A New Blog: Upward Call

I haven't been updating Crossviews for a while, and that's because my ministry has been undergoing some changes. So I'm starting a new blog, "Upward Call", that reflects those changes. Upward Call is all about the church and its mission in the world. I invite you to visit the blog, and if you like it, click the "Follow" button.

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We Don't Lose Heart

"Therefore, having this ministry by the mercy of God, we do not lose heart."

- 2 Corinthians 4:1

The Apostle Paul's letters to the Corinthians are two of my favorite books in the Bible. They have ministered to me time and again, by reminding me of the gospel, and what it means for my life as a believer and pastor.

Our Weakness

I don't suppose many of you who read my blog are pastors, but you have your own life to face. And unless you're one of the few souls who lead a "charmed life," your life is complicated, difficult, and messy. But if the problem were only outside ourselves, it might not be so hard to bear. But the truth is, we ourselves are complicated, difficult, and messy, because we're often weak, unwise, fragile, confused, and most of all, sinful. We may have friends and counselors, but they will never be able to meet all our needs or compensate for our inadequacies.

Sure, we might not always feel this way. But such times are only just around the corner. In fact, for some people -- those in particularly difficult circumstances, or with a naturally gloomy disposition, or with a troubled personal history that has left deep marks, for example -- the feelings of inadequacy, disappointment, fear, and anger can be overwhelming and can linger for a long time, despite their best efforts to deal with them.

The Importance of Trials

Such times are crucial to our own growth, the encouragement of others, and ultimately, God's glory. It's an immense blessing for a believer to prove to himself and to others that his faith, and the gospel he professes, are real and substantial (Rom. 5:3-5). And that is most clearly seen in the midst of trials. That's why the Apostle James tells us to "Count it all joy... when you meet trials of various kinds" (Jam. 1:3).

Trials present great opportunities for growth, as well as great danger for our souls and ministries. A lack of faith or selfishness can cause a believer to "lose heart" during such times. This, in turn, can have not insignificant consequences.

Focusing on God's Grace

That's why Paul's example is so important to believers. Given the burden of his ministry and the troubles that he continuously faced, he had more reason than anyone to lose heart. Why didn't he?

In 2 Corinthians 4:1, he tells us one reason. Engraved upon his heart was the truth that his ministry -- and his entire life, for that matter -- was only by the grace of God.

We become disheartened when we don't get enough appreciation for our hard work and sacrifice. Grace says we don't deserve any of it.

We become disheartened when people don't respond the way we hoped they would. Grace says it's a privilege just to be used by God at all.

We become disheartened when we feel alone, forgotten, and neglected. Grace says God will never leave His child alone, God will never forget, and God will never neglect.

May the Word of God enable all of us not to lose heart.

Listening: What & How

These verses are the tail end of a passage about the importance of "hearing" the gospel. This passage is, in turn, part of a larger one spanning from verses 1 to 34, regarding the "mystery of the kingdom," and the Lord Jesus' use of parables.

The Lord challenges us, "Pay attention to what you hear." The parallel passage in Luke 8:18 reads, "Take care then how you hear". He then warns us that WHAT we choose to listen to, and HOW we listen will determine whether we are included or excluded from God's kingdom.

WHAT WE LISTEN TO

Health food has gained a lot of ground in the past years. We're more and more concerned about what goes into our physical bodies.

We should be even more concerned about what we allow into our minds and souls. I'll never forget John MacArthur's sermon on Psalm 19, especially this great insight about how God's word makes wise the "simple". 

Simple is a word in the Hebrew that basically means ignorance. But, it has a concrete idea to it that I think is fascinating. It basically comes from a root [word] that means an open door. And the idea of being simple-minded is the idea of an open door. You ever hear people say, "Well I'm open minded?" That's a public statement of ignorance. Everything goes in and everything goes out. It is the inability to discern. 

To say you're open minded, a Hebrew would say to you, "Well close the door! You need to know what to keep in and what to keep out." You have a door on your house for that reason. You keep it closed to keep some things in like children and heat and air conditioning and whatever. And you open it only when you want to let something or someone in. The door is a point of discretion. 

You shouldn't be proud that you let everything in and everything out. Close the door. The word of God does that for you. It teaches you discernment. It teaches you to distinguish. This is critical in producing wisdom. It takes the simple and makes the simple wise....”

As believers, we should be more picky about what we listen to than vegans are about their diet.

HOW WE LISTEN

It's not enough to make sure that we're listening to biblical teaching, however. There are countless people who sit under the faithful preaching of the Word, Sunday after Sunday, but whose lives are poor indications that they even go to church at all!

We need to be sure we're listening correctly. Our attitude should be characterized by

• Dependence - "I need to hear this." (Joh. 6:68), "I need grace to submit and obey this" (Luk. 8:10; Jer. 17:9)
• Praise - "O Lord, just as the Bible says, You really are ______"
• Repentance - "In what way am I falling short of God's perfect standard? How offensive is this to God?" (Psa. 139:23-24)
• Trust - "O Lord, as painful/challenging as this message is, I know it's for my good." (Jer. 17:7-8)
• Obedience - "I will do what will please the Lord." (Mat. 21:28-31)

May these serve as important reminders for us.

In Response to "Radical"

I'll keep this review simple and limit myself to answering one question.

Would I recommend David Platt's book, Radical?

 And the short answer is no.

It's not that it's a bad book. It's not. David Platt's theology, where it emerges in his book, seems to be fairly sound.

His stories and arguments are challenging, and he grounds them fairly well in Scripture.

Why I Wouldn't Recommend It

All things considered, it's an ok book. But there's a lot of better stuff out there, especially by those who are closely associated with Reformed circles. Their stuff might not be as emotionally moving, or printed in such a eye-friendly format as Radical, but their theology is deep and rich.

They have a more sober and mature understanding of the church, and therefore are less likely to romanticize what goes on in churches suffering persecution and oppression. These persecuted churches are often full of unbiblical doctrines that even compromise their understanding of the gospel. Of course, who's to say whether these people really believe the true gospel, even though they express their faith in ways that make better-taught Christians very uncomfortable? Who's to say whether they just need to grow more in their understanding of Scripture?

But the bottom-line is, these churches must not be romanticized, as if they're the ideal that more stable, better-taught churches should aspire to. Unfortunately, this is precisely the mistake that Platt makes (or, at least, allows his readers to make) throughout his book.

What Is Our Basic Problem?

One last thing. The gospel is central to the life of the church. Get the gospel wrong, and everything else down the line will go awry. If the diagnosis is wrong, the treatment will be, too.

Thankfully, Platt seems to appreciate this. He even devotes the entire second chapter of his book to "Discovering the Truth and Beauty of the Gospel". At first reading, it seemed to be pretty complete. God is a holy Judge who cannot tolerate sin. We have sinned and deserve God's judgment and wrath (yes, he actually uses that word, which we should be grateful for). Christ bore the penalty of sin on the cross, so that we, by surrendering to Him, could be saved.

But as I continued reading, I found myself wondering why I disagreed with his thinking on so many points. How could we differ so much in our ideas of church and missions, when we believed the same gospel? Platt, to his credit, consistently bases his arguments on the gospel truths he lays out in Chapter 2. So, why the disagreements?

I finally realized that he didn't really dwell on what sin is. He used the term, but he didn't take the time to really define it. In particularly, he didn't lay out clearly that sin is essentially a rebelling against God. It's first and foremost about offending God, not hurting other people. At the risk of oversimplification, I'd say that because the book as a whole glossed over this foundational truth, its idea of the gospel, while largely true, was inadequate. Therefore, the book's ideas about church and missions were significantly skewed.

The basic problem of American Christians is not "the American dream." They have the same basic problem as all Christians do the world over -- a sinful heart. And we need to do more than agree with this truth. We need to make it clear and make sure it gets worked out in our theology and in our lives.

What Not to Miss About the INC Scandal

About a month ago, scandal broke out within the Philippine-based organization called the Iglesia Ni Cristo (INC, or Church of Jesus Christ).¹ It began when a video went viral, in which Angel Manalo and Cristina "Tenny" Villanueva Manalo, son and widow of the former INC executive minister "Ka Erdy" Manalo, called for help from their fellow members, claiming that their lives were in danger. Other discontented INC members immediately took the opportunity to air their grievances. Most notable of these are Isaias Samson Jr., the former editor of PASUGO, the organization's monthly publication, and Roel Rosal, a former minister who claims to that he was expelled for exposing corrupt practices among certain officials.² The most significant allegations these men leveled against the INC were illegal detention of ministers and internal corruption within the group's heirarchy.

Responding swiftly and decisively to these 'divisive' and rebellious acts, the INC leadership expelled Angel and Tenny Manalo, as well as sympathizers who gathered outside their home on July 24. Samson was expelled soon after, and a charge of libel has been filed against him.

Meanwhile, the DOJ and NBI have begun investigating the alleged case of illegal detention. While Justice Secretary Leila De Lima has received much criticism and abuse from the INC, she seems to be unperturbed, and continues to enjoy the support of Malacañang.

"Not A Doctrinal Issue"

It's clear that people on both sides of the rift believe that the central issue has nothing to do with the organization's doctrines, but only with its leadership and authority structure. Angel and Tenny Manalo, Samson, Rosal, and other excommunicated members have consistently professed their continuing loyalty to the 'church'. Samson's lawyer has stated their perspective clearly:

This is not a schism. This is not a doctrinal issue. This is an issue of the frailty and, in some, instances criminal behavior of persons, whom we will later identify in the appropriate cases. His trust in God remains.

But There Really Is A Doctrinal Issue

Clearly, the intention of the dissenters was not to question INC doctrines, to which they still adhere. Rather, they only wanted to resist the allegedly corrupt leadership. But by provoking their opponents to expel them from the church, they have unintentionally exposed one of the most glaring absurdities in their beliefs: that salvation is dependent upon church membership and complete submission to authorities.


One has to ask the question: Assuming the INC doctrines are correct, what happened the moment these former members were formally expelled from the INC? Did God withdraw their salvation?


The obvious answer, based on their doctrine, is 'yes.' But the absurdity of it becomes clear in the case of Ms. Sarah Manuel, who rushed to the house of Angel and Tenny Manalo after seeing their video online. She was not looking for trouble, much less did she intend to defy her organization's leaders. Nevertheless, she was expelled because her knee-jerk sympathy was interpreted as defiance of the church's leadership. And having been expelled, she, according to their doctrine, has now lost her salvation.

Salvation Is From the Inside Out

If there's one thing that we shouldn't miss about this fiasco, it is how flippantly eternal life can be gained and lost according to the INC's doctrines. This is because they have completely misunderstood the fact that true salvation is a gift of God to individuals, not only to the church. And it not only involves forgiveness of sins, but freedom from sins. In other words, true salvation confers not only a legal status of 'righteous', but new life in Christ, who promises to His sheep,

I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand. I and the Father are one. (John 10:28-30)

And by the way, according to 2 Corinthians 5:17, "If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come."

One wonders how they badly their ministers have to twist and torture Scripture in order to explain away those verses, and many others like them.

---

1 (Those who are familiar with the INC know that their biggest deviation from biblical Christianity is their denial of the Triune God as revealed in Scripture, and of the divinity of Jesus Christ.) ^↩
2 GMA News provides a helpful timeline of events relating to the crisis.^↩

'Good Kids' Need Grace Just As Much as Other Sinners

Every year my church holds a baptismal ceremony as part of its membership process, and one of the things I look forward to most are the testimonies. They're are always diverse – a wonderful reminder of God's manifold grace in His church.

This year, it was especially encouraging to listen to Sarah (not her real name). We often look for God's grace in the dramatic and extravagant. But her testimony reminded me that God's grace is just as amazing even when it comes in ordinary wrapping.

“My main priority in life,” she said, “was to receive praise for being a 'good girl.' I was already acing my classes at school, so I wanted to 'ace' Sunday school, too. I figured that the way to do that was to become saved.”

Despite her constant prayer and Bible reading, however, she knew in her heart that she was not saved. 

“Compared to my friends, I was an angel. But I absolutely hated going to Youth Fellowship; especially because sometimes our pastor would ask about our salvation.”

Frustrated at her failure, she eventually stopped trying. Although she continued to attend church activities, she was no longer seeking God.

But God was seeking her.

One Saturday, she was in church, waiting to be picked up, when one of the ates in the Youth Fellowship came and talked with her.

“She asked me about my conversion testimony. I shrugged and said I'd practically been born in Higher Rock, so I didn't really know. She told me that she‟d grown up in a Christian home, too, and she understood my confusion. But she also told me that there was a day when she finally understood her state before God and truly came to salvation.”

God used that conversation to get Sarah thinking again about her salvation. What would her testimony be?“I didn‟t want to tell the story of a goody-two-shoes Sunday school girl who was sort-of bad in high school; it wasn‟t dramatic.”

One day, she had a nearly fatal anaphylactic attack. It seemed her moment had finally come. This was to be her dramatic testimony, and she wallowed in the attention of family and friends.

But as things returned to normal, she became acutely aware that she was no closer to finding God. “I realized that my dramatic moment had passed me by and still left me unsaved. It became clear to me, finally, that all these years I had been seeking a self-centered salvation. That night I surrendered my life and my desire for salvation to the Lord.”

From that time onward, Sarah began showing evidences of genuine salvation. She developed a passion for God's word, fellowship, ministry, and holiness. Although she committed some very serious sins even after her conversion, God led her to repentance and an even greater appreciation of His grace.

“My sinfulness in the light of His love is humbling and I have come to understand the dynamic of His justice and grace,” she explained as she drew her testimony to a close. “Today, I am excited to be formally joining this church. I praise my Father for He has not only raised me in His church, but for His church. I pray that He will continue to use me for His glory.”

To me, Sarah's testimony is encouraging because it could be the testimony of the 'good kids' that populate evangelical churches across our country. Conversion for them won't mean leaving behind a life of drugs, fornication, crime, or anything of that sort because they have been spared from those things to begin with. Their sins are of the respectable type. Respectable, but just as damning. And to see themselves for what they are – great sinners who need a great Savior – they need just as much grace as the addict, the fornicator, or the criminal. And as Sarah's testimony reminds us, God is heartily willing to extend that grace.

Biblical Counseling Training!

Partnering with OIC (Overseas Instruction in Counseling) for the Bilical Counseling Training was no small privilege. Praise God for Dr. Wayne Vanderwier, Ptr. Rod Huber, Bro. Tarkus Mosberg, and their godly and supportive wives! May the Lord enable OIC, Higher Rock and all of the represented churches to see this endeavor through to the end. Module 1 is finished. I can't wait for Module 2 in January!

Praising God for One Another

True fellowship is not just Christians socializing with one another, but Christians gathering around the Word and sharing the common life we have in the Lord Jesus Christ. Fellowship is more Christ-centered and of deeper significance than we usually have in mind when we use the term.

If this is what true fellowship is, then it must include praising God for one another. We will see from the example of the apostle Paul that the act of praising God for one another is not only a direct participation in the life of the church, but also an indication that one has already been participating.

Sharing in the Life of the Church

Paul told the Thessalonian church, “We give thanks to God always for all of you, constantly mentioning you in our prayers, remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Thes 1:2, ESV)

When Paul said “always for all of you,” was he exaggerating? Only in a literary sense, in order to make a point. He wasn't flattering the Thessalonians, or trying to make them believe that he somehow remembered each and every one of them in prayer. Rather, he simply meant that he was deeply concerned for them, and prayed for them often, maybe every day. At this time, Paul was 300 kilometers away in Corinth and had not been in direct contact with the Thessalonians for several months, yet he was still participating in the life of the church!

(Now, it's important to note that in this sense God is not calling us to follow Paul's example. He was a missionary, the apostle to the Gentiles, and his ministry was to plant churches. Therefore, he was always on the move and was not called by God to remain in one church for many years. Meanwhile, the New Testament makes it clear that the requirement for all Christians—except in extreme cases—is that we should be committed to one local church.)

We should follow Paul's example, however, in being deeply concerned for the spiritual growth of the church.

Excited Over God's Grace

Paul's prayer sprang from amazement at God's saving grace in the life of the Thessalonians. In verse 3 he recounts how he praises God for the believers' “work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.” In verse 4 he gushes over the fact that “our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction.” In verses 6 and 7 he boasts of the fact that they “received the word in much affliction, with the joy of the Holy Spirit, so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia.” Paul's excitement is clear enough in our English Bibles, but it's even more obvious in the Greek text, because verses 2 to 10 (virtually the entire chapter) are actually just one, long sentence. Paul is so excited over God's grace to the Thessalonian church that he's rambling!

If we want to do justice to Paul's pastoral, prayerful concern for the church, however, we should also note that the reason he was so excited about the Thessalonians' salvation was that he saw it as part of God's grand plan of redemption. In verse 10 he says that the Thessalonians were saved “to wait for [God's] Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come. All throughout the letter, Paul reminds and teaches them about the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. Always, he had the “big picture” in mind.

We should note, however, that Paul did not use the big picture as an excuse for being disinterested and nonchalant towards individual believers. How sad it is that while some Christians struggle to see the whole forest, other Christians find it hard to care about individual trees! Thank God for Paul's example here! Indeed, Paul always had the end goal in mind, but it only motivated him to live more fully in the present.

Seeing God's Hand in the Little Things

When Paul spoke of “remembering” the Thessalonians before God, what did he mean? The original Greek word is mnemoneuō, which can simply mean to be mindful of something or someone, but can also mean to make mention, to rehearse or repeat. For example, in Hebrews 11:22, it is said, “By faith Joseph, at the end of his life, made mention [mnemoneuō] of the exodus of the Israelites and gave directions concerning his bones.”

Another clue can be found in verses 4 and following: “For we know... that he has chosen you, because our gospel came to you... in power and in the Holy Spirit and in full conviction...” and Paul goes on. The key is the word translated “know,” the Greek word eidō. While it can mean to know, its primary meaning is to see. So Paul was confident that the Thessalonians were truly saved because of the consistency that he saw between the great God they professed to believe and the divine power that was obviously at work in their lives.

And so when Paul “remembered” the Thessalonians before God, he recalled the reports he had heard concerning them and recounted these in worshipful awe of the God who is gathering for Himself a holy nation out of every tongue and tribe and people and nation on the earth, and will subject all things under the reign of the Son.

Being Properly Impressed

Do we praise God privately for the salvation of our brothers and sisters? Do we allow ourselves to be impressed by what God does in and through the lives of each member? Now, some brethren may be proud and cynical and hard to impress. They may look at a brother's good works and say, “Oh that's not so impressive! I know non-Christians who have even more good works than this brother!” But that is a foolish way to think. Why? Because even though a Christian's good works are not always impressive in and of themselves, they are the evidence of God's redemptive work in the world. The same cannot be said of even the best works of an unbeliever. And so, even the smallest work, even the littlest growth in grace of a brother or sister in Christ has underneath it the cosmic purpose of the Trinity. And that is impressive, indeed!

Interceding for Others' Needs

“Brothers, pray for us,” said Paul to the Thessalonian believers. We might assume that we can easily understand Paul's sentiments here. After all, who doesn't ask others for prayers? It would benefit us, however, to dig a little deeper into the life of the Thessalonian church, and the apostle's ministry to them.

A Loving Church

One of the notable characteristics of the believers at Thessalonica was their love for one another. It was one of the things that Timothy reported to Paul upon returning from his visit to Thessalonica (3:6). Paul knew their character from the short time he spent with them (which we can read about in the seventeenth chapter of Acts) and having Timothy's report as confirmation he then wrote, “Now concerning brotherly love you have no need for anyone to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love one another” (4:9). This was certainly a high commendation from such a godly leader of the church!

They also had a special relationship with Paul, since he had been God's instrument in founding the church. They always remembered Paul and longed to see him again (3:6). When Paul asked them to pray for him and his companions (“us”), therefore, he knew that he was appealing to a people who were loving in general, and particularly concerned for him. May we be so towards our own pastors and leaders!

An Engaged Church

Where the Holy Spirit moves in power, love abounds not only for brethren, but also for the lost. This was demonstrated in the life of the Thessalonian church, since Paul wrote of them, “[N]ot only has the word of the Lord sounded forth from you... but your faith in God has gone forth everywhere, so that we need not say anything” (1:8). The phrase “we need not say anything” – which Paul repeated in a slightly different way in 4:9 and 5:1 – should not be taken in an absolute sense, because then Paul would be saying that the Thessalonians were already perfect and doing perfect work! Nevertheless, it shows just how much the Thessalonians desired for God to be worshiped among the nations.

While the Thessalonian believers' love for one another strengthened themselves, their love for the gospel and the lost strengthened others. Thus, Paul commended them for being “an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia” (1:7).

By the grace of God, the Thessalonians were a big-hearted bunch. Their love, like that of their Lord's, was broad in scope and deep in depth. Moreover, it was no idle sentiment but a gritty, sweaty, bleeding, agonizing commitment (1:3, Gk. kopos) to God's work of saving souls. (This is the kind of love indicated in 1:3, by the use of the Greek word kopos, which connotes beating, wailing and lamentation.) If this is how the Thessalonian church was, it is no wonder that Paul coveted their intercession for his missionary team! Certainly, this is the kind of encouragement we want to provide for one another.

Paul's desire for the Thessalonians' prayers was born out of the need for God's strength, guidance, and power for effective ministry. But while this seems to be Paul's primary motive, I believe he had a secondary motive. He wanted the Thessalonians to pray for their own benefit. I think this is implied in Paul's description of his ministry to them in chapter two.

An Affectionate Mother

In 2:6-8, Paul compared his love for the Thessalonians to that of a mother for her children, saying, “we were ready to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves”. It is one thing to give something we possess, and it is something else to give our own selves. This indicates Paul's almost total commitment to their good.

Is it therefore too far a stretch of the imagination to see in Paul's request for prayer a selfless desire to nurture the faith and love of his spiritual children? Just like the Lord Jesus taught the disciples to pray because He wanted them to grow spiritually (certainly not because He needed their prayers!), the apostle urged the Thessalonians to pray for his team because he knew it would further nurture their selfless love and zeal for the gospel.

Brethren, are we moved by the same selflessness when we ask others to intercede for us?

A Challenging Father

Paul also described himself as a strong and disciplined father who led his children in the path of holiness. He said in verses 11 and 12 of chapter two, “For you know how like a father with his children, we exhorted each one of you to walk in a manner worthy of God, who calls you into his own kingdom and glory.”

This was not a condescending paternalism, since Paul realized that ultimately God was Father and the One who calls each believer to salvation (including Paul). Rather, Paul's “fatherhood” was a stewardship that he gladly accepted from the Lord and was determined to carry out until either his death or the Lord's return (cf. 1Co 4:1).

Like a good father, Paul rejoiced in the Thessalonians' growth, but wanted to stretch them further. He could not be satisfied until the Lord's work was complete in them (cf. Col 1:28), just as he continued to strive for his own growth in holiness (cf. Php 3:12-14). And so, he urged them, “that as you received from us how you ought to live and to please God, just as you are doing, that you do so more and more” (4:1).

One of the practical ways to stretch them was to have them pray. How so? Praying for another requires knowledge of his/her needs. In order to do this, one must get to know the other, to stay connected, to maintain concern. Doing it takes effort. Trying to do it “unceasingly” (5:17) will stretch anyone's capacity for disciplined love. This, I believe, is exactly what Paul had in mind.

Conlusion

Praying for others is a labor of love. We should do it because we want God to bless them and their ministries. We ask others to do it on our behalf not only so that we would be blessed, but that they would grow as well. And ultimately, we should do it all for the glory of God.

"We Give Thanks To God Always For All Of You"

We often take the church for granted and focus on our responsibilities in, and the sacrifices we make for, the church. But we forget why it is that we have accepted such responsibilities in the first place, why we are willing to make sacrifices for the church.

In his first letter to the church in the ancient Macedonian city of Thessalonica, the apostle Paul gushed with thanksgiving and love the brothers and sisters there. Here are some examples:

We give thanks to God always for all of you, constantly remembering you in our prayers (1:2)

And we also thank God constantly for this, that when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of God... (2:13)

... you always remember us kindly and long to see us, as we long to see you... (3:6)

For without the church, where would we be? What if you were the only Christian in the world, with no one to share your convictions, your love for God, your faith in Christ, your dependence on the Holy Spirit? What if you had no one to pray with, or to share your burdens, or to encourage you during difficult times when you are feeling weak and discouraged? What if you had no one to help you understand God's word, or confront you when you sin?

Instead of brothers and sisters in Christ, you would be surrounded by people who despised God and couldn't care less about His commandments and promises. The pressure to conform to their ungodly ways would be unimaginable. Life would be one unending battle: just you against the world. No rest, no comrades. What an exhausting and bleak life that would be!

Even the apostle Paul drew strength from other Christians. Even the apostle Paul needed the church. And he rejoiced in it, and thanked God for it. So should we.

Benefiting from a Sermon, Part 2

Here's an interesting fact from Ken Ramey's book, Expository Listening:

“the Bible says more about the listener's responsibility to hear and obey the Word of God than it does about the preacher's responsibility to explain and apply the Word of God.”

We don't naturally know how to receive preaching. That's why in the previous post I pointed out four important things we need to know about listening to sermons.This present article is meant as a supplement. Here, I try to anticipate complaints from people who sit under an expository pulpit ministry but feel dissatisfied. In response, I present helpful insights from various pastors & authors.

1. “I'm not learning anything new. The applications are always the same and I usually know what the pastor's going to say next.”

Will we ever become so experienced in applying God's commands that they can't surprise and shame us anymore? No. The difficulties of applying God's word in a fallen world will constantly expose 'new' areas of sin, challenge our beliefs, and provoke questions. We will realize that what seemed to us like simple applications before are actually very complicated. In other words, obedience doesn't lead to complacency, but greater humility.

Jay Adams: “They expect the preacher to do all the work for them. They expect him to apply the passage specifically to exact situations, answering all possible questions and suggesting various applications and implementations that pertain precisely to them.... Selfishly, they forget that there are other people in the congregation and that the preacher cannot think solely of their particular circumstances.... To expect them [the listeners] to apply general principles to the particulars of their lives, however, is too much to ask. That's work!”

Boredom in church means that someone's hit a roadblock. And how conceited it would be of you to assume that it's the preacher and not yourself, right? The answer to boredom is engagement with the sermon.

Ramey: “Meditation [over God's word] serves as the bridge between interpretation and application, between knowing what a passage means and putting it into practice. To meditate means simply to think long and hard about the text – to mull it over and over again in your mind like a com chewing its cud.”

Richard Baxter: “Chew the cud, and call up all when you come home in secret, and by the meditation preach it over to yourselves.”

George Whitfield: “Come to hear them... from a sincere desire to know and do your duty. To enter His house merely to have our ears entertained, and not our hearts reformed, must certainly be highly displeasing to the Most High God, as well as unprofitable to ourselves.”

2. “I think my pastor's teaching is very good, but his style bothers me.”

Presentation skills are helpful, but secondary. We have to realize that the worship service is such a weighty thing that to bother about style is (dare I say it) shamefully trifling! It's like rejecting a great job offer because the office doesn't have free coffee.

Baxter: “If it were coldly delivered by the preacher, do you consider of the great weight of the matter, and preach it more earnestly over to your own hearts.”

D.M. Lloyd-Jones on “the great pulpiteers” of the 19^th century: “These men were pulpiteers rather than preachers. I mean that they were men who could occupy a pulpit and dominate it, and dominate the people. They were professionals. There was a good deal of the element of showmanship in them, and they were experts at handling congregations and playing on their emotions. In the end they could do almost what they liked with them.”

A.W. Tozer: “[The church] appears to have decided that if she cannot conquer the great god Entertainment she may as well join forces with him and make what use she can of his powers. … Religious entertainment is in many places rapidly crowding out the serious things of God.”

John MacArthur: “Acceptability in the culture and increased church attendance have subtly but steadily usurped holiness and true worship as the primary objective of our church gatherings. Preaching the Word and boldly confronting sin are seen as archaic, ineffectual means of winning the world. … [But] The Great Commission is not a marketing manifesto. True evangelism does not require salesmen but prophets.”

3. “Does he really have to preach so long?”

I think this kind of objection stems from a poor understanding of the significance of the Lord's Day and the worship service. Sunday is the time to retreat from our daily, mundane concerns and to gather as a spiritual family to soak in divine grace. If we treat the worship service as a gift from God and not merely an obligation, a long sermon will cease to be an issue.

Leland Ryken on the Puritans' appreciation for preaching: "... I invite you to accompany me to England near the turn of the sixteenth century. Laurence Chaderton... is preaching in his native Lancashire. This northern shire is Catholic territory. People do not often hear good sermons. Chaderton has preached for two hours. He is about to conclude and says something to the effect 'that he would no longer trespass upon their patience.' But the audience will not allow the preacher to stop. 'For God's sake, sir, go on, go on,' they urge. ... This incident is noteworthy, not because it was rare during the Puritan movement, but because it was common."

4. “I like to keep things simple. Why does my pastor dig into 'history' and 'context' and 'doctrine'? I'd prefer more practical tips for life.”

True, a sermon isn't meant to be a classroom-type lecture, and it's supposed to be intensely practical. But build godliness, sin must be dealt with. And to get at the root of sin, one must delve deep into God's word. The following analogy is helpful.

Lloyd-Jones: “Take a man who is lying on a bed and writhing in agony with abdominal pain. Now a doctor may come along who... feels that the one thing to do is to relieve this man of his pain. … [But] if you just remove the symptoms before you have discovered the cause of the symptoms you are actually doing your patient real harm because you are giving him this temporary ease which makes him think that all is well. But all is not well, it is only a temporary relief, and the disease is there, is still continuing.”

History and context ground our interpretation of God's word in fact. Otherwise, the preacher would be free to spin the Bible any way that suited him. Doctrine – deep, robust, heart-searching, Christ-exalting doctrine – is our foundation, our spiritual food, and the fuel that drives our worship. This last excerpt describes what any wise pastor wants for God's flock.

Ramey: “Mature believers are able to eat and digest the prime rib principles of God's Word because they have sat under consistent expository preaching. As they feed on the meat of the Word, they grow spiritually mature, and with that comes growth in discernment. They want nothing to do with shallow, topical teaching, and they see right through the schemes of false teachers and their claims.”

CONCLUSION

To have God's word expounded to us by a faithful pastor is one of the greatest blessings one can have in this life. Brothers, sisters, friends, instead of dwelling on the imperfections of the preacher, we should seek to be caught up in the perfections of our Savior.

Benefiting from A Sermon, Part 1

It's a familiar feeling. You're seated in church, listening to the pastor's sermon in respectful silence. You hear his words, catch his sentences. But you leave the service with little more than a vague sense of what the sermon was about. And you're not alone.

We all struggle from time to time with listening to sermons, and there may be many reasons why. Ken Ramey, in his book Expository Listening, says this:

“In many people's mind, if they don't get anything out of the sermon, it's the preacher's fault. But that's only half true. The Bible teaches that listeners must partner with the preacher so that the Word of God accomplishes its intended purpose of transforming their life.”

So how do we partner with the preacher? We can start by being aware of the following things when preparing to hear a sermon.

1. Biblical Preaching = God's Word

The first thing to know about preaching is this: A sermon is God speaking to us, to the extent that it is faithful to God's written word. This is clearly implied in Romans 10:14 and Ephesians 2:17.

In Romans 10:14, Paul is describing the process of conversion. He says, “But how are they to call on him [Christ] in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?” (NASB) The ESV reads “of whom they have never heard,” but in the original Greek New Testament, there is no word “of.” So, this is what Paul is implying here. For someone to believe in Christ, they first have to hear Him speaking to them (not just hear of Him). This, happens when someone (who is not Christ) comes and preaches Christ's word to them.

The logic here is clear. When we hear a faithful preaching of the Scripture, no less than Christ is preaching to us! If this is true, then what can be more important than to listen to what Christ is saying to us?

2. Preacher = God's Messenger

Why can the preacher hold the attention of an entire gathering for half an hour, an hour, or more? What gives him the authority to speak about God and make judgments about right and wrong? The simple fact is that a preacher who has been called by God must preach, and the people God has sent him to must listen to him, for God's sake.

Paul said in 1 Corinthians 4:1-2, “This is how one should regard us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. Moreover, it is required of stewards that they be found trustworthy.” This tells us several things about the preacher. First, we shouldn't think too highly of the preacher's person. He's just a lowly servant and a steward. Second, we should think very highly of the preacher's office. He serves no less than the Lord Christ, and he imparts nothing less than the mysteries of God. Third and finally, God holds a preacher accountable to how he conducts himself and his ministry (also see Heb 13:17).

Now, because of the preacher's high calling, Paul also said this: “Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in preaching and teaching.” (1Tm 5:17)

Christ made it clear that when God sends messengers He takes it as a personal insult when they're ignored (Mat 22:32-44; Luk 9:5). Because the office is so important there are also strong warnings against false preachers. Paul says in Galatians 1:8, “But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed.”

So when the preacher stands before the congregation and delivers God's message faithfully, it would be good to keep in mind who he is. He's the man God holds primarily responsible for the spiritual health of the church.

3. Preaching Has Always Been at the Heart of Worship

In evangelical circles, the service is often described like this: “We start of with some praise and worship, then comes the sermon, and finally we end with more praise and worship.” Sadly, we've limited the idea of “worship” to singing.

But the Scriptures define worship more broadly, as this quote from Warren Wiersbe suggests: “Worship is the believer’s response of all that they are – mind, emotions, will, body – to what God is and says and does.”

Take Romans 12:1, for example, which calls on Christians to “present your bodies [not just your words] as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.”

How did the Early Church worship? Acts 2:42ff tells us, “And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. … And all who believed were together and had all things in common. … And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. ...” Worship is a way of life. More specifically, it applies to everything that Christians do when they come to glorify and enjoy God together.

Now, when the congregation gathers for a worship service, the central event is the sermon. At first glance, Acts 2:42 seems to imply that preaching (the apostles' teaching) is no more important than fellowship, communion and prayer. And yet if you scan the rest of the Bible, the proclamation of God's word is spoken of in very weighty terms. Fellowship, communion and prayer are also given importance, but not as frequently and certainly not as emphatically. For example, Paul told Timothy, “Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation, to teaching. … Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching. Persist in this, for by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers.” (1Tm 4:6,13,16) Notice that this time, there was only one thing that Timothy was to be devoted to: the ministry of the Word.

This makes perfect sense, since everything else we do as a church or as individual disciples should have its foundations in the Word of God. This is why the sermon should have the most prominent place in our worship services.

Now, if this is so, then to “zone out” during the sermon is to miss the best part of the service. It is a failure to worship God as we should.

4. Preaching Involves God's People

We often think of preaching as a one-way communication by the preacher to a passive audience. According to this view, the 'proper' way to listen to a sermon is to sit still and absorb everything the preacher says.

a. We are to respond by thinking. First, God himself teaches us to test everything by the Scriptures (1Jn 4:1; Deu 13:1ff). Even Paul, who occupied the most authoritative position of apostle, did not exempt himself from scrutiny. In fact, he probably encouraged it (Acts 17:11). Second, if we habitually engage with the preacher in this way, we'll often come away with questions or concerns that we can discuss with him or with our disciplers.

b. We are to respond by praising God. What drives biblical praise? Not worked-up emotions but a deep understanding of who God is and what he has done. The Psalms make this very clear. God is honored when hearts are captivated by him and respond in heartfelt words of awe and gratitude. So let the sermon be a springboard to a new sense of awe and delight in God.

c. We are to respond by applying. A sermon isn't meant to merely entertain us or to feed our intellects. Paul said in 1Tm 1:5, “The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.” In the next verse, he contrasts biblical preaching with “vain discussion” that does nothing to mold character and morals. If you listen to sermons determined to live out whatever biblical principles God confronts you with, then you definitely won't be just a passive listener.

Sounds Familiar?

We may have heard all of this before. But we easily forget these truths during a worship service. If you've fallen into the habit of mentally drifting off during sermons, then you probably need to have a deeper appreciation of these things.

Let me end with this quote from Ken Ramey:

“In order for you to receive the maximum benefit from the sermons you hear, you must partner with the preacher so that the Word of God accomplishes its intended purpose of transforming your life. Nothing creates a more explosive, electrifying, life-changing atmosphere than when the lightning bolts from a Spirit-empowered preacher hit the lightning rods of a Spirit-illuminated listener. There is no telling the dynamic impact the Spirit of God will make through the Word of God any time someone who faithfully explains and applies God's Word comes in contact with someone who faithfully listens to and obeys God's Word.”

Related Post: Benefiting from a Sermon, Part 2