder-workers. All things should be tested by the Scripture as we ask the Holy Spirit to illuminate our minds to see what is in that Scripture. In regards to the necessity of all doctrine not resting solely on the authority of a revelation some might wonder concerning 1 Peter 3:18-20, “For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit, in which he went and proclaimed to the spirits in prison, because they formerly did not obey, when God's patience waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through water.” What is taught here concerning Christ’s preaching to the spirits in prison is not clearly mentioned anywhere else. That is true, however Christ’s descent into hell is foretold and the scripture quoted by Peter in Acts 2:25-31. Also it was understood by the Apostles that when Christ rose from the dead the righteous dead were led forth with Him, he led captivity captive (Eph. 4:8-10). Indeed some of the righteous dead physically rose up at this time and were seen in Jerusalem (Matt. 27:52-53). In light of this Peter wrote of a revelation he had of a certain group of those whom Christ led out of captivity. There is nothing wrong with revelations elucidating more clearly what God has said in Scripture, but they must be judged by Scripture. Also they should not be used as the only basis of establishing a doctrine. It would also be good to note here that this portion of Scripture is not a major point of doctrine, in practical terms these verses affect no one alive today and have reference only to those in Noah’s day, so whatever Peter’s source he did not make a major doctrine out of something mentioned nowhere else in Scripture. Most of his other exhortations are clearly based on other Scriptures, the most apparent one being 1 Peter 5:1-4, “So I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed: shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly; not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock. And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory.” Which bears a strong resemblance to Christ’s commission to Peter to feed His sheep (John 21:17) and His teaching in Mark 10:42-45, “And Jesus called them to him and said to them, ‘You know that those who are considered rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. But it shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.’" The similarity is more marked in Greek where the identical word is used for “lording it over” the brethren. In fact these verses in 1 Peter could well be considered a commentary and application of the command that Christ already gave rather than anything originating with Peter. As we partake of His Word may we grow more and more in His nature! Amen.

On the True Method of Ministry and the Supremacy of God’s Word – Part 2 – Excerpts from the Epistles of Paul

The Apostle Paul is an interesting study in his doctrine in that he was never a hearer of Christ or a follower of the disciples. However he was taught by the resurrected Christ and received his gospel by revelation. As his epistles are studied they are seen to be consonant with the teachings of Christ in the gospel. How much was revealed supernaturally to him and how much he learned of the life of Christ from sources that Luke also availed himself of is impossible to pinpoint. In addition to his use of the gospels, Paul made great use of the Old Testament, as all the apostolic writers did. So much so that even many passages that are not direct quotes from the Old Testament should be understood in light of those Scriptures since these writers lived and breathed the Old Testament Scriptures from childhood. Thus Colossians 2:19, Ephesians 1:22-23, and Ephesians 4:15-16 should be understood in light of Psalm 133, where it is from the anointed head (Christ) that the anointing flows down to every part and where unity of the brethren is. I would now like to look at a few passages from the writings of Paul to show kindred thoughts and expressions with the teachings of Jesus. This comparison is not exhaustive by any means. Being accepted in the Beloved Eph 1:5-6 having predestined us to the adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved. Joh 15:7-9 If you abide in Me, and My Words abide in you, you shall ask what you will, and it shall be done to you. In this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit, so you shall be My disciples. As the Father has loved Me, so I have loved you; continue in My love. Concerning Marriage 1Co 7:1-11 Now concerning what you wrote to me: It is good for a man not to touch a woman. But, because of the fornications, let each have his own wife, and let each have her own husband. Let the husband give to the wife proper kindness, and likewise the wife also to the husband. The wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband. And likewise also the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife. Do not deprive one another, unless it is with consent for a time, so that you may give yourselves to fasting and prayer. And come together again so that Satan does not tempt you for your incontinence. But I speak this according to permission, not according to commandment. For I would that all men were even as I myself am. But each has his proper gift from God, one according to this manner and another according to that. I say therefore to the unmarried and the widows, It is good for them if they remain even as I. But if they do not have self-control, let them marry; for it is better to marry than to burn. And to the married I command (not I, but the Lord), a woman not to be separated from her husband. But if she is indeed separated, let her remain unmarried, or be reconciled to her husband. And a husband is not to leave his wife. Mat 19:3-11 And the Pharisees came to Him, tempting Him and saying to Him, Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for every cause? And He answered and said to them, Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning "made them male and female", and said, For this cause a man shall leave father and mother and shall cling to his wife, and the two of them shall be one flesh? Therefore they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate. They said to Him, Why did Moses then command to give a bill of divorce and to put her away? He said to them, Because of your hard-heartedness Moses allowed you to put away your wives; but from the beginning it was not so. And I say to you, Whoever shall put away his wife, except for fornication, and shall marry another, commits adultery; and whoever marries her who is put away commits adultery. His disciples said to Him, If this is the case of the man with his wife, it is not good to marry. But He said to them, Not all receive this word, except those to whom it is given. For there are some eunuchs who were born so from their mother's womb; and there are eunuchs who were made eunuchs by men; and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of Heaven's sake. He who is able to receive it, let him receive it. Paul continues with giving his judgment concerning those married to unbelieving idolaters, something Christ had never specifically addressed because of His Jewish audience (1 Cor. 7:12-17). In this he does not allude directly to the Words of Christ, but instead lays down rules of conduct in agreement with God’s original institution of marriage and Christ’s teaching. In this he gives a pattern for handling similar situations where there is no exact Scriptural parallel, that is drawing out principles from what is taught and applying them. He did not lay down a rule of conduct on his own authority without reference to what Christ taught. It should be mentioned as a side note for those who noticed that Paul though clearly alluding to Matthew 19 (note the parallel between celibacy as a gift and Christ saying it is given) he does not mention the exception clause. This means that either he was unaware of it, or he did not interpret it in the way most commonly received today. It is highly unlikely that he would have been unaware of it, and yet been aware of the words that follow immediately afterwards concerning celibacy being given, so it follows that he must not have interpreted it in the way it commonly is interpreted. Were that clause the main part of Christian teaching concerning divorce it would be mentioned several times and omitted in an instance or two rather than the reverse. Obedience to Secular Authority Rom 13:1-8 Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, for he is God's servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God's wrath on the wrongdoer. Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God's wrath but also for the sake of conscience. For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed. Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. Mat 22:15-22 Then the Pharisees went and plotted how to entangle him in his words. And they sent their disciples to him, along with the Herodians, saying, "Teacher, we know that you are true and teach the way of God truthfully, and you do not care about anyone's opinion, for you are not swayed by appearances. Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?" But Jesus, aware of their malice, said, "Why put me to the test, you hypocrites? Show me the coin for the tax." And they brought him a denarius. And Jesus said to them, "Whose likeness and inscription is this?" They said, "Caesar's." Then he said to them, "Therefore render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's." When they heard it, they marveled. And they left him and went away. Mar 12:28-34 And one of the scribes came up and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, asked him, "Which commandment is the most important of all?" Jesus answered, "The most important is, 'Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.' The second is this: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no other commandment greater than these." And the scribe said to him, "You are right, Teacher. You have truly said that he is one, and there is no other besides him. And to love him with all the heart and with all the understanding and with all the strength, and to love one's neighbor as oneself, is much more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices." And when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, "You are not far from the kingdom of God." And after that no one dared to ask him any more questions. On the true source of defilement Rom 14:14-23 I know and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself, but it is unclean for anyone who thinks it unclean. For if your brother is grieved by what you eat, you are no longer walking in love. By what you eat, do not destroy the one for whom Christ died. So do not let what you regard as good be spoken of as evil. For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. Whoever thus serves Christ is acceptable to God and approved by men. So then let us pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding. Do not, for the sake of food, destroy the work of God. Everything is indeed clean, but it is wrong for anyone to make another stumble by what he eats. It is good not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything that causes your brother to stumble. The faith that you have, keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the one who has no reason to pass judgment on himself for what he approves. But whoever has doubts is condemned if he eats, because the eating is not from faith. For whatever does not proceed from faith is sin. Col 2:20-23 Wherefore if ye be dead with Christ from the rudiments of the world, why, as though living in the world, are ye subject to ordinances, (Touch not; taste not; handle not; Which all are to perish with the using;) after the commandments and doctrines of men? Which things have indeed a shew of wisdom in will worship, and humility, and neglecting of the body; not in any honour to the satisfying of the flesh. Mar 7:14-23 And he called the people to him again and said to them, "Hear me, all of you, and understand: There is nothing outside a person that by going into him can defile him, but the things that come out of a person are what defile him." [If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.] And when he had entered the house and left the people, his disciples asked him about the parable. And he said to them, "Then are you also without understanding? Do you not see that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile him, since it enters not his heart but his stomach, and is expelled?" (Thus he declared all foods clean.) And he said, "What comes out of a person is what defiles him. For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person." On Unity 1Co 1:10 I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment. Joh 17:9-11 I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours. All mine are yours, and yours are mine, and I am glorified in them. And I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one. Undoubtedly Paul had heard something of Christ’s High Priestly prayer found in John 17, though it was not yet put down in a Gospel nor would be until after Paul’s death. Not only was the need for unity greatly emphasized by the apostle in other places as well but here in 1 Cor. 1:8-9 he refers to the keeping power of God immediately before mentioning the need for unity, almost as if he is thinking of John 17, which contains both themes interwoven. This casts an interesting possibility on how much of John’s material was available to the other Apostles and early disciples and perhaps the reason why he never wrote it earlier when there were more living witnesses and second-hand reporters of it. Exhortation to Desire the Gifts of the Spirit 1Co 12:31 But earnestly desire the higher gifts. And I will show you a still more excellent way. 1Co 14:1 Pursue love, and earnestly desire the spiritual gifts, especially that you may prophesy. Luk 11:5-13 And he said to them, "Which of you who has a friend will go to him at midnight and say to him, 'Friend, lend me three loaves, for a friend of mine has arrived on a journey, and I have nothing to set before him'; and he will answer from within, 'Do not bother me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed. I cannot get up and give you anything'? I tell you, though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of his impudence he will rise and give him whatever he needs. And I tell you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent; or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!" Our Heavenly Tabernacle prepared for us 2Co 5:1-8 For we know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this tent we groan, longing to put on our heavenly dwelling, if indeed by putting it on we may not be found naked. For while we are still in this tent, we groan, being burdened--not that we would be unclothed, but that we would be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee. So we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, for we walk by faith, not by sight. Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord. Joh 14:1-4 "Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. And you know the way to where I am going." Necessity of Being Born Again Gal 6:15 For neither circumcision counts for anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation. Joh 3:3 Jesus answered him, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God." One Fold One Shepherd Eph 2:14-18 For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. Joh 10:14-16 I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine. As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep. And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd. Conclusion In this post I desired to show just how much Paul relied upon Christ for his own teaching and conduct. I hope I was successful in that. It should also be noted that if I had included all the Old Testament Scriptures quoted or alluded to we would have the majority of his doctrinal teaching. Anything he brought out that was not specifically found either in the Words of Christ or the Old Testament was drawn forth from these by deduction. To show how He viewed his charge in this way and how he would not state things merely on his own authority, we look now at 1 Corinthians 4:6-7, “Now these things, brothers, I have figuratively applied to myself and Apollos for your sakes, in order that you may learn in us not to think beyond what is written, that none of you may be puffed up on behalf of one against the other. For who makes you differ from another? And what do you have that you did not receive? And if you did indeed receive what you have, why do you boast as though you did not receive it?” Here Paul makes the source of parties in the Church to consist in going beyond the Scripture, and this is very true. It is amazing but no one ever contends with as much earnestness as when they are trying to force something not in Scripture on someone else. Often people can say any old thing without upsetting someone, but if you touch their pet doctrine, which often is not in Scripture, they are up in arms. When we stay in Scripture and bind our thoughts to it, we have no room for parties, because all that we see is what God has put there and if we see more than another it is only because He has opened our eyes to understand what we read. He could do the same for any one else, so what can we boast of. May God help us all to rightly divide His Word! Amen.

On the True Method of Ministry and the Supremacy of God’s Word – Part 1 – James

As we look at the Epistle of James it becomes clear that James had heard the sermon on the mount and likely other teachings of Christ. As the brother of the Lord he had not believed in Christ prior to His resurrection, but yet Christ’s words must have had quite an impact on him, because roughly 30 years later he is drawing from these words. In this post I would just like to compare a few of James words with Christ in the Gospels. On the impermanence of riches Jas 1:9-11 Let the lowly brother boast in his exaltation, and the rich in his humiliation, because like a flower of the grass he will pass away. For the sun rises with its scorching heat and withers the grass; its flower falls, and its beauty perishes. So also will the rich man fade away in the midst of his pursuits. Mat 6:19-21 Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. On God’s goodness in His gifts Jas 1:17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. Mat 7:7-11 Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone? Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent? If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him? On the Tongue Jas 1:26 If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man's religion is vain. Jas 3:2-12 For we all stumble in many ways. And if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body. If we put bits into the mouths of horses so that they obey us, we guide their whole bodies as well. Look at the ships also: though they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs. So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things. How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire! And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell. For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind, but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so. Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and salt water? Can a fig tree, my brothers, bear olives, or a grapevine produce figs? Neither can a salt pond yield fresh water. Mat 12:34-37 O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things. But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned. On judging others Jas 2:12-13 So speak and so act as those who are to be judged under the law of liberty. For judgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment. Jas 4:11 Do not speak evil against one another, brothers. The one who speaks against a brother or judges his brother, speaks evil against the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge. Jas 4:12 There is only one lawgiver and judge, he who is able to save and to destroy. But who are you to judge your neighbor? Jas 5:9 Do not grumble against one another, brothers, so that you may not be judged; behold, the Judge is standing at the door. Mat 5:7 "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. Mat 7:1-5 Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when there is the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye. On our attitude in trials Jas 1:2-4 Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. Jas 5:10-11 As an example of suffering and patience, brothers, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. Behold, we consider those blessed who remained steadfast. You have heard of the steadfastness of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful. Mat 5:10-12 "Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. "Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. On being doers of the Word Jas 1:21-27 Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing. If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person's religion is worthless. Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world. Jas 2:17-26 So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. But someone will say, "You have faith and I have works." Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe--and shudder! Do you want to be shown, you foolish person, that faith apart from works is useless? Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar? You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works; and the Scripture was fulfilled that says, "Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness"--and he was called a friend of God. You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. And in the same way was not also Rahab the prostitute justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way? For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead. Jas 3:1 Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness. Mat 7:21-27 "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?' And then will I declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.' "Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it." Mat 5:13-32 "You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people's feet. "You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. "You have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.' But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, 'You fool!' will be liable to the hell of fire. So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. Come to terms quickly with your accuser while you are going with him to court, lest your accuser hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you be put in prison. Truly, I say to you, you will never get out until you have paid the last penny. "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall not commit adultery.' But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell. "It was also said, 'Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.' But I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of sexual immorality, makes her commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery. On Oaths Jas 5:12 But above all, my brothers, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or by any other oath, but let your "yes" be yes and your "no" be no, so that you may not fall under condemnation. Mat 5:33-37 "Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform to the Lord what you have sworn.' But I say to you, Do not take an oath at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. And do not take an oath by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. Let what you say be simply 'Yes' or 'No'; anything more than this comes from evil. Conclusion These are a few passages which show the parallel thought of James with Christ’s teaching and the sermon on the mount in particular. This is the essence of true ministry to take what God has said to think upon it and to draw out from it practical applications. While we are looking at James it would be fitting to briefly look at the Jerusalem council (Acts 15). That council is interesting in that Peter and Paul both gave witness of the miraculous work among the Gentiles, but it was when James showed that this was to be expected by quoting Scripture from the Septuagint that the issue was settled (Amos 9:11-12). Here it was shown that the remnant of the gentiles who called upon the name of the Lord should both belong to Israel and seek after God. Since they were to come as Gentiles James concluded that they were not required to become Jewish in manner and custom, and thus all that was required was an obedience to the Noahic covenant which is in force for all men as long as rainbows appear (Gen. 9:1-17). Therefore the council was not legislative, but rather acted as a witness to what God had already declared both by His works and in His Word. In closing this post I will remind us all of Christ’s words to the Saducees, “You are wrong, because you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God” (Matt. 22:29). Every true work of God will bear both of these stamps His Word and His power. Even so Lord come quickly! Amen.

On the True Method of Ministry and the Supremacy of God’s Word - Introduction

The more I read the Bible the more aware I am that much of the New Testament epistles are reiterations of the teaching of Christ, and of the Old Testament. This is worthy of note because sometimes we have a conception of the apostles as people with authority to lay down laws and institute doctrine, yet it was never so. In the great commission the apostles were told to teach their disciples all that I have commanded you which tacitly excludes enjoining anything which Christ has not commanded (Matt. 28:20). The apostles imparted in their teaching and writings what they had learned of Christ as the Holy Spirit brought it to their remembrance (John 14:26), something that He continues to do in our days as He takes what we have read and applies it to our situations and actions. Interestingly enough the Holy Spirit Himself does not teach of His own, but instead imparts what He hears, even as Christ did while on earth (John 7:16-18). It is also worthy of note in John 7:18, the Christ says that the one who speaks of himself seeks his own glory. Yet too often in the church more of human opinion, current fad and tradition is propagated than the Word of God. What is worse is that it is so well tolerated. One instance that I remember well is when a certain pastor I know was talking to me about a certain doctrine began by saying, “Well, there isn’t exactly a Scripture that states this, but…” That man said more against his doctrine right there than I ever could. Yet I was expected to not only assent but perhaps even teach the same. This is preposterous! There are 66 books in the Bible by common reckoning, thousands of topics, and hundreds of thousands of truths to be gleaned from it, yet I should consider very important to God something which He never even muttered and devote more time to that than what He thunders throughout! Thank God, I won’t do it. It is the Word of God that creates the spiritual new man in us when we are born again (1 Peter 1:23), and continues as food for that new man ever afterwards. If the church is an ecclesia – a called out assembly – it is the Word of God which calls us out. It is the Word of God that cleanses and sanctifies us (John 15:3;17:17). If it is by His Word that the bride that Christ redeemed to Himself by His death is made clean and prepared for Him (Eph. 5:25-27), then it is essential that His people receive this Word. If we take up pulpit time with things other than the Word – entertainment, human opinion, useless matters, then at best we are wasting washing time, and possibly we are actually befouling the bride with the smut of human opinion instead of washing her. There is no higher privilege than to deliver the Word of God to His people, it will prepare the Bride for the Bridegroom, so that He can see the travail of His soul and be satisfied. Consequently to fill up this time with trivialities is a great travesty. Even in the case of supernatural experiences and divine revelation, it must always be remembered that these illuminate that which is already stated in the Word and cannot, if they are true, run contrary to it. To show just how much the apostle’s writings were explanatory rather than asserting anything novel I intend to look at a few of the New Testament Epistles starting with James and see how the writers were actually drawing from Christ’s teaching in the Gospels. May God’s word run swiftly. Amen.

A Quick Thought on All Things Working for our Good

Recently I was studying another topic, and came across something that changed my thinking concerning how all things work together for our good. I am sure we all know Rom. 8:28, “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” I had always seen the working together in a passive light, but the word is an active one – sunergeo. That same word is used of God working miracles on behalf of the apostles preaching (Mark 16:20), of faith co-operating with works, and a couple of times in the sense of fellow worker or auxiliary (1 Cor. 16:16; 2 Cor. 6:1). So not only are all things passively going to work out for our good, but they are actively working to achieve God’s goal. In the same way that the tension of a bow gives and arrow more force, or the turbulence of the air the eagle more height so the distresses of this world propel the Christian forward. In a certain sense it is not in spite of these things that we triumph, but because of them. What message would George Fox and John Bunyan have had had they not known the dark nights of searching? Their struggles were both personal doubts they had to wrestle with, and God appointed trials to bring them and others into the light of day. God’s strength is and always had been made perfect in weakness. In whatever you are facing now, remember if you love the Lord and called according to His purpose, He has ordained every struggle you will face as a training ground to make you stronger than you could ever be without. Trials are not a necessary evil they are an indispensible tool to form you into what God intends you to be, and they will take you higher than you could ever go without them. May God lead us ever on! Amen.

Thoughts on 2 Timothy 2:2 Part 2 - Training up leaders

2Ti 2:2 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. God is interested in the next generation and in the passing on of His gospel from one generation to another. One of the reasons why Abraham was a friend of God and God chose him to bear the promise He gave him is found in Genesis 18:17-19, “And the LORD said, Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do; Seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the LORD, to do justice and judgment; that the LORD may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him.” It would not have served the eternal purpose of God to call Abraham, give him the promises so that he would be a blessing to all nations unless He knew Abraham would be faithful not only himself, but also that he would pass on the promises to the next generation so that the promise could continue. God is the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob - the God of the generations. Both Isaac and Jacob received the promise because of Abraham, yet it was also necessary that they enter into their own relationship with God to receive and pass on the promise. Actually the promise was not fulfilled in their lives, but only in the lives of their descendants since the only land they actually possessed in Canaan was what Abraham purchased as a burial place. This is what Hebrews 11:39-40 refers to, “And all these, though commended through their faith, did not receive what was promised, since God had provided something better for us, that apart from us they should not be made perfect.” These are only completed or made perfect when they receive the promise they lived and died for through those who follow after and enter into that promise. Abraham only receives the fulfillment of the promise and inherits Canaan through his descendants. Many times we reap where another person has sown, perhaps even unknown to us (John 4:35-38). Multitudes were reaped later where William Carey sowed yet he had almost no fruit himself for most of his life, but it was his ground-laying work especially in Bible translation that enabled the fruit to follow. Both the sower and reaper rejoice together in that the reward is shared between them the completion of the work not being possible to either by themselves. This is why the cloud of witnesses surrounds and looks upon the church militant awaiting for it to complete the work that was begun by those already passed on to be perfected and completed. Not only was passing on the promises and faith important in the life of Abraham, but in the Life of Christ one His major works was to train the disciples to follow after Him. It is in this sense in John 17:1-4 that Christ could say, “I have finished the work” even though the work of the cross was still before Him. Indeed the training of the disciples was one of the main things which made His work on the cross effective. Had He come and died for the sins of the world, but left no one as a witness of it the sacrifice would have had no effect on those for whom it was made. The Apostles received His message, bore Him witness and passed on all they had learned as the Holy Spirit brought it back to the memory. This is why Paul could refer to himself as a co-worker of God (2 Cor.6:1), and refer to the Church as the fullness of Him who fills all in all (Eph. 1:23), since as we are joined to Christ out of Him flow His works through us completing His work in the world in the absence of His bodily presence. Much more could be written on this, but it would be a digression here. Moses on realizing that God would not allow him to personally complete his life’s work of leading Israel out of Egypt and into Canaan, carried a deep burden to God that He would not leave Israel shepherdless, “Let the LORD, the God of the spirits of all flesh, set a man over the congregation, Which may go out before them, and which may go in before them, and which may lead them out, and which may bring them in; that the congregation of the LORD be not as sheep which have no shepherd.” God then supplied Joshua (Num. 27:16-20). King David having a deep desire to see a temple built for the Lord, but being forbidden to build it himself prepared the plan for it and laid up much of the provision for it and passed it on to Solomon (1 Chron. 28:9-21). This was a rich inheritance which David left for his son. Unfortunately not all men have the same attitude. Even righteous men such as Hezekiah sometimes take no thought for the following generations. Hezekiah on making a serious error, due to being lifted up in pride, was told by Isaiah that as a result his children would be carried to Babylon, but he was unmoved, as long as his own days were happy (2 Kings 20:16-19). This same attitude perhaps not as overtly can be seen in ministers who grow the church entirely around their own persona. One example of this is seen in ministries that have multiple congregations which have a service transmitted from the one auditorium into the other locations. The fact that one can do this shows that they are an effective speaker, but there is far more to ministry than effective speaking. If the leader passes on there will be almost no way anyone could take over such a work and it will disintegrate. A true leader’s fruit is not only seen in the response he gets in the pulpit, but more in who he trains to work with him. It would be far better to have congregations ministered to by other men under his periodic supervision than making himself an indispensible part of them. The irony is that it is possible to gain a huge following and have people view as a great success by being an actual failure in laying up nothing that will remain when you are gone. Some reasons why young leadership is not raised up 1. They cause problems Young up and coming ministers can cause more problems for a head pastor than anything else and the more potential the young minister has the greater the problems he might cause. In the gospels we see more of Peter than any other disciple. He always seems to open his mouth at the most inopportune times, tries to correct Jesus on one occasion, and when Christ’s intention is to surrender Himself he starts swinging his sword to defend Him, and then later denies Him. All of these actions created problems for Christ. They denied His message and ran counter to His purposes, yet He was still able to work with Peter. Had He not allowed Peter to develop He would have lost thousands of converts in the first years of the Church at the very least. Peter was a hard man to have as a disciple, but to not have him would have been far worse. Proverbs 14:4 tells us, “Where no oxen are, the crib is clean: but much increase is by the strength of the ox.” A barn with immaculately clean stalls and no noise is perhaps more pleasant to enter than one filled with cattle, but the one is like a ghost town, whereas the other is healthy and normal even if sometimes unpleasant. Cleaning up after cattle is not a fun job, but having no cattle to clean up after is doom for a farm. In the same way though young ministry creates problems lack of it is a far greater problem. 2. Friction and contention A strong leader can be a very difficult person to work under, especially for an emerging strong leader. In the time of the reformation Luther and Zwingli influenced many young men toward reform, but for every one they were able to channel into their movements they drove away dozens. Most of the stronger men whom they impacted they became antagonistic towards, in Zwingli’s case murderously so. Men like Grebel, Carlstadt, Denck were thrust out, and energy that could have been better spent in other endeavors was wasted in strife among brethren. There are countless other instances in history of these things. The problem between these leaders was somewhat doctrinal, but it also had a lot to do with jealousy. Luther especially was sensitive to an disagreement with him on anything, because he felt that since he had gotten the ball rolling in the reformation everyone should pay deference to him. There was wrong on all sides. Every one of these leaders, as well as we today, could learn from Philippians 2:3-5, “Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves. Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others. Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus…” There is much that is done through strife and vainglory and it cripples the Church and produces needless contention. In many cases organizations become caricatures of their leaders having their faults and peculiarities in a greater measure. This is because it is far easier to copy these than to learn the internal and too often outward conformity is substituted for unity of spirit. It is hardly possible to have two people more dissimilar in outward form then John the Baptist and Jesus, yet the same Spirit motivated them. The locusts are listed as wise because they are able to follow each other, without having any leader or king, when one begins to move they all follow as one (Prov. 30:27). In the same way every believer should be willing to listen to any other believer and submit to them if what they say is right (Eph. 5:21). Jan Hus pointed this out to his accusers who were angered that he continued to preach after he was forbidden, and showed that he as a superior was willing to change his judgment when his students showed him that he had misjudged a situation. 3. Inability to release control One of the most wonderful things that God has created as an expression of Himself is the heart of a mother. A mother will give of herself to ensure the survival of her offspring. One Scripture where this is seen very clearly is in 1 Kings 3:16-27 where Solomon decides the case of the two women claiming the same child. The true mother was willing to see her child grow up never acknowledging her as its mother, and even to give the love which would be her due to another just so long as it lived! The life and growth of the child was all that really mattered, not who got the credit, nor who was in control. It was that attitude that won her back her child. A healthy living child can be a handful to keep in order, but the alternative is much worse. Juana la Loca is a tragic figure in history. A Spanish queen and mother of Charles V she had the misfortune to be married to a philandering husband. When he died she had the opportunity to have what she had always wanted - him by her side, and she had his coffin carried with her everywhere she travelled. However, there is a vast difference between winning your husband’s heart and carrying his coffin around. Something dead is easy to control, something living is impossible. God gives commands yet He also allows a large measure of personal freedom. He told Adam and Eve that they could eat of all the fruit but one, He did not micromanage which one they were eating of at which particular time. There are many things which God can command which no man can. When He imposes a burden He also gives grace to bear it, when man imposes a burden man must supply the strength. If God gave grace for every man-made burden imposed by a superior than the Catholic Church would not have the problem they have always had with clerical celibacy! The Apostle Paul, while enjoining obedience to those who were slaves, forbid Christians to become slaves of men (1 Cor. 7:21-23), so that instead we can be slaves of Christ. There are three basic facets of slavery, and if a leader crosses these he is overstepping God’s law. 1. Vows of perpetual obedience It is one thing to submit to leadership, God requires that, but if leadership requires a vow of absolute and perpetual obedience in all things, we have become a slave of man and are no longer free to be a slave of Christ. This is one of the greatest sins of the monastic system. Submission is not mindless obedience, and God will hold us accountable for what we do, we cannot do as the Jesuits and say, “as long as I obey I am fine and if I do evil because it is commanded than the guilt is on the superior.” 2. Renunciation of property Forbidding ownership of property is another attribute of slavery. This is also another evil of monasticism. When God made Adam and Eve He gave them dominion over the earth. Dominion implies right of ownership. It also bears responsibility. God desires man to own what He gives them, to use it as they choose, and He will hold them accountable in the end. Those who have more will be judged more severely. 3. Disposal in Marriage Slaves as the property of their masters were given in marriage as the master saw fit. It is wise for a Christian to seek godly counsel before entering into marriage. Counsel, however, is not command. It is giving what the person believes is the mind of the Lord. It is up to the one receiving counsel to judge for himself whether it is or is not the mind of the Lord, and to act accordingly. Some might think that this destroys counsel and that none will listen without some compulsion. The opposite is true. If a man will not listen to God speaking to his own conscience, why should he listen to a man saying he is giving the mind of the Lord. If he is willing to listen to the one he will listen to the other. Compulsion and manipulation will never hold anyone. Even if they put up with it, if they are not hearing God’s voice and obeying out of a forced compliance, are they really His sheep? His sheep hear His voice and follow Him (John 10:27). If you do not believe that a person can hear from God for guidance unless you tell him and perhaps compel him, do you really believe he is one of Christ’s sheep? If he is than he will hear the shepherds voice and obey it, if he is not nothing will keep him anyway. It should also be mentioned that counsel is not generally the origin of a course of action, but either a confirmation or check on it. There are certainly many other issues relating to training leaders but these are the ones that I personally see and am convinced of. May God grant that we all learn of Him, the Good Shepherd, how to lead!

Thoughts on 2 Timothy 2:2 - Part 1

2Ti 2:2 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. This verse is Paul’s charge to Timothy for the preservation of Christian doctrine and leadership in the Church for succeeding generations. He is to preserve it by passing on what he has learned from Paul onto others who will also pass on the truth that they have learned. This is the essence of discipleship, and is what Christ was commanding when He commanded us to go and make disciples of all nations (Matt. 28:19). With this in mind I would like to look at a few points on the doctrine to be taught and Paul’s ministry in teaching it, so that we can see how the early Church operated with so much success and learn from them. 1. Timothy was to teach what Paul had taught in the presence of many witnesses The doctrine which Timothy was to teach was that which Paul had taught openly with many witnesses. Christianity unlike pagan philosophy and cults has no esoteric and exoteric doctrine. It does not teach one thing to the masses and then another different thing to its inner circle. While Christ used parables to test the hearts of His hearers, these parables taught essentially the same things found in His open teaching and He could say to the high priest at His trial, “I have spoken openly to the world. I have always taught in synagogues and in the temple, where all Jews come together. I have said nothing in secret. Why do you ask me? Ask those who have heard me what I said to them; they know what I said” (John 18:19-21). Truth can go about openly and overcome, it is falsehood that has to enter stealthily in the side-door like a gossiped rumor – the ill-omened caterpillar requiring many a silk thread of deceit until it can morph into a moth. The truth is a hardier being – the light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it (John 1:5). This verse also has reference to pretended apostolic traditions. What Paul passed on was publicly taught and given over and was in consonance with if not identical to what he wrote in his epistles. Thus anything at variance with his plain writings can have no authority as a tradition. What Timothy was to pass on (our word tradition means what is passed on or delivered – the thought of delivering over also gave us another word from the same root – traditor, or traitor) was what is found in the public writings and discourses of the apostles which we have in our Bible. 2. Paul’s pattern he gave to Timothy The pattern of life that Paul followed can be clearly seen in his address to the elders at Miletus. This was a crucial time in Paul’s life where he would soon be facing the possibility of death in Jerusalem and on the way there he shares his own burden for ministry with the elders of Ephesus, and reminds them of his own conduct. Act 20:17-36 Now from Miletus he sent to Ephesus and called the elders of the church to come to him. And when they came to him, he said to them: "You yourselves know how I lived among you the whole time from the first day that I set foot in Asia, serving the Lord with all humility and with tears and with trials that happened to me through the plots of the Jews; how I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable, and teaching you in public and from house to house, testifying both to Jews and to Greeks of repentance toward God and of faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. And now, behold, I am going to Jerusalem, constrained by the Spirit, not knowing what will happen to me there, except that the Holy Spirit testifies to me in every city that imprisonment and afflictions await me. But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God. And now, behold, I know that none of you among whom I have gone about proclaiming the kingdom will see my face again. Therefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all of you, for I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God. Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood. I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things, to draw away the disciples after them. Therefore be alert, remembering that for three years I did not cease night or day to admonish everyone with tears. And now I commend you to God and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified. I coveted no one's silver or gold or apparel. You yourselves know that these hands ministered to my necessities and to those who were with me. In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.'" And when he had said these things, he knelt down and prayed with them all. In order to see how Timothy was to lead others and pass down what he had heard, we will look at a few points from this speech. Points of Paul’s conduct:  Humility in his conduct (v.19) The sine qua non of Christian leadership is humility. Christ, Himself, contrasted the worldly leadership with Christian leadership saying, “You know that those who are considered rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. But it shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Mark 10:42-45). Peter having heard this repeats it in his charge to his own leaders using the same word Christ used - katakurieuō, to domineer or subdue, reminding them that that is not the way to lead the flock (1 Pet. 5:3). The virtue of humility is not a natural one for man and in the Gospels we see the apostles struggling with it, but as they saw the example of Christ something of His character began to transform them. Paul ministered in humility, perhaps not perfectly in that perhaps some blame would attach itself to him over his rupture with Barnabas (Acts 15:37-40), yet in another disagreement with his fellow-worker Apollos he showed that he had grown in humility by responding with grace (1 Cor. 16:12). He also showed great humility in his opening address to the Corinthians in calling them saints even though at the time of his writing they were not acknowledging his authority (1 Cor. 1:1-2). In 2 Corinthians he also contrasts his own humble behavior with the arrogant behavior of other so called ministers which was tolerated and even encouraged by the Corinthians, “For you gladly bear with fools, being wise yourselves! For you bear it if someone makes slaves of you, or devours you, or takes advantage of you, or puts on airs, or strikes you in the face. To my shame, I must say, we were too weak for that!” (2 Cor. 11:19-21). Not only did Paul not exalt himself in the ministry, but he apparently was surprised that any church would even allow it.  Constant teaching in Public meetings and house meetings (v.20) Paul took every opportunity he could make to teach from the Scriptures in public and private places. During the reformation, many of the reformers took similar steps by having public Scripture readings with an explanation of them not only on Sundays but every morning for all who wished to attend.  Willingness to lay down everything for the Gospel (v.24) Paul was willing to go to Jerusalem without regard to the danger. It was holding nothing back from Christ that was the source of his joy. One of the attributes of those who overcome the devil is that they do not love their lives even unto death (Rev. 12:11).  Sharing everything necessary (v.20, 26-27) Paul held nothing back that people needed to hear he was a faithful watchman and so could say he was innocent of the blood of his hearers (Ezek. 33:1-9)  Drawing disciples after Christ not himself (v. 30) One of Paul’s heartaches as he was saying goodbye to the elders at Miletus was knowing that even some them would eventually depart from the faith. Not only would wolves come from without, but former friends would bring in division. The reason was that they desired to draw disciples after themselves. John the Baptist showed the attitude of a true minister in John 3:28-30, “You yourselves bear me witness, that I said, 'I am not the Christ, but I have been sent before him.' The one who has the bride is the bridegroom. The friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom's voice. Therefore this joy of mine is now complete. He must increase, but I must decrease." The friend of the bridegroom was used as a go between among the couple to exchange messages and facilitate their relationship. This is precisely the purpose of Christian ministry to pass on Christ’s messages to His bride-to-be and do our utmost to see her fall in love with Him. If you can imagine how a man would feel if his friend betrayed his trust and used his position as a go between to win the bride’s affections for himself, then you will begin to see how Christ will view ministers who draw people after themselves instead of Him. One simple test of a ministry is in how its adherents operate. If all of them have an attitude that if you doubt their leader you are not of God, then something is wrong. Paul contended neither for himself, nor for Apollos, nor for Peter but for Christ (1 Cor. 3:4-7). Count Zinzindorf was a great man of God, and the revival at Herrnhut sparked the world missions movement, and had a hundred year unbroken 24 hour prayer chain. Yet both John Wesley and George Whitfield had a falling out with the Moravians and even wrote against them – partly because they believed some second hand information that was false. Wesley came to realize his mistake and in his later years became a friend of the Brethren again, Whitfield probably would have had he lived longer. All three of these men were mightily used by God and yet were at one time at outs with each other, today we see all three of them as part of a greater holiness movement, but at the time their differences seemed greater than their similarities. If a follower of one of these men had thought that since the other two were not with his leader they were not following Christ, he would have rejected 2 other great ministries which God mightily used. When this attitude of my leader is the only one is combined with miracles that serve no purpose but to exalt the minister performing them, and is further coupled with questionable doctrine, a Christian should seriously question the source of the ministry. One example of this sort of minister in church history is Martin of Tours. Thankfully God is the ultimate judge, but there are some people I have no desire to emulate.  Not preaching with a motive of financial gain (Ezek. 34; 1 Pet. 5:2; Titus 1:11; 1 Tim. 3:3,8; Titus 1:7) One of the qualifications that Paul gave to Timothy and Titus for both deacons and elders was that they be free from covetousness (Titus 1:7; 1 Tim. 3:3,8). Peter also exhorted his elders not to bear rule for the sake of money (1 Peter 5:2). This is one of the big pitfalls for ministry and was one of the things God reproved the shepherds of Israel for in Ezekiel 34. This sin leads to other sins and can lead to teaching false doctrine (Titus 1:11). This is especially seen in the life of the prophet Balaam. This is only a brief sketch of Paul’s leadership practices. May God grant that we learn these lessons from him even as he learned them from Christ! Amen.

A Quick Look at Jeremiah 32:6-8 as it Regards Guidance

This post is more intended as a thinking-out-loud post rather than a dogmatic one, but recently as I waslistening to a preacher mention these verses and read them I was struck by a thought of how these verses can overturn some misconceptions people sometimes have concerning God speaking to us. Jer. 32:6-8 Jeremiah said, "The word of the LORD came to me: Behold, Hanamel the son of Shallum your uncle will come to you and say, 'Buy my field that is at Anathoth, for the right of redemption by purchase is yours.' Then Hanamel my cousin came to me in the court of the guard, in accordance with the word of the LORD, and said to me, 'Buy my field that is at Anathoth in the land of Benjamin, for the right of possession and redemption is yours; buy it for yourself.' Then I knew that this was the word of the LORD. It should be noted that this all took place in the tenth year of Zedekiah that these events took place and thus it was near the end after more than 20 years as a prophet that this happened. Jeremiah receives a word concerning an event that would happen that day, and the impression that he should buy this field. It was a sign because at the time of this purchase the city was in the middle of a siege which the next year would result in its total ruin. Jeremiah’s purchase was showing his own faith that what he had foretold concerning the return after 70 years would be fulfilled, literally putting his money where his mouth was. What I would like to focus on in this portion, though, is the way he handled this word. Jeremiah had a word come to him which he believed was from God. It contained specific details of what would happen. Having received the word the details then occurred, and Jeremiah was confirmed in the course of action he should take, and also knew beyond all doubt that the word was from God, writing, “Then I knew that this was the word of the Lord.” This shows us that even experienced prophets do not always know that every impression they feel is from God is from God. Jeremiah received what he believed to be a word from God and yet he waited to see the details line up before he said anything to anyone. If you read this portion of Scripture it seems that Jeremiah is alerting Baruch to this event right after the fact. It was only after the prediction came to pass that Jeremiah knew (infallibly) that this was the word of God. Thus even prophets should wait and ponder words of personal guidance to see if events match their impression and then they will know what is God’s word, which is tried seven times, and what is mere human impression. People sometimes think that prophets have an automatic infallible ear, but Jeremiah only knew that it was God’s word to him when he saw it coming to pass. Practically this should be a test that we subject our own things we feel God speaking to us to, namely, if it contains certain events or details, do they come to pass? It is wise to hold our peace when we feel something and lay it before the Lord, if it is of Him it will work out, if not we can be sure it was our own idea. Afterwards we can mention it to others even as Jeremiah did. May God guide us until death and receive us to glory! Amen.

Lips overflowing with Grace

Psalm 45, one of the Messianic Psalms written for Solomon but looking beyond him to Christ reads in verse 2, “You are the fairest of the sons of men; grace is poured into Your lips; therefore God has blessed You forever.” The thought is contained that not only is grace poured into the lips of the Messiah, but that this grace overflows and pours out from His lips. Christ was able to answer all people at all times with grace, He was able to bridle His tongue and was thus truly the perfect Man (James 3:2). In this post I would like to look at just how Christ showed lips of grace, so that we can see how far we often fall short of it and learn to be like Him. Since what a man is truly like is most often manifest in times of difficulty – George Washington was a man of very guarded temper, yet he forgot himself at Monmouth and when first hearing of St. Clair's debacle and these two instances are the only times when he was ever known to swear. Even the Apostle Paul did not always respond perfectly in his tests as we will see later here, but Christ shows His divinity in that the harder the trial the more admirable was His speech. I would like to look at a few instances in Christ's life now and if nothing else we will learn why the inhabitants of heaven cannot help but cry, “worthy is the Lamb!” 1. How He handled betrayal Christ's response to Judas in the garden is amazing. While He had spoken strong words of warning to him in the upper room prior to the betrayal (Matt. 26:21-24) perhaps as a last measure to save his soul or at least leave him without excuse, yet in the garden His response could not be more mild. He does not revile him, but instead gives the most mild expostulation possible, “Judas, would you betray the Son of Man with a kiss?” Judas is that really what you are capable of, to use the closest sign of friendship as a sign of betrayal? There was no vindictiveness or rancour in Christ's behavior to Judas, but rather sorrow for who Judas was – what he had willingly become. 2. How He responded to gross injustice The trials of Jesus are interesting if for no other reason than that they show a total and complete disregard for law. The two legal systems that antiquity passed on to modern society and are recognized as most just are the Jewish and Roman, and both legal systems were entirely set aside by the judges in Christ's trial. Roman law required strictness of accusation. If a man was tried it had to be for a specific offense, at a specific time, yet when Pilate asked what charge was to be brought against Christ he received a reply that would have been grounds for dismissal in any ordinary trial, “If he were not an evildoer, we would not have brought Him here” (John 18:30). Other anomalies of this Roman trial include but are not limited to: pronouncing a not guilty verdict but not releasing the prisoner but instead offering Him in an exchange; followed by another not guilty verdict, and a flogging; and finally a third not guilty verdict resulting in the crucifixion. Christ's demeanor through all of this was outstanding. Actually He was not the one on trial, it was the whole world system and all its hypocrisy and time serving that was on trial and it and its ministers were found sorely wanting as the came up close to the Judge of all who brings forth His righteousness every morning. Prior to the Roman trial (in this small post we will not be examining the minor trial before Herod, which was really Pilates first hand-washing attempt) were the Jewish trials. These were likewise highly improper by Jewish law. The most notable irregularities involve the timing and secrecy of the trial (night time trials and secret trials were unheard of, because it was necessary that witnesses be able to come forward, this was especially true in regard to capitol crimes). Another major irregularity involves Christ being asked directly concerning His doctrine. All legal proceedings in following Mosaic law required two or three witnesses, and unlike in Roman law, torture and intimidation could not be used to extort a confession. It is from this Mosaic legal basis that the United States gets its fifth ammendment in the bill of rights. Yet Christ was directly questioned concerning His teachings in a deliberate attempt to trap Him in His words, was given no advocate, and had the judge also playing the part of prosecutor. When He brought attention to the illegality of the proceedings and requested that witnesses be produced to His words since He had never taught secretly, He was struck on the face. At this point Christ shows His divine dignity, rather than becoming rightly indignant, as even the Apostle Paul later did in a similar situation (Acts 23:1-3), He merely asks that if He had said something wrong let it be shown Him. After the false witnesses had been produced and had contradicted each other without suffering the ordinary consequences, Christ as the faithful and true Witness indicted Himself by His response to the oath of the High Priest, because to not come forward at that point would have been sin (Lev. 5:1). Through all of His trial He shows Himself to be above reproach in everything He did. While Paul had to apologize for his outburst, though it was honestly deserved, Christ kept His composure throughout His longer and even more unjust ordeal. 3. His Words to the Mourning Women Another amazing outflowing of grace from the lips of Christ is found in His address to the women who were customarily mourning for His death, because He was dying without offspring. He looked beyond His own suffering of the time, which had included a merciless flogging and beaten face, and plucked out beard, and had compassion for what His people who had rejected Him would endure, saying, "Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. For behold, the days are coming when they will say, 'Blessed are the barren and the wombs that never bore and the breasts that never nursed!' Then they will begin to say to the mountains, 'Fall on us,' and to the hills, 'Cover us.' For if they do these things when the wood is green, what will happen when it is dry?" (Luke 23:28-31). Furthermore Christ while on the cross asked for forgiveness for those who killed Him, and welcomed the first penitent sinner, who had formerly reviled Him into His kingdom. All of these acts of grace flowed out in His time of greatest anguish. May God grant that we also are able to show a small measure of the grace that poured from Christ's lips in our own speech. Amen.

Hannah

Hannah was a remarkable woman, who became the mother of an even more remarkable son – Samuel, who carried the nation of Israel from the end of the time of the judges into the reign of their first king and the anointing of the second king. The story of Hannah does not start with a promise instead it starts with a problem. 1Sa 1:1-2 “There was a certain man of Ramathaim-zophim of the hill country of Ephraim whose name was Elkanah the son of Jeroham, son of Elihu, son of Tohu, son of Zuph, an Ephrathite. He had two wives. The name of the one was Hannah, and the name of the other, Peninnah. And Peninnah had children, but Hannah had no children.” Hannah was barren. This was a horrible reproach in those times, and in Hannah’s case one made worse by the behavior of her husband’s other wife. Hannah’s character is seen in that instead of retaliating at the insults, she went to the Lord. Yet emotionally this trial was very difficult for her, and she was so vexed that she would not eat. Clearly this was a problem and a need. Yet there is a greater need here than may be readily apparent. God had a need. He needed a prophet. The word of the Lord was rare in those days and the priests were leading the people into sin instead of into the knowledge of God’s ways. God’s burden was for the whole nation and carried into account the succeeding generations, at this point all Hannah was interested in was a son. Scripture tells us that God had closed Hannah’s womb (v. 6). So this trial was not caused by sin or the devil or anything else. It was brought about by God to bring Hannah into a place where instead of just carrying her own burden she begins to catch a glimpse of God’s burden. As the years pass by Hannah becomes more desperate, eventually she is so overcome with her need that she vows to give the son back to the Lord and have him consecrated as a Nazarite from birth. This is what God was waiting for. Hannah did not say these things lightly, she was actually so emotionally wrought as she was praying that the high priest, Eli thought she was drunk. Again Hannah’s character is shown in how she handles being misunderstood. When she could have been very angry at what happened, and even offended, she mildly explains herself to Eli (v. 15-16). Eli then pronounces a blessing upon her. At this point Hannah manifests a rest of faith, having received the word of God from the priest, she went home with a cheerful face and ate. Emotionally she came to peace by resting in God’s promise even though nothing had changed at all. Lastly Hannah fulfilled her vow to the Lord after Samuel was born. After she did that, God granted her even more children. To sum up the points I see in Hannah’s life to emulate if we want to see our prayers answered: 1. Take you burden to God 2. If He requires something from you give it, don’t just ask for your own needs, meet His and others needs 3. Do not become offended if you are misunderstood 4. If God speaks rest in His Word 5. Fulfill what you have promised unto the Lord in your distress May God give us all hearts like Hannah’s. Amen