Soul War

We All Need Each Other

At Edgewood Church, we are currently working our way through First Corinthians. The last two weeks we have been in Chapter 12. (Chapter 12 Sermon 1 & Chapter 12 Sermon 2) There have been several eye-opening moments for me as I have studied my way through this book, but some of the biggest ones, at least from my perspective, have happened in this chapter. As we finish up Chapter 12 this week, I came across a summary statement in one of my commentaries that left me nodding my head in agreement, and then typing the entire thing out. I then read it to my wife because I was marveling at its implications on they way we do church.

I have included the entire quote here... and I am obviously putting it here because I would like as many of my family and friends to read this as possible. You will see that I have included 6 paragraphs. They are the final 6 paragraphs from Ben Witherington III's chapter on 1 Corinthians 12.

If you don't have a ton of reading stamina... The important paragraphs are the last 3. If you read the whole thing... Pause after the second paragraph before you embark on the remainder. Focus in on the ideas in the last three paragraphs (especially paragraphs 4 and 5).

Note as well: ekklēsia is the Greek word for Church and apostoloi is the Greek word for Apostles (or messengers).

     Paul's use of the body metaphor to speak of the Christian Community in Corinth implies that he believes that God the Holy Spirit bequeaths to each Christian community all the gifts & graces it needs to be what it ought to be. In addition, the list of gifts in this chapter strongly suggest that God gives not only abilities but also persons as gifts to the community, weather apostoloi, prophets, teachers, or others.
     But does God still do all these things for the ekklēsia today? We can certainly affirm that God provides amply for the modern at Christian community, but in some ways the provision is different. For one thing, if we are to follow Paul's ideas on this matter, apostoloi were gifts given to the ekklēsia in its first two generations, but not since then. Paul assumes in 9:1 that an essential criterion for apostleship is to have seen the risen Lord during the period of his resurrection appearances at the beginning of the church age. Furthermore, Paul tells us that he was the last to see the risen Christ (15:8). While we can certainly talk about the passing down of the apostolic teaching through the ages of the ekklēsia, we cannot talk about the passing down of the apostolic office. “Apostolic succession,” in the sense of a continued apostolic presence through a church office, is a myth, since no one after the initial witnesses can meet the essential criterion. Apostoloi were God's temporary gift to found the community of Christ, and this was probably already recognized by the end of the NT period, as Rev. 21:14 suggests (cf. also Acts 1:22). Neither “the twelve” nor “the apostles” (1 Cor. 15:5,7) were a continual presence even in the first century.
     But nothing in the NT suggests that any of the other person's as gifts or gifts to persons ceased with the early ekklēsia. Indeed, there is a considerable evidence throughout the course of church history to the contrary. How might this conclusion be applied today?
Paul is apparently referring to all the Corinthian house congregations collectively as the body of Christ. This might well suggest that one particular local house church would not have all the gifts needed in that city to serve the purposes of Christ's body. Perhaps there is a lesson here for us. As many churches as we have in every city, none of them has all the gifts, graces, and human resources necessary to be the ekklēsia of God fully and adequately in that place. There is a warning here to every singular assembly that the “church” does not cease at its doorstep. Every local assembly needs every other local assembly to be complete. Just as gifted individuals cannot say to other Christians that they are unneeded it, since no Christian has all God's gifts, so, too, this is apparently true with congregations as well. It is not accidental that different Christian faith traditions have specialized in manifesting different gifts. For example, not all truly Christian congregations have prophets or tongues speakers in them, but some do. Or again, some churches have especially nurtured the role of elder or deacon(ess).
     My plea here is not just for tolerance or ecumenical cooperation and appreciation but also for recognizing that we all need each other. Paul is correcting abuses of various gifts in chs. 12-14, but to correct abuse of a gift is not to rule out its proper use. I suspect that Paul would tell us that just as “charismania,” the overemphasis on prophecy or tongues, is not healthy, neither is “charisphobia,” the anathematizing of all such gifts. We are not called to act in the chaotic and selfish fashion the Corinthians did, but we are also not called to quench the Spirit and arrange Christian worship so that there is no room for the spontaneous Word from above to be shared. There is a balance between Spirit and structure, order and spontaneity, that should be maintained in any local congregation.
     Finally, Paul’s word about giving more honor to the weaker members of the body of Christ, the less “presentable” ones, needs to be heeded. He believes that even these folks have essential gifts and functions to exercise. It is a mistake to bring the world’s evaluative system into the ekklēsia and to set up an honor roll that favors the more presentable and dignified, or those with the more outwardly showy or dramatic gifts. Paul believes that the body of Christ is only truly strong when it gives special honor and attention to its weakest members. The more presentable members do not need such attention. 

This quote comes from pg. 262-263 from Conflict and Community in Corninth: A Socio-Rhetorical Commentary on 1 and 2 Corinthians by Ben Witherington III

Yesterday's Grace

Christians should never be satisfied with yesterday's grace. It is a shocking thing for Christians to have to admit that they have grown little in their knowledge of Jesus Christ.

~Basics for Believers by D.A. Carson pg 89-90

Moral Determination = FAIL

I am preparing for our Wednesday night Bible Study. We are currently ready for chapter 3 in the book, Love Into Light by Peter Hubbard. As I am reading through this chapter on "Change" I am once again finding so many connections between the topic of the book and our everyday Christian Struggles. More specifically the unbiblical/wrong methods of change are so familiar to me as the typical way that many in the church have attempted and hoped for change. The one I am noticing now is "Moral Determination." Read this quote and tell me if it rings true to Scripture:

Determination alone cannot lead us to God -- only to gods, individually constructed deities that are manageable and obtainable. If in myself I am determined that I will be able to please God, I am confessing worship to a false god -- either I am turning my aspirations themselves into gods, or I am creating a false version of the true God, a god whom I think will be pleased by my resolutions and performance. The God of the Bible is far different from these false gods: He is higher and holier than all my resolve could possibly obtain. ‘For thus says the One who is high and lifted up, who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: I dwell in the high and holy place, and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly, and to revive the heart of the contrite.’ The determined have their own plan. God dwells with the broken and humble, the powerless and planless.

Oh, how often I have attempted to change based on my own moral determination to do so. And oh how often it has failed.

Temptation - Book Review

Temptation: Applying Radical Amputation to Life's Sinful Patterns by Jay Adams is a short book, only about 32 pages in length, and is part of a series of books providing Resources for Biblical Living.

Facing ongoing sin in one's life can be a troubling and frustrating part of Christian Living. I would doubt that there is a Christian out there that would honestly say that they haven't had struggles, or battles, with sin. In this book, Jay Adams begins by inviting the reader to consider sins in their own life that they may be struggling with, then he describes the two main tendencies offered in Christian circles on how to face sin.  These two options are: "(1) inaction on your part in lieu of contemplation and prayer; or (2) obedience to biblical commands that leads to growth."

Both of these methods, though often set as opposing methods, are actually missing the correct approach.  In other words, there are aspects of both that are true, but they must be taken together. I agree with this basic premise, true Biblical change is an absolute dependence on God, that we are working whole heartedly to accomplish. What many misunderstand in this is that since my sanctification (spiritual growth) is entirely dependant on God, then I can work with confidence!  Consider this passage of scripture:

Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure. (Philippians 2:12-13, ESV)

Can you see these two concepts working side by side?  It is not, "... God is doing his part and I am doing my part." Instead it is, "God is doing all of it so that I can do it!"

My issue, like most, is that instead of truly working, with the confidence that God is working, I want to gradually eliminate sin from my life when he calls me to stop sinning today.  This is where this little book is especially helpful. The main focus is on the concept of "radical amputation" which is pictured in Christ's teaching in Matthew 18 about the cutting off of hands and the poking out of eyes. What Jesus actually says is,

And if your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life crippled or lame than with two hands or two feet to be thrown into the eternal fire. And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into the hell of fire. (Matthew 18:8-9, ESV)

Cutting off is so abrupt. It is so final. So much I want to hang on to the availability to sin in my attempt to stop sinning. I want to be gradual in the process. I don't want it to cost me very much.  That is not Jesus' approach. On this gradual walking away from sin, Jay Adams said something that was quite helpful in putting it into perspective:

"The proposal to 'wean' oneself from sin is as offensive as if one were to cut off a dog's tail, one thin slice at a time."

He goes on to say, in response to a Let God... mentality:

To many, the unbiblical (though seemingly spiritual) manner of putting off sin is to follow a quietistic course of action. In the final analysis -- without going into methods of various sorts -- what quietism is saying, 'God has promised to eliminate sin in my life, and only he can do so. I will therefore leave the matter in his hands. In his time, he will do so.' But this is nothing more than a pious cop-out. God has already told you the time -- it is now. The sin is to cease at once.

If you are struggling with sin in your life, then I want to recommend that you get this book. It is direct and to the point, which is what those who are in sin are needing and wanting to hear.

(This book was provided by NetGalley.com for reviewing purposes.)

Spirit and Truth

"Worshipping in spirit is the opposite of worshipping in merely external ways. It is the opposite of empty formalism and traditionalism. Worshipping in truth is the opposite of worship based on an inadequate view of God. Worship must have hear and head. Worship must engage emotions and thought." 

"Truth without emotion produces dead orthodoxy and a church full (or half-full) of artificial admirers (like people who write generic anniversary cards for a living). On the other hand, emotion without truth produces empty frenzy and cultivates shallow people who refuse the discipline of rigorous thought. But true worship comes from people who are deeply emotional and who love deep and sound doctrine. Strong affections for God rooted in truth are the bone and marrow of biblical worship."

~ John Piper, Desiring God

Need of Jesus

Lord Jesus,
I am blind, be thou my light,
   ignorant, be thou my wisdom,
   self-willed, be thou my mind.
Open my ear to grasp quickly thy Spirit's voice,
   and delightfully run after his beckoning hand;
Melt my conscience that no hardness remain,
   make it alive to evil's slightest touch;
When Satan approaches may I flee to thy wounds,
   and there cease to tremble at all alarms.
Be my good shepherd to lead me into the green pastures of thy Word,
   and cause me to lie down beside the rivers of its comforts.
Fill me with peace, that no disquieting worldly gales
   may ruffle the calm surface of my soul.
Thy cross was upraised to be my refuge,
Thy blood streamed forth to wash me clean,
Thy death occurred to give me a surety,
Thy name is my property to save me,
By thee all heaven is poured into my heart,
   but it is too narrow to comprehend thy love.
I was a stranger, an outcast, a slave, a rebel,
   but thy cross has brought me near,
                 has softened my heart,
                 has made me thy Father's child,
                 has admitted me to thy family,
                 has made me joint-heir with thyself.
O that I may love thee as thou lovest me,
   that I may walk worthy of thee, my Lord,
   that I may reflect the image of heaven's first-born.
May I always see thy beauty with the clear eye of faith,
    and feel the power of thy Spirit in my heart,
    for unless he move mightily in me
    no inward fire will be kindled.


Need of Jesus,
from Valley of Vision: A collection of Puritan Prayers & Devotions, 
pg 102.

Praying for Power

I believe that we live in a day where many churches have a form or appearance of godliness, but the thing that they are missing is power.  According to St. Paul in II Timothy 3:5, it is just this in people that will destroy churches.

What if find to be extremely distressing is that I feel that I am lacking in the power department.  I would not consider myself to be one who is filled with God's power.

This last Sunday I explored this topic as I continued preaching through the Epistle to the Ephesians.  I was covering Ephesians 1:19-21.  This was an important message for me, and I really feel like God was impacting me and prompting me through the study in preparation for this message.  If you would like to listen to the final result and give me some thoughts, feel free to listen to it here:




You can also download it and listen to it later.

Jesting

I occasionally read a little devotional called Days of Praise.  It is put out by the Institute for Creation Research and I think most of them are written by Henry M. Morris, a well-known creationist and Biblical scholar.

Last week I read one about joking and jesting that really caught my attention.  I believe that he shares a valid point: a point that left me thinking over the next couple of days and a point that shouldn't simply be shrugged off.  I especially found the second paragraph to be helpful, it is something that I have wondered about before, but I will let you be the judge.

It is the devotional dated October 11th, 2011.  It is titled Not Convenient.  Here is that devotional in its' entirety:

"Neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient: but rather giving of thanks." (Ephesians 5:4) 

It seems surprising that "foolish talking" and "jesting" would be condemned as things that should "not be once named among you" (v. 3). Yet here it is, and commentators usually assume that the foolish talking and jesting so condemned really only apply to filthy talking and filthy jesting. After all, the popularity of many Christian speakers today seems to be measured by the amount of jokes and witticisms they inject into their messages. 

This is a sensitive subject, and each Christian should conscientiously decide for himself what God is saying here, through Paul. In any case, it seems significant that the only reference in the Bible to "jesting" is a warning against it. It is also significant that one can never find this element in the sermons of Christ or the letters of Paul or anywhere in the Bible. The Bible writers seem to have believed that sin and salvation were such sober, serious issues that there was nothing there to joke about. We read several times of Jesus weeping, but never of Him laughing. The Scriptures often refer to "rejoicing," but never to "having fun." 

Furthermore, Jesus warned that "every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment" (Matthew 12:36), and Paul exhorted us to "let your speech be always with grace" (Colossians 4:6). Our text says that foolish talking and jesting are "not convenient" for a Christian. Other things "not convenient" include the list of 23 sins in Romans 1:28-31, beginning with unrighteousness" and ending with "unmerciful." 

Whether or not we can justify certain "convenient" times for jesting, there is one thing we can know is always convenient--that is, "giving of thanks." HMM

What do you think?  Is it possible that our American emphasis on having a good sense of humor and knowing how to have fun has shifted into something that we actually believe is a priority?  Have we allowed our culture to alter the truth that the Bible teaches.  It is easy to see that in other cultures, but when you live and breathe within a certain culture, it only follows that identifying your own biases may not be that easy.

Is God disappointed in us when we sin?

Here is the short answer and the long answer from Dr. David Powlison, a trusted Christian counselor.


Dr. David Powlison - Does God get upset when we disobey? from CCEF on Vimeo.

[HT: Challies.com]

Future Personal Reunion

In the face of loss... sometimes I feel at a loss for words to bring the encouragement that I long to give.  I want to find the right words to lift them up and to lighten the burden.  I know that no words of mine will bring the correct consolation, but God's words are alive and powerful.  They are words of life, so I attempt to share those words.

One passage, in particular, that has brought comfort to me and I hope will bring comfort to others is found in the Old Testament in the book of II Samuel.  It is the account of King David and the loss of an infant child.  While the baby was still alive David is fasting and praying.  He seems so distraught that his servants are afraid to tell him that the baby has died.  When David sees them whispering, he figures it out and asks them.  Once they confirm this, here is what we read:

Then David arose from the earth and washed and anointed himself and changed his clothes. And he went into the house of the LORD and worshiped. He then went to his own house. And when he asked, they set food before him, and he ate. Then his servants said to him, “What is this thing that you have done? You fasted and wept for the child while he was alive; but when the child died, you arose and ate food.” He said, “While the child was still alive, I fasted and wept, for I said, ‘Who knows whether the LORD will be gracious to me, that the child may live?’ But now he is dead. Why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he will not return to me.” 

(2 Samuel 12:20-23 ESV)

That last sentence has brought great comfort to many who have lost children over the years.  "I shall go to him, but he will not return to me."  I love what the ESV Study Bible adds at this point.

Some interpreters understand David to be saying simply that he, like the child, will someday die.  But "shall go to him" seems to indicate the expectation of future personal reunion.

I completely believe that is what David had in mind, "... the expectation of future personal reunion."  It reminds me of another passage where Paul tells us that we are going to catch up to those who have gone before us.

For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. Therefore encourage one another with these words. 

(1 Thessalonians 4:15-18 ESV)

Jesus also refers to death as being asleep or at rest.  One day we will wake together in glory.  We will know and be known.  So, as Paul commands, I seek to encourage those who are hurting with these words and ideas.  We will be together again.  It is a future personal reunion.  

Is your Faith still in Kindergarten?

If so... It might be time to move on.

The Kimyal Bible

Here is a convicting and encouraging video that I found over at Randy Alcorn's blog of the Kimyal tribe receiving the Bible in their own language.  If you don't watch any other video that I have posted on this site, watch this one.



Here is the Pastor's prayer upon receiving the New Testament: (as quoted from Alcorn's Blog)

The month that you had set, the day that you had set, has come to pass today. Oh my Father, my Father, the Promise that you gave Simeon that he would see Jesus Christ and hold Him in his arms before he died. I also have been waiting under that same promise, O God. You looked at all the different languages and chose which ones will be put into Your Word. You thought that we should see Your Word in our language. Today, the day you had chosen for this to be fulfilled, has come to pass. You have placed it here in our land. And for all this, O God, I give You praise.

There is some deep theology there for a man who has to gain all of his knowledge of the Lord through a Bible that wasn't even in his own language.

I needed this word...

I was scrolling through the Google Reader, when this post jumped out at me:

"We need the help of the Holy Spirit."

"If we are not instructed, how can we instruct? If we have not thought, how shall we lead others to think?

It is in our study-work, in that blessed labour when we are alone with the Book before us, that we need the help of the Holy Spirit. He holds the key of the heavenly treasury, and can enrich us beyond conception.

He has the clue of the most labyrinthine doctrine, and can lead us in the way of truth. He can break in pieces the gates of brass, and cut in sunder the bars of iron, and give to us the treasures of darkness, and hidden riches of secret places.

If you study the original, consult the commentaries, and meditate deeply, yet if you neglect to cry mightily unto the Spirit of God, your study will not profit you."

–Charles H. Spurgeon

I needed that word of encouragement.

Rescued

"and if he rescued righteous Lot, greatly distressed by the sensual conduct of the wicked (for as that righteous man lived among them day after day, he was tormenting his righteous soul over their lawless deeds that he saw and heard);"
II Peter 2:7-8 (ESV)

These last few days, these verses have been scrolling through my mind. I know that when most people pull these verses up for some sort of discussion, it is usually to debate the "righteous"ness of Lot. "Was he really righteous?" or "How could he have been righteous considering all that he did?" If people aren't using these verses for debate, they are using them to talk about peer pressure. They want to show how Lot's choice to be around the people of Sodom and Gomorrah was "distressing" and "tormenting" him in such a way that he was experiencing an erosion of morals.

That isn't why I have been thinking of these verses.

The thing about Lot is that most of us make too many assumptions.  I am sure it is possible that he may have had poor, possibly shallow motives for moving into the city, but I'm pretty sure that it doesn't actually say that.        Maybe he just wanted to be a little nearer the local market, maybe there were good schools, maybe he just didn't like living in the country.  He could've wanted to be near things to do and places to go.  Maybe there weren't enough restaurant options ... I mean, how many times can you eat at the Negev Nook anyway?  And their special is always some form of lamb!

The point of this passage is not that Lot was giving into peer pressure, and we need to learn from his mistakes, there might be some lessons there, but there is the bigger truth that God knew how to rescue him!  Listen to the beginning of the next verse:

"then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials,"
II Peter 2:9a

In this life, no matter how much I try to keep myself from the things of this world, I have often found myself in situations where I am surrounded by people with conduct that I have found "distressing".  The lack of morality would wear me down day after day.  That is what that first word means in the greek, the word that is translated "distressed" means "to wear down with toil".  From truck driving jobs, being a warehouse worker, and public school teacher, all of them have had their aspects of an ungodly atmosphere.

But God... He knows how to rescue.  

In Lot's case, it was fairly drastic, but God will go to extremes.  Keep reading II Peter, it gets even better!

This Volume

This volume is the writing of the living God:  each letter was penned with an almighty finger; each word in it dropped from the everlasting lips; each sentence was dictated by the Holy Spirit.

Albeit that Moses was employed to write his histories with his fiery pen, God guided that pen.  It may be that David touched his harp, and let sweet Psalms of melody drop from his fingers; but God moved his hands over the living strings of his golden harp.  It may be that Solomon sang canticles of love, or gave forth words of consumate wisdom, but God directed his lips, and made the preacher eloquent.

I follow the thundering of Nahum, when his horses plough the waters, or Habakkuk, when he sees the tents of Cushan in affliction; if I read Malachi, when the earth is burning like an oven; if I turn to the smooth page of John, who tells of love, or the rugged fiery chapters of Peter who speaks of fire devouring God's enemies; if I turn to Jude who launches forth anathemas upon the foes of God, everywhere I find God speaking; it is God's voice, not man's; the words are God's words, the words of the Eternal, the Invisible, the Almighty, the Jehovah of this earth.

This Bible is God's Bible, and when I see it, I seem to hear a voice springing up from it, saying, "I am the book of God; man, read me."

~C.H. Spurgeon [from his sermon titled "The Bible"; Spurgeon's Sermons Volume I]

Man.  Read it!

Look...

I just re-started reading through some of Spurgeon's Sermons. It is a set that I received as a gift from my wife several years ago. I read this yesterday, and thought I would share it.

First, to whom does God tell us to look for salvation?  O, does it not lower the pride of man, when we hear the Lord say, "Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth?"  It is not, "Look to your priest, and be ye saved:"  if you did, there would be another god, and beside him there would be some one else.  It is not, "Look to yourself;" if so, then there would be a being who might arrogate some of the praise of salvation.  But it is "Look to me."

How frequently you who are coming to Christ look to yourselves.  "O!" you say, "I do not repent enough."  That is looking to yourself.  "I do not believe enough."  That is looking to yourself.  "I am too unworthy."  That is looking to yourself.  "I cannot discover," says another, "that I have any righteousness."  It is quite right to say that you have not any righteousness; but it is quite wrong to look for any.

~ C.H. Spurgeon

Present Tense

I am reading a book titled, Simple Faith by Chuck Swindoll. I picked this book up, simply because it sounded interesting, but found out after I started reading it that it is an exposition (of sorts) of the Sermon on the Mount. Seeing as I am currently going through the Sermon on the Mount at church, I have found it to be an interesting tool.

I won't bore you with a long post, but I do want to share a poem from the book that comes from the chapter dealing with worry (or anxiety). The poem was written by a 14-year old named Jason Lehman. It is called Present Tense.

It was spring
     But it was summer I wanted,
The warm days,
     And the great outdoors.
It was summer,
     But it was fall I wanted,
The colorful leaves,
     And the cool, dry air.
It was fall,
     But it was winter I wanted,
The beautiful snow,
     And the joy of the holiday season.
It was winter,
     But it was spring I wanted,
The warmth
     And the blossoming of nature.
I was a child,
     But it was adulthood I wanted.
The freedom,
     And the respect.
I was 20,
     But it was 30 I wanted,
To be mature,
     And sophisticated.
I was middle-aged,
     But it was 20 I wanted,
The youth,
     And the free spirit.
I was retired,
     But it was middle age I wanted,
The presence of mind,
     Without limitations.
My life was over.
     But I never got what I wanted.

I hope you enjoy that.

Addiction to Entertainment!

Just saw a great video from John Piper.



[HT: FingerToe]

Proclamation by the President

My sister just sent this to me. I thought it was great, so I wanted to pass it along.

1789 General Thanksgiving Proclamation by George Washington