to the Woodshed

New Series Still Being Updated At New Website!

2017-09-07T08:01:00.001-07:00

Hello friends!

As an update to my last update . . . You can find new posts and series at ToTheWoodshed's new home. Currently, we are working through:

The book of Jude

Same-Sex Attraction

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Both have been extremely good studies, especially the one on "same-sex attraction". This issue has swept through the evangelical landscape in a way that have many affirming the innate existence of it and the possibility that the attractions will never change, thus having many promoting singleness and celibacy and calling this holiness. The Word of God has made very clear, however, that sinful desires are lusts and in need of mortification at the source--the heart. Only then can anyone be truly transformed by the renewal of their mind and escape the bondage of sexual temptation on any level.

Sadly, even many conservative evangelical leaders are buying into these legalistic ways of thinking about holiness and missing the root of sin in the heart. Excerpts of Al Mohler, Kevin DeYoung, and John Piper are a few men we look at. Otherwise faithful men that they are, we must discern error where it exists, if even if in the best of them. I have learned from each one (some more than others) and do not discount their entire ministries because of these errors, serious as they are. I do hope the bandwagon stops rolling soon and I hope it is by way of their own Holy Spirit-led conviction of their mistaken positions on "same-sex attraction".

Come on by!

In Christ Alone,

Ben

This Blog Has Moved!

2017-04-19T13:05:00.003-07:00

Hello friends!

In case you have been manually typing in this web address, or are just receiving email updates, I want to let you know that I have transferred this blog to a new website that I think you will find much more user friendly just as I have.

Please stop by and pass it on to whomever you think would benefit from our study of God's Word. You can re-subscribe there and see a number of the recent posts that have been done on worship leading as well as our latest study that kicked off in Jude.

Visit the new home for ToTheWoodshed

Thank you for reading and I pray this medium continues to be an edifying source of the truth.

In Christ Alone,

Ben

What Jesus’ Brother Jude Wanted Us to Know | Part 1: From Skeptic to Slave

2017-04-17T11:59:00.002-07:00

If you were living in the first century and knew the family of Jesus, Jude is probably not one who would strike you as a future contributor to the Holy Scriptures. Yet, as God has divinely orchestrated, Jude did in fact represent a unique testimony of the Son of God as one who had grown up with Him and witnessed nearly every aspect of His life—far more than any apostle. This does not weaken the apostle’s testimony stemming from their personal discipleship from the Lord Jesus—far from that!—but it does strengthen the testimony we have received from God that Jesus’ own immediate family would recognize Him as the Messiah and divinely appointed substitutionary atonement for sin because that was not the brothers’ position from the beginning.

Jude was one of four half-brothers of Jesus. Mary, obviously a virgin when she conceived Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit, was the only genetic contributor to the birth—Joseph was not. Joseph was, however, the legal father of Jesus. Joseph and Mary, together, had four more sons who both Matthew and Mark tell us are James (the author of the biblical book of James), Joseph, Simon, and Judas—the Greek name of our author now in question (Matt 13:55; Mk 6:3).

Jude, though he spent decades with the only perfect and holy person on earth, still had a heart veiled of the truth, one of skepticism and unbelief as to who his brother Jesus really was. The Apostle John records for us a time when Jesus’ brothers pestered Him with cynical, combative questions and comments, perhaps in a slightly passive-aggressive manner:

“Leave here and go to Judea, that your disciples also may see the works you are doing. For no one works in secret if he seeks to be known openly. If you do these things, show yourself to the world” (7:3–4).

John leaves no room for doubting their intentions here by stating immediately, “for not even his brothers believed in him” (v. 5).

We don’t actually see any clear, positive signs of genuine faith from Jesus’ brothers until immediately after his death and/or resurrection. It is quite possible that they had a similar experience to the centurion, who, after experiencing the darkness of the sun for three hours—starting at high noon—then hearing Jesus yell out from the cross, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit,’ then finally feeling the violent earthquake that caused large rocks to be split apart, spoke with fearful conviction, ‘Truly, this innocent man was the Son of God!’ (Matt 27:51–54; Lk 23:44–47).

Jude and his brothers, then, would undoubtedly be a part of “all the rest,” mentioned in Luke 24:9, of the group that met behind locked doors after Jesus’ death with His disciples. It was here that Jesus miraculously walked through the wall and revealed Himself as the risen Messiah, shocking everyone in the room (v. 37). Their joy and marveling notwithstanding, they still could not bring themselves to believe that this was the physically raised Jesus that they knew all these years. Again, Jude would have been a part of that group that experienced when Jesus “opened their minds to understand the Scriptures”—all that the Old Testament had prophesied about Himself (v. 45). It finally clicked, and this by a sovereign and gracious act of God to remove the blinders of disbelief.

From here, Jesus led them out to Bethany where He ascended up into Heaven, having told them to stay in Jerusalem until the power of the Holy Spirit came upon them—looking forward to Pentecost and the miraculous gift of languages in Acts 2. Jude, along with the others, “returned to Jerusalem with great joy” (v. 52) Then, just as Jesus had told them to, they waited. Indeed, “all these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers” (Acts 1:14).

After the death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus, the Christ, His brothers were changed men. They were new creations (2 Cor 5:17) having been regenerated by the Holy Spirit (Tit 3:5). This is left without question as their own personal testimony reveals. Their disposition is no longer one of skepticism to an older brother in the flesh, but one of a humble slave in recognition of His Master and Lord.

James starts his letter by calling himself a “slave of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ” (1:1) as does our author in question, Jude, who begins his short epistle with an identification as “a slave of Jesus Christ and brother of James” (1:1). In both instances, James and Jude use the Greek word doulos, which only ever means slave and is not properly understood as either a servant, or even a bond-servant. Slaves are bought and slaves are owned.

This was further substantiated when the Apostle Paul had written to the Corinthians that they were “bought with a price” (1 Cor 6:20, 7:23), or when Peter reminded his readers that they were “ransomed . . . with the precious blood of Christ” (1 Pet 1:18–19). This makes sense when considering that we were formerly slaves of something else—sin!

The Apostle Paul explains further: “When you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. But what fruit were you getting at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom 6:20–23).

Understanding the background of Jude instantly confronts the reader with an obvious challenge—how do you view yourself? Is it the way that the Bible so often identifies His believing children—as obedient slaves? Or do we belittle the Messiah who takes away the sins of the world to someone who merely allows us to continue in our sin with no threat of divine recompense? Jude would strongly attest to the former position. Jude knows that unbelief is damning and he would labor to save us from that.

We are also confronted with the reality that our physical family on earth has no bearing whatsoever on our original disposition with the Creator of heaven and earth. Even if we were blood relatives to the Lord Jesus Himself—as Jude was—we are still under the wrath of God until we come to a place of humble repentance and confession of sin as well as a confession that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God.

The Lord Himself rebuffed the Jews on this point: “Do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father,’ for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham” (Matt 3:9).

No, it is not an earthly lineage that saves a man from divine wrath. It is not because you were born into a Christian home, or because you have a minister as a father. We confess with the Apostle Peter: “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matt 16:16)—a truth that is not revealed by flesh and blood, but by the Father.

Jude writes to us as a fellow slave of Christ warning us of the dangers of wrong belief, false teachers, apostates, and heretics. It is in this letter that the famous opening words are remembered: “contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints” (v. 3). His letter, though small in size, is large in content and we will do well to carefully read the words of this brother of our Lord Jesus Christ, who was once a skeptic and was now a willing and humble slave.

Stay tuned for more from Jude.

In Christ Alone,

Ben

We Must Understand Experience and Emotions in the Light of Scripture—Not the Other Way Around

2017-04-14T12:15:00.000-07:00

The growing danger in the church today is the wide-held idea that feelings and experiences in themselves are the end goal of spiritual life. Too many think that they must get themselves to a self-defined point or feeling in order to consider themselves to having worshipped God. To strive so much after experiential stimulus has itself become the new object of worship, rather than the living God whom we must approach and worship in reverence and awe.

Far from seeking God as the object of our devotion, we have instead, in many cases, been guilty of seeking our own positive experience, deceiving ourselves into thinking that if we can get it, then we must have felt the Spirit moving. Rather than defining our emotions in light of the truth of God’s Word, we have instead leaned too hard on our own understanding and have trusted in subjective feelings to define for us what worship is and who God is.

Not only is this a gross and perverted view of worshipping God—by elevating man’s opinion above God’s decree—this has enormous implications and potentially dangerous consequences if left unchecked.

Man, in all of his earthly wonder, seeming wisdom, intellect, emotional complexities, and vast experiential repertoire, will always be subjected to his own inconsistent and fickle, sin-bent tendencies. Thus, all of the aforementioned niceties are not to be relied upon as final arbitration, especially in matters that pertain to the eternal, living God of Heaven and earth.

Indeed, the Psalms, the Prophets, and the Apostles all had this to say about the self-sufficiency of man: they are as powerful as the grass of the field and the flowers of the grassy field in the scorching heat of the sun—they wither and fall away (Ps 103:15; Is 40:6–8; Js 1:10–11; 1 Pet 1:24). It is in contrast to this weak and pathetic picture of mankind that the writers uphold the eternal and immutable—unchangeable—nature of the Word of God that can be counted on forever.

Only from the Word of God—and that being faithfully and diligently meted out in practice (Heb 5:14)—can one have a chance of discerning their own emotions and intentions correctly. Ultimately, it will be with the help of other godly men and women in our lives who can help us in our weaknesses and “bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ” (Gal 6:2). We must look at our life and our experiences through the discerning lens of the Holy Scriptures. We must not apply to Scripture any definition, or interpretation, based on our perspectives that have been molded by all sorts of temporal experiences.

Why?

Jeremiah states clearly it is because the “heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it” (17:9)?

Our desires, perspectives, and biases are warped and depraved by nature. To use that as a tool for defining right and wrong or to interpret spiritual realities is a magnanimous error. Isaiah even pronounced a woe upon those who would call “evil good and good evil,” (5:20) thus making it clear that men and women can and do wrongly discern and define.

The major threat that we face, then, when we do not love the truth and do not seek for righteousness and, rather, seek selfish, personal religious fetishes and shibboleths, is that we train ourselves to believe that the legitimacy, truthfulness, and genuineness of any preacher, teacher, or “worship musician” as being firmly established so long as they can deliver that particular experience we are so desperately trying to conjure. We esteem them to be unquestionably orthodox and spiritual.

Yet, it is precisely at this point that the Apostle's Paul & John warn their readers since the Antichrist, or lawless one, by the power of Satan, will have the ability to replicate many of the same signs and wonders that former prophets like Elijah had done when he called down fire from heaven on Mt. Carmel.

For instance, in Revelation 13, John says that the "second beast" will be able to call down fire from heaven in front of people, that "by the signs . . . it deceives those who dwell on earth" (v. 13).

Will he be able to deceive true Christians? The answer is an emphatic “no!” The Lord Jesus says it will be impossible to deceive the elect: “False christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect” (Matt 24:24) (emphasis mine).

Paul writes to the Thessalonians and includes a warning about “The coming of the lawless one” saying that it is “by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders, and with all wicked deception” that he will deceive many (2 Thess 2:9–10).

The takeaway is clear: We cannot count on external experiences alone to guide our understanding of truth. Rather, it is the truth that guides our understanding of experiences and it is the truth that discerns for us whether signs and wonders are true or false.

Experiences can be created. Emotions can be manipulated. Only those who "love the truth" will not be deluded, Paul says (2 Thess 2:10).

True repentance, regeneration, and sanctification will bring forth the most genuine forms of humble emotion you will ever experience, even a peace so unusual that it "surpasses understanding" (Phil 4:7). This will naturally result—supernaturally, rather!—when the living God abides in you.

Considering His mercy and forgiveness will bring forth praise as you remember that you should be punished in hell but were instead reconciled to Him in Christ.

Considering His justice will bring forth profound worship as you think and ponder on the fact that He has so condescended Himself to save someone like you or I.

Considering His holiness will bring forth more cries for help and grace to sustain us in a dark world where our flesh is still yet to be fully tamed, knowing that the true result of true conversion is a true manifestation of the Holy Spirit in our lives, no longer living according to the flesh, which is at odds with God, but living and walking according to the Spirit.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, remember the words of the Lord Himself as He taught the crowds on the hillside above the Sea of Galilee: “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied” (Matt 5:6).

Make that your goal. Make that your aim. Then let the Lord work out in your life the experience that can never be replicated anywhere else: godliness with contentment, which is great gain (1 Tim 6:6).

In Christ Alone,

Ben

Getting the Gospel and Growing Up in the New Year

2016-12-27T10:58:00.000-08:00

If there is one thing that distinguishes Christians from any other belief system or religious framework in the world, it is found in their belief, or faith, in the gospel of Jesus Christ. Christians know that they deserve condemnation for sin and eternal damnation in Hell but have instead received forgiveness of their sin—salvation— and have instead inherited eternal life in Heaven. This transaction as it were was only possible through the substitutionary death and resurrection of the perfect and holy Son of God, Jesus Christ, who absorbed in Himself the eternal penalty that was due unto us. The fear of death and the influence of sin no longer has power over us, rather we are now indwelt by the Holy Spirit who gives us new inclinations and new desires that honor and glorify the Father.

Well what about after that moment of salvation? As it pertains to the individual, what is it that they should be seeking to do while living their life on this side of eternity?

The answer is given to us by the apostles.

They want us to grow up.

The moment of salvation that we experience as Christians is indeed a moment. Meaning, salvation is not an ongoing process—you are either saved or you are not saved. Sanctification on the other hand is an ongoing process and is not a moment in time only. What this then means is that there is work to do in our lives as a part of our sanctification process—though powered by God Himself (Phil 2:13).

Put another way, it is not enough for Christians to memorize and teach John 3:16.

It is not enough for pastors just to preach John 3:16 either. The Apostle Paul had a clear conscience because he “did not shrink from declaring . . . the whole counsel of God” (Acts 20:27) (emphasis mine). Belief in the gospel of Christ is the end of the life of slavery to sin, but it is the very beginning of the life of freedom found in the Christian life.

What the men and women of God need is a constant saturation of the full counsel of the Word of God in order to become more and more sanctified unto Him, being stable in the faith, holding deep convictions, and living holy and blameless lives.

Listen, the natural output of a life that is indwelled and powered by the Holy Spirit of God is a life that, indeed, puts out or generates the fruit of the Holy Spirit of God and this can only happen by nourishing our spirits with the Holy Spirit’s own written Word.

A.W. Tozer once said, “The Holy Spirit never enters a man and then lets him live like the world. You can be sure of that.”

This is because the works of the Spirit are against the works of the flesh as the Apostle Paul details in Romans 8.

Our salvation is our greatest need. After that, however, our next greatest need is our sanctification and there are several reasons for this.

If the only spiritual truth we know—as Christians—pertains to the basics of repentance from sin, faith towards God, baptism, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment, then the Bible tells us we are immature and “unskilled in the word of righteousness” and tantamount to children surviving on milk (Heb 5:13).

This is okay if you were saved yesterday by the way.

For those who have been Christians for years and years . . . we need to stop and consider: do we know the Word of God well? I mean, do we really know it? Do we grasp its truths and can we navigate it quickly in order to enrich our own soul or help disciple another? Are we able to think on our feet and give an answer to those who ask questions or ask for the reason we have hope in our life?

I remember sitting in a men’s group once and one of the men was asking for prayer as he was barely keeping a job, his marriage was falling apart and was headed for a divorce, he had no hope for anything and didn’t know what to do. When asked, he admitted he was struggling with sin and confessed he wasn’t in the Word. This was evidenced by his complete inability to know which direction to turn to find the book of Romans when he was asked to do so.

Friends, how acquainted are we with God’s Word?

In the book of Hebrews, the author gives us some startling insights into the various levels of Christian maturity—and the implications thereof—being especially pointed with those who have been saved for a long time and yet had little more knowledge of God’s truths than when they first believed.

The author was about to get into a helpful and fascinating discourse on the priesthood of Melchizedek and how it tied into Jesus’ priestly ministry, but then had to pause . . .

“About this we have much to say, and it is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing. For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food, for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child. But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil” (Heb 5:11–14)

The word “dull” in verse 11 is a translation of the transliterated Greek word nothros, which means lazy or sluggish. What this tells us then is that this is a self-inflicted problem.

Becoming disinterested in divine truth is a problem of infinite proportions and is in fact a self-perpetuating one. The desire for the Word of God comes from reading it. The only way we have ever desired to read it in the first place is by the initial prompting of the Holy Spirit, so when we suppress that, we are actively engaging in an effort that is at odds with God’s will and thus causes us to become dull and desensitized along the way. It’s a self-licking ice cream cone kind of problem.

These people had been Christians long enough to where they should have amassed a much greater amount of knowledge and attained a higher level of understanding, thus being equipped to teach others themselves.

The most immediate context in this Hebrews passage however highlights their inability to comprehend grander and more glorious truths, like the priesthood of Melchizedek and Jesus Christ. Their ignorance hamstrung their further development. It was so bad that they needed to be reminded of some of the basic truths or “principles of the oracles of God” (vs. 12) all over again.

The writer goes on to explain the ramifications of this self-inflicted problem. He says they need milk—evidenced by the fact that they were unskilled in the Word and apparently lacked the marks, or fruit, of spiritual maturity. In other words, this is not just a ‘level of knowledge’ issue alone.

He said they don’t need solid food as that is only for the spiritually mature. The real wakeup call comes when he effectively states that their powers of discernment are weak at best. This means that in practice they make poor, even sinful, choices in life because of their biblical ignorance.

To be clear, the apostle Peter tells us to long for the milk of the word like newborn infants, but that is precisely the metaphor he intends to use for the reason of establishing the basics from which Christians ought to grow. This is obvious when he follows up with: “that by it you may grow up” (1 Pet 2:2).

This picture of a baby craving milk works in two ways. As far as desire is concerned, we ought to crave the Word like milk. As far as the actual baby is concerned, we ought to grow up and mature. The desire never goes away, though—what better way to illustrate that than with a helpless newborn baby?

There is another aspect to the milk illustration, which concerns the level of maturity of the believer. While our desire for the Word ought to be as rigorous and of a necessity for life as the baby’s is for milk, we ought to look for more and more weight and meat in our diet as we grow up in order to develop from the status of a spiritual baby. Even still, our desire for that meat is as the baby’s for milk. That never changes.

The apostle Paul writes also to the Corinthian congregation:

“I, brothers, could not address you as spiritual people, but as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ. I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for it. And even now you are not yet ready, for you are still of the flesh. For while there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not of the flesh and behaving only in a human way” (1 Cor 3:1–3)?

By not growing up from basic gospel truth, they proved to be “people of the flesh.” He used that expression three different times in just three verses(!).

In Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, he spends time explaining the necessity and reason for having gifted preachers and teachers in every church:

“He gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love” (4:11–16) (emphasis mine).

We all know that children are easy targets for deception. This is why they are so blithely led to believe in Santa Clause. They are easy to manipulate and con into doing things they otherwise wouldn’t have thought up themselves. This is why you could pay them a nickel to do almost anything—they have no sense of real value.

It is precisely because of the nature of the immaturity that is inherent in young kids that parents must be their protectors, discerners, and teachers. Who else is there to do this? Who else can teach them the truth? Parents are their shepherds.

It is the same way in the church of God. God has given the church leaders and has given those leaders gifts. These gifts are for the maturing of the flock, so that the flock will not run after the shiniest object, the sweetest candy, or the easiest path. These are the packages that heresy and false teaching come beautifully wrapped in. Even Satan himself masquerades as something he is not—an angel of light (2 Cor 11:14).

We need the Word of God in order to be protected from the enemy of God. Knowing the gospel message is not enough to protect us from the wiles of the devil. Though we will not be snatched from God’s hand, we could still suffer from sinful choices that come as a result of being ill-prepared for his poisonous darts.

Friends, don’t stop learning. Nothing is unnecessary knowledge if it is in the pages of Holy Scripture. Everything in the Old Testament and New Testament is there for our edification and learning in order to grow us up in maturity and into the fullness of the stature of Christ.

We desperately need the solid food of God’s Word. We need to learn the full counsel of God. We need our powers of discernment to be sharpened if we are to have any hope of honoring and obeying God in this evil world that is actively trying to desensitize us to it.

The saving gospel of Christ is the starting point of our spiritual growth and understanding. This is why Paul writes to the Romans: “Now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification” (6:22) (emphasis mine).

We need sanctification because it protects us from sinning against God.

Psalm 119 is a stunning and epic poem—the longest recorded psalm in the Bible—that was probably written by the likes of either David, Daniel, or Ezra. In it, the author wisely declares: “I have stored up your word in my heart that I might not sin against you” (vs. 11) (emphasis mine). Just prior to this he writes, “How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to your word” (vs. 9).

Then he expresses his longing for God’s word—almost as a baby does for life’s sustenance—“With my whole heart I seek you; let me not wander from your commandments” (vs. 10)!

The entirety of Psalm 119 is weighted with these longings and expressions of the greatness of the Word of God, its implications, its effect, and its wonder, and how much the writer longs for it.

All throughout Scripture, the Word of God is seen as a means to protect us and preserve us. The longing of it—and consequently the obedience of it—is a mark of a true Christian, so let the implication of that sink in. If need be, ask God in prayer for a new desire to read and study for the sake of your spiritual growth and to become more like Jesus Christ.

“For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart” (Heb 4:12).

Let us act upon the exhortation of Hebrews 6:1 and “leave the elementary doctrine of Christ and go on to maturity.”

Happy New Year, friends!

Ben

The Puritans and the Separatists: American Evangelicalism's Founding Fathers

2016-11-17T11:43:00.002-08:00

Thomas Jefferson’s memorial in Washington, D.C. is one of the most visited attractions by tourists who visit that historic city. We rightly remember with great thankfulness that it was men like Jefferson who established our nation under the principles and convictions that God was the Creator and all were created by him and endowed with unalienable rights to “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” Jefferson was honest enough to acknowledge the Creator as the “Almighty God” and the “Holy Author of our religion” even going so far as to recognize His “supreme will.” Yet, Thomas Jefferson and other men like him who helped establish the laws that govern our Constitutional Democracy were not in fact creating a Christian nation in actuality, rather they were creating a form of government that protected all religious practice even while acknowledging “one code of morality for men whether acting singly or collectively.” It is precisely this code of morality that the true pioneers of evangelicalism in America had the highest privilege to preach in its infant country. These men are who we know as both the Puritans and the Separatists and it was through their ministries and subsequent revivals that laid the foundation of America’s ethical and moral code—the Word of God.

So who exactly were the Puritans and the Separatists? They both came from England. In 1531, King Henry VIII established the Church of England in order to break away from the authority of the Pope and the Roman Catholic Church—mainly for selfish reasons. This new English—Anglican—Church was England’s newly established state church with the king now as the Supreme Head. As we would imagine, this proved to bring about further power struggles between England and other nations who remained loyal to the papacy. Truth be told, crown-claiming and land-grabbing was usually an ulterior motive to their support of the Pope’s claim to the English. Regardless, this new state church now became a new target for those within.

What the Protestant reformers were to the Roman Catholic Church, the Puritans were to the Anglican Church. Reformers like Martin Luther, for instance, did not set out to split the church, or start a new one—he worked to reform the current one according to the Bible. So it was with the Puritans, fittingly named for those within the Anglican Church who wanted to purify the church according to the Bible. Not only did they oppose “the use of saints’ days, clerical absolution, the sign of the Cross, the custom of having godparents in baptism, kneeling for Communion,” etc., but their emphasis was on the sovereignty of God as Calvin had taught it, the infallibity of the Scriptures, ongoing reformation in the church and in the individual, and a “theology intended to soften the heart and enlighten the conscience” as historian Earle E. Cairns has documented.

Not everyone in the Anglican Church, however, felt that a purification of it alone was good enough. Some Puritans took this reformation to a level that demanded reform in its ecclesiastical government, but this included its ties to the secular government as well. They were opposed to the state church concept. Wanting a break from state rule and oversight, they advocated an independent and self-ruled style of church government. In a word, they came to be known as Separatists, or Separatist Puritans.

The Separatists can really be credited with the form of denominationalism that we know today, that is, a denomination that governs itself free from the oversight of the state. Further, it would be a denomination that was not hierarchical like the Episcopalian form of government.

This growing sentiment in the Anglican Church was threatening to the English monarchy as the state church concept could be and often was a critical and politically strategic matter of power and control. To the crown’s perspective, the Separatists were almost viewed as treasonous dissenters. In reality, “the major point of difference [for] . . . the Separatist Puritans was the idea of the church covenant by which the Separatists bound themselves in loyalty to Christ and one another apart from a state church.” This is why we hear the terminology around “covenanting together” still today—reminiscent of and based on the new covenant of the blood of Jesus Christ.

As was often the case at this point in history, “persecution of opposing religious beliefs became standard practice” as historian Robert V. Remini notes. This persecution actually drove many Separatists to Holland in 1608, but the way of life there was not ideal, leaving them wanting something better. They later received permission from the London Company to settle in Virginia and so departed Holland, sailing aboard the Mayflower—but they never made it.

Instead, they happened to land at Plymouth on Cape Cod on November 21, 1620. Before they departed the ship, though, the voyagers all signed what is known as the Mayflower Compact outlining their understanding of how everyone would operate as under a self-governed people. This Mayflower Compact, though political in nature, was an extension of their covenanting together as a body of believers. The seeds of American government were starting to take root already, even before their boots hit the sandy shores of the east coast.

The non-Separatist Puritans back home in England had a bit more of a straightforward commute to the New World. With permission from King Charles I, the Puritans formed a joint-stock company in England called the Massachusetts Bay Company where they were also afforded the opportunity to establish a satellite colony of this new company in America, namely what John Smith had earlier dubbed the New England. So began what has come to be known as the Great Migration where over 1,000 Puritans departed for the new colony and continued to grow.

With a healthy amount of these Calvinistic theologians who opted for a Congregationalist approach to church government, the churches that then followed were established in that way. It was from this breeding ground that the likes of Jonathon Edwards rose up to prominence in the next century where the Lord used him in a mighty way to convict people of their inherited sin in Adam, inform them of their sure judgment in Hell, and so offer them the free gift of the gospel of Jesus Christ by faith alone and in repentance of sin. His ministry was so effective that it contributed largely to the Great Awakening in America during an incredibly critical time. Biographer George M. Marsden notes that “there was no denial that many persons’ lives were being changed in ways that . . . seemed to meet sober tests for spiritual transformation.”

While Jonathan Edwards preached the Word of God in the pulpit, the likes of George Washington was trying to maintain the freedom of the American colonies. Thomas Jefferson was a young chap in this culture of Puritan preaching and undoubtedly influenced if even to a shallow social and political level. The great evangelist, George Whitefield, was about the same age as Edwards and also contributed mightily to the Great Awakening. Benjamin Franklin—not known for having an affinity for God or anything religious—was yet entranced by the passion of Whitefield. Rumor has it that someone asked Franklin why he ever went to listen to Whitefield since he didn’t believe a word he preached, to which Franklin replied, “But he believes what he preaches!”

Benjamin Franklin attested of George Whitefield in his own auto-biography: “It was wonderful to see the change soon made in the manners of our inhabitants; from being thoughtless or indifferent about religion, it seemed as if all the world were growing religious; so that one could not walk through the town in an evening without hearing psalms sung in different families of every street.”

It is helpful to trace these overlapping lives of the Lord’s faithful preachers and America’s greatest statesmen because we see that there is no questioning whether the secular politicians were influenced by the preaching of the Puritans and other evangelists. The need for a single moral code to help shape the new and evolving governmental documents was a fact of life. They were self-evident truths.

As imperfect our documents are—they are in fact man-made and sometimes require amendments—that govern the United States of America today, they were first written down in pen by men who were under the direct influence of sound theological preachers who helped ensure that the entire social construct of the world in which they lived was operating under a biblical world-view. We can trace this lineage of biblical faithfulness back to the Puritans—whether Separatist or not—and remember that their impact on our American beginnings are uncontested and continue to remind all who call on the name of the Lord to this very day as to the power of the Word of God preached.

In His Sovereign Grip,

Ben

Bibliography

“Benjamin Franklin on Rev. George Whitefield, 1739,” National Humanities Center Resource Toolbox, accessed November 12, 2016, http://nationalhumanitiescenter.org/pds/becomingamer/ideas/text2/franklinwhitefield.pdf.

Boyd, Gregory A. The Myth of a Christian Nation. Michigan: Zondervan, 2005.

Cairns, Earle E. Christianity through the Centuries. Michigan: Zondervan, 1996.

French, Allen. Charles I and the Puritan Upheaval: A Study of the Causes of the Great Migration. Michigan: Allen & Unwin, 1955.

“George Whitefield: Methodist Evangelist,” Christian Classics Ethereal Library, accessed November 12, 2016, http://www.ccel.org/ccel/whitefield.

Hall, Timothy L. Separating Church and State: Roger Williams and Religious Liberty. Illinois: University of Illinois Press, 1998.

Marsden, George M. Jonathan Edwards: A Life.

“Quotations on the Jefferson Memorial,” Thomas Jefferson Foundation, Inc., accessed November 11, 2016, https://www.monticello.org/site/jefferson/quotations-jefferson-memorial.

Remini, Robert V. A Short History of the United States. New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 2009.

“Short History of Anglicanism,” The Church of England, accessed November 11, 2016, https://www.churchofengland.org/our-faith/being-an-anglican/anglican.aspx.

“What Was the Great Puritan Migration?” Reference, accessed November 12, 2016, https://www.reference.com/history/great-puritan-migration-17fa833f4278595f.

Worship Leaders, Step Back and Remember: You Are Expendable

2016-03-18T13:20:00.000-07:00

In an age of self-promoting, hipster-ridden, people-pleasing Sunday morning concerts, complete with light shows and multi-media graphics, it is an odd thing to suggest that the Instrumental Worship Leader ought to be a simple medium by which people can follow along in song—one who is not actually needed in order to realize worship in a church. In other words, the man leading the music is expendable. He is a servant at the service of another—a Master who has already left instructions about what acceptable worship looks like.

In case you missed Part 5, find it here: You Are A Type Of Pastor

Nothing new is needed in order to incite people to worship, indeed there is nothing new under the sun (Ecc 1:9). Nothing particularly creative is needed in order to interest people towards God, indeed only God can draw people to Himself (John 6:44). Dear friends and fellow musicians in God’s church, we are servants of God with gifts to use for the edification of the church and there are times that we will be unappreciated, criticized, and even replaced by fickle churches who want something that stimulates them more.

We have to realize that while we can try and maintain a legitimate repertoire of old and new hymns and songs, we will not make everyone happy and in fact we should not be trying, per se, to make everyone happy; rather, we should be trying to encourage and exhort everyone to a higher view of God that is rooted in a deep knowledge of Scripture. This should be the goal of the entire pastoral staff, ultimately. As much as it pertains to us—the musicians—we must be ever so careful to play music that naturally complements the words we sing, rather than chanting phrases that complements our jam sessions. We must be diligent to teach our churches why we sing and why we sing together.

With all of that said, we need to remember that if we are really sold out for being a faithful minister of music for the glory of God, then there could be consequences. For millennia, faithful men of God in preaching and teaching roles have been ousted for remaining unmoved in their conviction to preach the true Gospel, not skipping over such topics like the wrath of God, the sovereignty of God, the exclusivity of Christ, etc.

We remember people like Jonathan Edwards who was voted out of his church after 23 years of faithful ministry because he maintained that only those who professed the Christian faith should be allowed to take communion. He was right and yet he was still voted out by a majority of about 90% (!). The controversy at that time was massive. His careful concern to not desecrate the Lord’s Table was looked down upon with great disdain even though the Apostle Paul warned that eating the bread and drinking the wine in an unworthy manner would be eating and drinking judgment on oneself (1 Cor 11:27–29).

If Jonathan Edwards could be forced to step down due to his biblical position and conviction of the reverence of God in the church through the Lord’s Table, then we must also realize that there is a real possibility that we, as modern church musicians (and oh how shifty is our taste in music), will be asked to step down because we maintain a biblical conviction to draw lines at songs and bands that we feel are insufficient expressions of worship and reverence to God, be it in the lyrics, or in the music itself.

You may be replaced because you simply aren’t drawing the crowds that other churches are. You may be replaced because enough people in the church have voiced their opinion on what “better worship” looks like, thus concerning the church leadership as to whether or not they are about to lose some of their congregants.

No matter what, we must be patient with people and help them see why it is we sing what we sing and why it is we sound different than the church down the street and why it matters. We do not come to church to be get entertained, but to give expression in our worship with singing as our worship is really seen in our life that walks according to the Spirit rather than according to the flesh (Gal 5; Rom 8).

I have found that this is a very, very difficult thing to get across to a church unless the entire church leadership is on board with a united stance on the theology of worship. Where no official position is held, then anything is subject to change based on the loudest, or most convincing critic. Of course, with criticism always comes the threat of people leaving, so the church leaders are faced with a seemingly difficult situation as they either let the congregant go, or the Instrumental Worship Leader go if enough people voice their complaints. To be sure, these situations do not have to be difficult if the leaders all have a conviction on what biblical worship is as well as have a conviction on what the biblical use of music is. Notice how I separated those two topics. While they do overlap, they are not synonymous terms. Furthermore, if the church leadership does not actively teach the theology of worship and music, then the church will be more apt to complain.

No matter the umbrella of leadership that you find yourself in, you have to be willing to be traded out for the next newest thing when the time comes. Wherever you are serving you are serving as unto the Lord and not as people-pleasers for eye-service as Paul told the Ephesians (6:5–7).

You can only do so much in your position as you are not primarily responsible for leading the church. When there comes a point that your conviction of biblical worship differs significantly from the leaders in the church, then it will probably result in you moving on, rather than them. God is sovereign over these things and will always work together everything for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose (Rom 8:28).

I remember when I was sat down by our church leadership with the concern that worship was at the lowest point ever, people were complaining, people were leaving, and the quality of the music was not very good anymore. I received this list in a few seconds and needless to say it was very bothersome to me, but not for what you might think.

I was mostly bothered that our leadership was actually moved by the fact that people were leaving over matters of musical taste and then considering that to be indicative of a ministry problem. This gets right back to how important it is to define worship. It is one’s adoration and obedience to Christ in their life, not their preference in church music.

Our church at that time had seen a massive decline in our band size because of graduating college seniors who made up the bulk. This practically changed overnight in the spring and we suddenly sounded a lot different. Well, people hear the sudden difference and realize it is not going to change anytime soon and grow complacent, thus becoming critical. This really requires a tactful, teacher-spirit on the part of the leadership to help people understand how the composition of the band has no bearing on the acceptability of one’s song sung to God while encouraging them to be patient for the minor details and not to be derailed by them as they are inconsequential.

Unfortunately, too many times leaders succumb to the temptation to validate these criticisms. They see people leave for petty, illegitimate reasons and instead of trust God for the size of their congregation, what do they do? They turn to the musicians and formulate a plan to draw people in with better music. Such it was with our church. Though we declared every Sunday that we were an expositional church, we were suddenly adopting seeker-sensitive methodologies to attract a younger crowd.

Do we not tire of this charade anymore? Do we not grow weary of the senseless, programmatic approach to the ministry that usurps the role of the Holy Spirit of God? Friends, whether we realize it or not, we prove that we understand little of the power of the Word of God preached that draws the true elect church to a place of fellowship—people of all ages—when we think that music is the key to a successful ministry. We have to rid ourselves of the immature notion that we can draw people in with music to hear the sound preaching. We’re kidding ourselves. This improperly elevates music and inappropriately lowers the authority of God in our lives.

“No one can come to me,” Jesus said, “unless the Father who sent me draws him” (John 6:44).

It came to a point where I had to say I wasn’t their man for the job if they were going that direction. I felt they did not hold to a biblical theology of worship, or ecclesiology for that matter, and that there wasn’t a real, genuine problem, rather an opportunity to teach the church more about these things to take the wind out of the sails of the critical voices. To no avail, the leadership had decided to continue on with their new plan and asked me to step down, which I agreed. When it comes to a point like that it doesn’t do any good to stay and cause a scene. If you really do care for the people of God, then you will do whatever you can to minimize the wake of conflict.

In hindsight, the Lord has only blessed our family by bringing us to the next place he would have use serve at and grow at—one that has a deep love for sound doctrine and a consistent application of it.

Look, if we are servants, then we are expendable, yet never outside of God’s sovereign plan. He ordains these things to teach us, grow us, and mold us, while bringing glory to Himself. I am already amazed at how much I would be missing out on with new friends and opportunities to grow and serve had this frustrating experience not happened and I am extremely thankful for it.

The prophet Jeremiah once said, “I know, O Lord, that the way of man is not in himself, that it is not in man who walks to direct his steps” (10:23).

Fellow musicians, let’s also remember what the Apostle Paul said, namely, “not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think” (Rom 12:3). We are not rock stars, just musicians. The church does not revolve around us, but the glory of the only living God and His Son, Jesus Christ. We are not irreplaceable personalities, but servants that are moved by God to serve wherever he would have us.

When it comes to the music ministries we have been given by the mercy of God, let’s have a heart that cries what the expatriated Jews did in Psalm 137:

“If I forget you, O [God], let my right hand forget its skill! Let my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth, if I do not remember you, if I do not set [God] above my highest joy!” (5–6).

In His Sovereign Grip,

Ben

Worship Leaders, Step Back and Remember: You Are A Type of Pastor

2015-12-18T11:41:00.001-08:00

Extremely unique is the responsibility that the Instrumental Worship Leaders (IWL’s) have. Unlike the preaching and teaching pastor who speaks forth to a congregation that only listens and perhaps takes some notes, the worship leader actually puts words into their mouths. This is a massive responsibility that should never be taken lightly.

In case you missed Part 4, find it here: Lyrics Are Paramount

Keith Getty has often said that “we are what we sing,” meaning that we end up believing whatever it is we keep singing about. As we have discussed in a recent post regarding the lyrical content of our songs, the selection that we make is no meaningless task. Simply put, our music should reflect what it is we know about God, i.e. who He is and what He has done. In fact, whether we realize it or not, our music will reflect what we believe about God—be it correct, or incorrect—and to what level we grasp a particular truth will be manifested in our songs.

Generally speaking, IWL’s will find themselves operating in one of two paradigms when it comes to song selection: 1) They select the song based on its overall thought, statement, and lyrical content, and then considers the musical accompaniment that enhances it; or 2) They select the song based on the overall sound and feel of the music—period. In our modern world today, it is all too obvious that most churches operate under the second principle. This practically leaves them at the mercy of the latest “worship” album being generated by young musicians in their early to late twenties who have virtually no theological training, or firm grasp of the timeless doctrines of the Christian faith that are taken from the Word of God. It is a vicious cycle that continues to degenerate, rather than mature since the model is based on emulating youth, rather than theologically proven wisdom.

To be clear, youth does not necessitate bad theology, but as a general axiomatic principle, maturity grows with age, so the younger someone is the more prone they are to the trappings of their immaturity if not well-trained. It is no wonder that the Apostle Paul told his dear—and quite young—apprentice, Timothy, to “let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity” (1 Tim 4:12). He was to be even more diligent in his youth to be an example to everyone as to what a godly, faithful youth looked like. All of this is to say that the youth-dominant—or youth-targeting—music that dominates the albums being emulated in our churches around America are not exactly a bunch of Timothy’s, meaning they are not theologically minded-pastors. This is not so much a criticism as it is an observation, which demands our attention as to what we do with it. Put another way, it is not to say that there is necessarily bad theology in a bulk of the music being sold, rather there is very little of it—and this is a problem.

It is notable that when the Apostle Paul told the Colossian church to sing “psalms and hymns and spiritual songs” (3:16) in this familiar and oft-quoted passage, that he preceded it with the instruction to “let the word of Christ dwell in you richly.” He told the exact same thing to the Ephesian church in 5:18–19. John MacArthur has rightly said that our worship will be as high as our theology is deep. The deeper we understand the Word of God, the more it will be reflected in our lives and in our songs.

This goes right back to what Jesus said to the woman at the well in John 4 in regards to what worship would look like—it would be in spirit and in truth (v. 23). It is also why he told this Gentile woman, “you worship what you do not know; we [the Jews] worship what we know” (v.22) (emphasis mine). Again, make no mistake, this is not relegated to music alone. In fact, it is largely targeting the life of the individual and their obedience; their holiness. Yet, it affects everything that falls under the worship umbrella. Truth is knowable, definitive, and absolute. It goes without saying that it should be a hallmark of any song that we offer up to our mighty and holy God.

It is also important to understand how the Word of God impacts our volition, or our will. When the word of Christ dwells in us richly, it does not sit stagnant—that wouldn’t be very rich. No, we understand from Hebrews 4:12 that the “word of God is living and active,” so we can expect it to have an effect on the soul in which it resides.

Listen to the beautiful way in which the prophet Isaiah wrote in regards to the effect of the word of the LORD:

“As the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it” (55:10–11).

The outcome? Verse 12 continues: “You shall go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and the hills before you shall break forth into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.”

The more we are saturated with the word of God, the more we have reason to praise Him with all reverence and awe and, in fact, the more natural it will be for our mouths and lips to articulate those things. Our Lord Himself said of both good and evil people in Luke 6:45 that it is, “out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.” It is no wonder that both Isaiah and Colossians attribute the work of the Word of God to high and acceptable praise and worship. This is what the Holy Spirit does in a redeemed life.

Consider the commendation of Hebrews 13:15: “Let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name.” For our lips to be fruitful in offering this sacrifice of confessing His Name, then our hearts must be full of—yes, richly indwelt by—the word of Christ.

The takeaway from all of this is two-fold. First, The IWL must constantly be devoting himself to the study of the Bible. I cannot emphasize this enough. This alone would revolutionize the way most churches approach the congregational time of singing. Far too often—and I mean painfully so—the first available kid who can play a guitar and sing is given this weighty task and many times he couldn’t tell you where any given book of the Bible is even located. From my own personal observations, this is usually because the church wants to save money by not hiring on a full-time music minister. That has been the prevailing shift in the last ten years. The theological importance of singing truth as a congregation is usually not appreciated, thus not prioritized, as it should be by the leaders who make the scheduling decisions.

By the way, I was one of those kids once. From the beginning, I have wanted to understand what worship really is, biblically, and how music is a part of that. I was (and still am) passionate about doing music right before my Lord and Savior. My disposition notwithstanding, I was theologically immature and unable to practice the best discernment in song selection as I am today. Churches would be doing themselves and the Lord Jesus Christ a great service to place the responsibility of the music of the church into the hands of a doctrinally sound and theologically mature leader who also possesses the exceptional ability to play and/or direct music.

This takes us to our second point in that the IWL must select songs that are theologically rich so that it contributes to a higher exaltation of God as well as the edification and maturity of the saints who sing the songs. They will start learning and believing what it is they are singing, so we are indeed a type of pastor as we contribute to the shepherding of people into the truth of the Word of God. The song selection goes hand in hand with the preaching and teaching ministry of the church—they both teach. The music aspect has its own special benefit, in that it makes these truths that are being sung more memorable.

Keith Getty said on one occasion that if the sermon on Sunday is a really good one, then people typically remember the last song . . . If the sermon was a really poor sermon, people still remember the last song! In either case, we leave a memorable impression on people with our music, so it would be a shame if they left with an impression of showmanship, rather than the melody line running through their heads that carries along a precious truth or praise about God. Music aids memory. It is extremely practical and entirely useful. Professional jingle writers make a lot of money for simply creating a memorable sound byte that ties people’s minds to a product. Again, music aids memory.

A fantastic example of this is when God had Moses write the law down in the form of a song in Deuteronomy 31. God’s reason?

“Write this song and teach it to the people of Israel. Put it in their mouths, that this song may be a witness for me against the people of Israel . . . this song shall confront them as a witness (for it will live unforgotten in the mouths of their offspring)” (19–21) (emphasis mine). In other words, the song would be memorable and teachable to all generations so that the kids would pick it up and be able to sing it. The song would be a witness against them, if need be, as it was the actual reminder of the Law of God to be obeyed.

Friends, every part of the congregational worship service is to be focused on glorifying and exalting our triune God which will in fact spiritually benefit and edify the saints involved. The musicians and their leaders are simply servants who provide a service that helps to meet that end. They are not there to act as a marketing gimmick to fill the seats. They are not there to take votes on what style everyone wants. They are not even there to meet people where they are at. That misses the entire purpose for gathering. They are simply there to play music so that everyone can sing to God! The whole church gathers in order to hear from God’s Word and sing God’s praises. They meet together to worship God from where they are at. While true worship has a spiritually beneficial impact on the soul and mind, the target of our music is not to achieve an experiential, or emotional, end that someone thinks they need. No; rather, if you are offering your sacrifice with a pure and humble heart before God in reverence and awe, then you will simply experience the camaraderie of worshiping God with others of a like mind, knowing that you are honoring God with acceptable worship—the right spirit and grounded in truth.

Fellow musicians, do not cave into the pressures of having your ministry dictated by complaints. Be a teacher. Shepherd your team and as much of the church as you can to understand biblical worship and how music then fits into that. Remain diligent to study Scripture so that when you speak it is obvious what your time is spent reading and when you select songs they will be ones that reflect the knowledge and reverence of the most Holy God. This will make you more valuable to the work God is doing in His Church on earth. We will not be giving an account to our congregation, elders, or family when we stand before God—we will give an account to God alone. May we be men of conviction that take the opportunity, through our musical talent, to raise the thoughts of men and women to the highest of heights, where God is seated in the heavens on His throne.

As John the Baptist rightly said: “He must increase, but I must decrease” (Jn 3:30).

In Christ Alone,

Ben

Part 6: You Are Expendable

Is Spanking Really In The Bible?

2015-08-06T08:55:00.002-07:00

What does biblical discipline look like in a parent-child context? If spanking is a part of it, then when exactly? When are words enough?

Thankfully, the Bible answers these questions for us.

Let’s first settle the question about “the rod”—tbX in the Hebrew language, which is transliterated to Shebet. Each time we come across “rod” in the following verses, it is using this word, which means exactly what we would think it means: a rod, shaft, or club. You can do many things with the rod as we will see.

Understanding “the rod” is a simple thing to do as the Bible does not merely allude to it once or twice, but speaks in various places and in various ways as to the necessity of using a rod when necessary.

One of the first instances in Scripture where we see “the rod” being spoken of in a disciplinary sense is actually back in 2 Samuel during the time of King David when God was making His covenant with David, known simply as the Davidic Covenant. While God tells David about all that He is going to do through David’s lineage in a positive way, He also speaks to what He will do when Israel sins. Pay close attention:

“When your days are fulfilled and you [David] lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son. When he commits iniquity, I will discipline him with the rod of men, with the stripes of the sons of men, but my steadfast love will not depart from him” (7:12–15), (emphasis mine).

Notice first of all that parental discipline with a rod is assumed, revealed in how God uses that as his prime example for inflicting pain on His children when they commit iniquity. Psalm 89 reiterates this, saying, “I will punish their transgression with the rod and their iniquity with stripes” (v. 32).

Significantly: Who was the immediate king after David?—Solomon—the very man who wrote the majority of the book of Proverbs, in which our wisdom of godly parenting and discipline is found.

Later on in the book of Isaiah, we see what exactly “the rod” was for Israel when they sinned: “Ah, Assyria, the rod of my anger; the staff in their hands is my fury! Against a godless nation I send him” (5–6), (emphasis mine).

The warning for this kind of punishment went back even further than David—it went back to Moses himself: “But if you will not obey the voice of the Lord your God . . . The Lord will bring a nation against you from far away, from the end of the earth, swooping down like the eagle, a nation whose language you do not understand, a hard-faced nation who shall not respect the old or show mercy to the young” (Deut 28:1, 49–50).

God’s point to David was clear: I will be a father to them and I will discipline them when they sin, but my steadfast love will not depart from them. A parent who loves their children, disciplines in a way that at times will be painful—and oh how fleeting is that momentary sting?—in order to teach them of the ultimate reality that unchecked sin leads to eternal pain, even eternal death.

What may be helpful for us is to remember that “the rod” was also something that gently guided, as was often the case for shepherds. Their shepherd’s staff had an open curve at the end that they could use for both physically manhandling and gently guiding. We all know Psalm 23 where David said, “the LORD is my shepherd . . . thy rod and thy staff they comfort me” (vss.1, 4).

Gentle guidance notwithstanding, Proverbs 13:24 says, “Whoever spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him is diligent to discipline him” (emphasis mine). The latter half could also be translated as “he who loves him disciplines him early.” Indeed, a necessary component.

Additionally, Proverbs 22:15 says, “Folly is bound up in the heart of a child, but the rod of discipline drives it far from him.”

Sometimes people may be tempted to think that all of these verses pertaining to disciplining with the rod are simply ways of expressing how parents, like shepherds, used the rod of correction only to guide their children verbally, but not to correct, physically. While the guiding aspect is a necessary part of parenting, it is not to the exclusion of the actual “strike” that we call a spanking:

“Do not withhold discipline from a child; if you strike him with a rod, he will not die. If you strike him with the rod, you will save his soul from Sheol” (Prov 23:13–14). The statement is clear. Even in 26:3 we see that there is “a whip for the horse, a bridle for the donkey, and a rod for the back of fools.”

Isaiah 28:27 also refers to the use of a rod for a blow which is quite revealing: “Dill is not threshed with a threshing sledge, nor is a cart wheel rolled over cumin, but dill is beaten out with a stick, and cumin with a rod.” We can clearly see what the use and intent of the rod was here.

That Hebrew word for “strike” is hkn, which means to be stricken, or smitten; to give a blow, or to beat. It is even used for clapping and applause. The sense is clear—it is a physical action that involves a type of hit. The biblical parenting context demands the backside, which rules out uncalled-for abuse, or sporadic "hitting" as is so misconstrued today.

Thus, spanking is not a recent invention of unloving disciplinarians, rather it is a specific tool meant to chasten our kids out of love so as to preserve them from death—something that has been the case for thousands and thousands of years.

Keep in mind that the entire book of Proverbs is essentially predicated on passing true wisdom from one generation to the next. It is written to ensure that the reader does not become a fool, but becomes wise, which will only happen where there is a fear of the LORD: “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction” (1:7). Parenting is all about raising little fools to be wise men and women of God. Folly is bound up in their hearts, but the rod of discipline will drive it far away (22:15). Will we become the fools and despise Proverb’s wisdom by calling spanking an option that we choose not to exercise?

“Whoever trusts in his own mind is a fool, but he who walks in wisdom will be delivered” (28:26). Being that this wisdom is found in the fear of the Lord, what does it reveal about us if we refuse to believe the wisdom that God has delivered here?

Let’s end in Proverbs 29 as we address some final aspects of biblical discipline. It is important to know that spanking in itself is not a magic pill. If you improperly spank, i.e. act inconsistent with discipline, act angry and seek revenge, etc., then you will probably be guilty of provoking your kids to anger and you will not have taught them a thing.

In 29:15, we see a critical dually-operating system of discipline that cannot be ignored. In fact, this corrects many false notions of effective parenting all at the same time. Notice my emphasis:

“The rod and reproof give wisdom . . .”

“The rod” refers to the spanking and “reproof” is a verbal reprimand, correction, or admonition. You see, it is both of these things that, when used in a loving way, seeks the positive edification of the child and will reap the fruit of righteousness later in life.

The second part of this verse cannot be overlooked either:

“. . . but a child left to himself brings shame to his mother.”

Where the rod and the reproof are overlooked, rebellious behavior—fueled by the internal sin-nature that we inherit from Adam—will have its way in the child. We cannot simply laugh our way through temper tantrums and defiant behavior as we play the victim that has the tougher lot in life with our kids. God gave us our specific kids to love, instruct, and discipline, and we would be downplaying our responsibilities, indeed the very reason for our existence, if we thought otherwise.

The Apostle Paul, in his letter to the Ephesians, sums up parenting in a single verse: “Do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord” (6:4). To the Colossians he wrote: “Do not provoke your children lest they become discouraged.”

Brow-beating, abusive behavior, belittling, humiliation, annoyed anger, and the like are not characteristics of godly people in general, let alone parents. It is significant to remember that even in a culture that had family-owned slaves, the Apostle reminded them that Christians were to be fair and just to them as well (Col 4:1). Everyone was to be treated graciously. There was never an allowance for abuse. Any type of correction that is done to our children is to always be controlled, temporary, and above all—loving.

In His Sovereign Grip,

Ben

The True Church Is Not Being Divided—It Is Being Distinguished

2015-06-30T06:12:00.002-07:00

The recent ruling that the Supreme Court made on Friday, June 26^th, regarding the affirmation of homosexual “marriage” is one that is sadly unsurprising. An honest look at the American landscape—even abroad—would reveal that it would only be a matter of time before these types of measures would come to pass. You can trace the line back through the allowable levels of premarital sexual activity that was hardly discouraged, but implicitly, if not explicitly, encouraged in young children and adults through various public school forums and media outlets. This is traced back ultimately to the rejection of the Bible in the public school system—and public discourse in general—as being the standard for all that is right and true. When God is rejected—all hopes of defining anything with any degree of certainty is utterly and completely abandoned.

This, however, is not news to the man or woman who has been regenerated by the Holy Spirit. We see things as God sees things and we know that when the Bible speaks—God speaks. This is not an actual moral dilemma for us as it pertains to our own convictions of such issues. This requires little digging into the text of Scripture to know what the clear answer is. That is, it is clear to those who are truly Christians.

The most painful thing about the last few days is all of the people who profess to be Christians that are coming out in support of the homosexual agenda. It is in this light that I offer some biblical perspective on the real issue at hand. I submit to you that the difference between professing Christians and confessing Christians are becoming more recognizable. The true Church is not actually becoming divided, but becoming more and more distinguishable.

The World’s Argument is not with the Christian, Per Se, It is With God

It may be helpful to remember that at the core of any issue that defies a biblical mandate is a disagreement with God. This is not a battle of the intellect; it is the manifestation of rebellion against God. This is not merely some personal battle that Christians must “win” in order to feel good about America’s spiritual veneer. No, this is an all too clear opportunity that at the individual level of society is a worsening spiritual malady that is keeping people separated from God. The evangelical duty of every Christian is to be ready to help any soul recognize their sin for what it is and the eternal consequences thereof and then offer them the only hope of salvation through the Gospel of Jesus Christ to wrest them from their sin’s bondage.

As the Apostle Paul said to the church that resided in the sexually perverse city of Corinth: the fornicators, adulterers, effeminate, homosexuals, drunkards, swindlers, etc. will not inherit the kingdom of God. He then says, “Such were some of you; but you were washed . . . sanctified . . . justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Cor 6:9–11).

True Christians will grieve when God grieves and seek to reconcile their family members and friends to God when they see them enslaved to sin. This is real love. When you know that the wages of sin is death in eternal hell, then you are committed to doing everything you can to saving people from that end. The most unloving thing to do would be to encourage someone to embrace their sin and give into their evil desires, knowing all along what the final judgment of that lifestyle will be.

Anyone who affirms a sinful lifestyle as inherently good is proving their own disbelief in God; their own lack of commitment to His Word; their own disbelief in what it says about sin and its eternal consequences. I urge all people who are tempted to take this stance to consider what that implies about your own perceived faith. You cannot hold the hand of Christ while you embrace the spirit of the age.

Hostility to the Truth Was Promised by Christ—Religious Freedom Was Not

I believe one of the most debilitating vices in the so-called church today is its inability to accept an impasse with the world; its inability to accept belittling for the sake of Christ; its inability to be deemed and esteemed by the world’s standard as anti-intellectual; its inability to accept ridicule, persecution, false accusations, and insults because of Jesus Christ.

In order to avoid all such possible outcomes, the church has capitulated to the culture. Its commitment to Christ has become anything but and His Word has been deemed unknowable. In an effort to “evangelize” the culture, the church has engaged the culture by becoming just like it, thus destroying true evangelism and ultimately corrupting the visible church itself in the process. Evangelical “success” in the modern day has been redefined to mean being liked by every possible enemy of the Gospel as is humanly possible. There is now no need for confrontation of sin, thus no need for repentance. There is now no need for understanding the full counsel of God, thus no need for expositional preaching. This has created a wide-open platform for biblically anemic personalities, such as Rick Warren, Bill Hybels, and Joel Osteen, to name a few, to lead astray more biblically anemic and gullible populations into thinking that sin is a vice that Jesus can overlook without repentance and all religions have the same god to worship anyway.

We must remember that the true church will not ultimately be overcome (Matt 16:18), but it will not always be comfortable in this world either. The writers of the Scriptures were, more often than not, in a culture of extreme hostility to the Word of God. Not only were the surrounding pagan nations hostile to the people of God, but eventually the nation of Israel itself would start killing their own people—the prophets commissioned to warn them of their sin and impending judgment if there was no repentance. This has been recorded in both the OT and NT portions of the Scriptures: 1 Kgs 19:14; Neh 9:26; Matt 23:37; Lk 11:47.

Consider how Jesus leveled with his would-be followers: “The foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head” (Matt 8:20).

In his classic and timeless book ‘Holiness’, J.C. Ryle comments, “[Christ] dwelt in a despised city [Nazareth] . . . He preached in a borrowed boat, rode into Jerusalem on a borrowed ass, and was buried in a borrowed tomb.” He had nothing! He goes on to say, “Are you misunderstood, misrepresented, slandered, and persecuted? So also was Jesus . . . False charges were laid against him. An unjust sentence was passed upon him, and, though innocent, he was condemned as a malefactor, and as such died on the cross.”

The entire pinnacle of Jesus’ life was summed up in the fact—yes, made possible by—the rejection of the culture of the day. Had everyone accepted Him and thought Him a kindly fellow who affirmed every sinful bent as acceptable and in need of extra comfort, then He would not have found himself hanging and suffocating on a Roman cross. No, in His own words: “[The world] hates Me because I testify of it, that its deeds are evil” (Jn 7:7).

Compare that with the attitude of many professing Christians who claim they are more like Christ by affirming homosexuality. Compare that to some of the articles floating around by people who claim to be evangelical Christians, yet feel “called by Christ” to affirm people who are dedicated to unrepentant sin. Their tongue and their pen have not flexed in a way as to articulate words like “evil” and “sin”—they can’t do it. This is no marvel—no profound paradox of two harmoniously-existent, though fundamentally opposing, paradigms. No, to affirm unrepentant sin is to mock the Lord Jesus Christ and thicken the separation between the sinner and the Savior as the Gospel is not being offered to them by those who feign love for them. It is a grave disservice to a soul in need of regeneration. This goes for every sinner.

In His sermon on the mount, Jesus said, “Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” Again, to His disciples He said, “In the world you [will] have tribulation” (Jn 16:33).

Again, Jesus clearly warned His disciples, “They will deliver you to tribulation, and will kill you, and you will be hated by all nations because of My name. At that time many will fall away and will betray one another and hate one another. Many false prophets will arise and will mislead many. Because lawlessness is increased, most people’s love will grow cold” (Matt 24:9–12).

The Christians in the first century suffered severe persecution for the sake of the Name and the Way and the Truth and the Life. There will come a day when our generation, or our children’s, will feel the rising temperature of the heat of persecution that attempts to do away with the truth for good. The true Christians who will persevere will be the ones who stay consistent while the world gets worse—and they will suffer for it. The ones who continue to demand that there is room in their religion for accommodating sin under the pretense of love will continue capitulating more of their lives to the world—Satan’s domain.

J.C Ryle cautions us: “The world hated Christ, and the world will hate true Christians, as long as the earth stands . . . If you are never persecuted for religion’s sake, and all men speak well of you, you may well doubt whether you belong to ‘the church on the rock’ (Matt 5:11; Lk 6:26).”

Friends, may you not be counted in that broad way, but may you be ever so desirous to save people out of it. Remember, “He who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins” (Js 5:20). Why? “Because love covers a multitude of sins” (1 Pet 4:8). Love, friends, corrects.

The Bible Is Our Highest Authority—Not the Constitution

This is something that needs some consideration. The Constitution is a helpful and needed document, but it is a man-made document that has many amendments. Considering that the Bible has been in its final form—in its entirety—for about 2,000 years, it is a moot point what the Constitution says about anything moral. It is helpful when governing men essentially write out a doctrinal statement on how to govern insofar as it does not supersede or contradict God’s Word, but when it does, it becomes—at that point—a worthless document.

Many Christians feel inclined to argue that homosexuality is nowhere supported in the Constitution. While this argument can legitimately be made, is it really our end goal to convince people that they our unconstitutional? Should it not be that they are unreconciled to God because of unrepentant sin? We must look deeper than a document that will change with time as the country sees fit. Abusive slavery was once a fully acceptable practice until the Constitution received its 13^th amendment. Not allowing women to vote was normative until the 19^th amendment. The Constitution has been proven to be a fallible document and in need of being changed from time to time. Appealing to that type of document for some sort of moral and ethical substantiation of biblical standards is completely backwards. You start with the Bible—every time.

Everything must be viewed through a biblical lens, not a democratic one. It could well be that America falls just like Sodom and Gomorrah, Israel, and Rome, with a thousand years left before Christ returns. If you follow the Romans 1 checklist, you see that God’s wrath is being revealed against all unrighteousness since men are rebelling against God. It starts with rejecting His Word and revelation through nature and it ends up in rejecting Him as Creator and giving into lustful impurities (24–25). Then the impurities become unnatural and degrading, seen in homosexuality (26–27). Finally, God just gives them up completely to their own devices as they increasingly become “haters of God” and “inventors of evil” (30).

Our lives and our identity are not ultimately in the fact that we are Americans, or any other nationality, rather we are identified by the sanctifying blood of Jesus Christ and we must be faithful to Him and His authority. We must not waste our time pointing to the Constitution for our appeal, but to the inspired, inerrant, infallible, unchanging Word of God.

It’s High Time to Get Off Of the Fence

I have noticed over a number of years now a trend among professing Christians to take no clear public stance on controversial issues. They are on the fence. They are out to sea. They are ambiguous and desperately seeking to appear diplomatic and humble above all else. They fear being labeled by the world as hateful, or arrogant, or bigoted, more than they fear the judgment of God as to their faithfulness.

I have seen this when the debate of evolution versus creation comes up, or homosexuality, pre-marital cohabitation, smoking marijuana, drunkenness, etc.

It looks like this:

They will not out rightly denounce a false belief, or a sin—they will find some strand of notability in spite of it. They always look for the “good” no matter how heinous the matter in God’s eyes. They go further and actually criticize a brother in Christ who does take a firm, biblical stance. They don’t seek to distance themselves from false doctrine—they would rather distance themselves from having to answer directly and publicly about their own conviction. Their position on the fence allows them to feel good about themselves having the right “balance” and possessing “critical thinking” skills. While they recognize it or not, they are the spiritual politicians of their day who are in danger of keeping people out of the narrow way as this type of mentality is no different than any other unregenerate altruism.

Compare that with the words of Christ to the church of Laodicea: “I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot; I wish that you were cold or hot. So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of My mouth” (Rev 3:15–16).

Or the Apostle Paul: “Preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction” (2 Tim 4:2). We don’t merely talk about the Word and then do nothing. We preach the Word and we must then reprove, rebuke, and exhort with great patience.

Friends, it was only 10–20 years ago that preaching the Word was still in season—acceptable. Before that—my grandparent’s era—it was even more so. Yes, sins prevail in every century, but the general acceptance of the existence of the Christian faith and its impact on the public square was still considered and even respected. We are fast heading into the “out of season” time in this country, but 2 Tim 4:2 will not disappear from the pages of our Bibles. Our call is the same.

Why must we do these things? Why not take a position that takes no public position?

“For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths” (3–4).

Again, the Rick Warren’s, Bill Hybel’s, and Joel Osteen’s, and outright sin affirmers of our day do not preach the Word and they do not refute, rebuke, or exhort. They find the good in every unrepentant sinner and affirm their standing with God. They find the good in every religion and refuse to denounce its heresy. The consequence and the type of following they get prove what the Apostle said.

He then shifts his thought from the faithless minister—the faithless, professing Christian—to the faithful one: “But you, be sober in all things, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry” (5).

Get off of the fence, friends. Determine to devote yourselves to the Word of God. If you cannot speak to the hottest topics of our day from a biblical perspective with conviction that God will be true and every man a liar, then it could be indicative of a heart not yet fully committed to Christ. We cannot be ruled by God and mammon—the world.

The world is going to create an atmosphere that helps to distinguish the true Church. It will look smaller and smaller more than likely. We have seen denominations embrace homosexuality altogether—sealing their fate and proving it to the rest.

We must be the ones who can offer the hope of redemption, sanctification, and justification! We can empathize with the world as to the blinding effect of sin, so let us not cast stones and walk away, but correct with patience and tell the world that they should sin no more and bow their knee to the Lord Jesus Christ.

I’ll close with the words from the Apostle Paul’s letter to the Roman church:

“Now to Him who is able to establish you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery which has been kept secret for long ages past, but now is manifested, and by the Scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the eternal God, has been made known to all the nations, leading to obedience of faith; to the only wise God, through Jesus Christ, be the glory forever. Amen” (Rom 16:25–27).

In His Sovereign Grip,

Ben

What Is Really Being Glorified In Public Pastoral Beer Drinking?

2015-05-11T14:09:00.002-07:00

For some reason, there is a devastating obsession amongst many church leaders to find a way to shine public light on their beer drinking while taking credit for glorifying God in so doing. I would like to prove to you from Scripture how this actually brings reproach upon God in most cases and can only be reckoned to the pastor as sin. The pretense of the beer-drinking pastor’s publicly displayed freedom masks the reality that their understanding of the glory of God and the acts of men that glorify God is really about as deep as the head of foam they so love to kiss.

“Whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” -1 Corinthians 10:31

When the Apostle Paul wrote this, he was reaching a climax in an argument he was making for how to apply Christian ethics that glorify God to everyday life. This statement he made was carefully pre-qualified as to its precise meaning and was not meant to be a catch-all bumper sticker to protect the antinomian-minded.

The Stumbling Block Test

Paul’s argument was that, while in itself, matters of eating and drinking are not sinful, the time and place can quickly make it so. The hot topic in Paul’s day was the close association that meals had with idolatrous practices. People were concerned that they may be sinning by eating something from the meat market that had been given a pagan blessing, but Paul assures them that since those so-called gods and blessings are not even real, there is no real spiritual danger. He tells them to “eat whatever is sold in the meat market without raising any question on the ground of conscience” (vs. 25).

Where this determination can suddenly change, however, is in how your meal is perceived by other people. He turns the focus of his argument off of the conscience of the eater and onto the conscience of the bystander by saying: “But if someone says to you, ‘This has been offered in sacrifice,’ then do not eat it, for the sake of the one who informed you, and for the sake of conscience—I do not mean your conscience, but his” (vss. 28–29).

Why?

The Christians in Paul’s day were very aware of the demonic activities that took place in the pagan worship practices and they often involved meals. It was an integral part of the overall experience. It goes without saying that the Christians in Corinth who were saved out of pagan worship that involved sacrificial meat offerings would be very sensitive to any association with it. They had the attitude that Jude wrote about later in “hating even the garment stained by the flesh” (v.23), meaning to hate any effect of and relationship to sin—be it direct, or indirect.

In effect, if any activity could appear to be compromising to someone else, then it became a sinful thing to do. Significantly, 1 Thessalonians 5:22 says to “abstain from every eidos (appearance, or form) of evil.”

Paul balances his argument by saying that while you need not feel guilty for the willingness to eat the meat in the first place: “Why should my liberty be determined by someone else's conscience? If I partake with thankfulness, why am I denounced because of that for which I give thanks” (vss. 29–30). However, you ought to be willing to give it up for the sake of your weaker brother.

The Apostle wrote to the Romans on the same subject. In chapter 14, he makes it very clear that the food and drink in itself is not necessarily the issue, rather it is what you do with it. It is very similar in how Christians ought to handle sexuality. Only in a very specific context can it be expressed in a way that God allows. Outside of that context brings the weight of God’s judgment that condemns sin.

Paul says to the Romans: “Decide never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother . . . 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” (13, 15).

The Apostle Paul is constantly looking out for other people’s consciences—not his own rights. In fact, he is fast to give up any right, or liberty, if it means having a greater chance of bringing about someone’s spiritual conversion.

In 1 Corinthians 9, Paul makes the argument:

“Am I not free? Am I not an apostle” (vs. 1)?

“Do we not have the right to eat and drink” (vs. 4)?

“Nevertheless, we have not made use of this right, but we endure anything rather than put an obstacle in the way of the gospel of Christ . . . though I am free from all, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win more of them. To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law (though not being myself under the law) that I might win those under the law. To those outside the law I became as one outside the law (not being outside the law of God but under the law of Christ) that I might win those outside the law. To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some. I do it all for the sake of the gospel, that I may share with them in its blessings” (vss. 12, 19–23).

In the Jew’s case, Paul was willing to give up the eating of certain foods and drinks that were considered unlawful if it meant not putting a stumbling block in front of them to really know God. How vastly different is that from the mentality of our ongoing generation of immature church leaders who act as if God should cater to them and their rights regardless of the public around them?

This mentality flies in the face of God’s command to not put a stumbling block in front of anyone. As church leaders, we are in the public eye, held to a higher standard, and critiqued more closely. This is especially true when we multiply our audience through social media. If we ever purposely draw attention to our affinity of alcohol in a world that is saturated with the excessive use of it already, what are we really glorifying in such pretense? The Apostle Paul tells us it is not God.

The “Above Reproach” Test

Another aspect to this issue of being known for public drinking is in the very command to church leaders that we be men who are “above reproach”.

First Timothy 3 says that an “overseer must be above reproach . . . not a drunkard . . . not addicted to much wine” (vss. 2–3, 8).

Titus 1 says that elders must be “above reproach . . . and not open to the charge of debauchery,” which means to indulge excessively.

It is significant to see how many different ways the Apostle addresses drinking alcohol. While drunkenness is condemned altogether, alongside other gross sins such as sexual immorality, corruption, sensuality, orgies, drinking parties, and idolatry (Rom 13:13; Gal 5:21; 1 Pet 4:3), he goes so far to say that even the possible charge that you indulge in alcohol too often is a warning flag that you are not called to be a leader in God’s church because you would not effectively lead people, by example, to consider God’s call to holiness as you ought.

In the above mentioned verses where drunkenness is condemned, we see that people who do such things “will not inherit the kingdom of God” (Gal 5:21). Is it any wonder that God would not have the alcohol lover in a position of spiritual influence over a body of people where there are sure to be those who struggle with the thought of it?

The call for pastors and church leaders is a much higher one than what is typically modeled today. There seems to be an obsession for pastors to talk about things like love and self-sacrifice in very general terms, but rarely is there a careful articulation of how this can be fleshed out in our own lives by giving up our own rights.

In the words of Isaiah: “Woe to those who are heroes at drinking wine, and valiant men in mixing strong drink” (5:22). To put it another way—be not known for your alcoholic consumption and the love thereof.

The Temptation Test

This really serves to strengthen the first point made in that we are not to be a stumbling block to anyone. Let’s look at it with a slightly higher-powered lens.

When the Lord Jesus was speaking about temptation in Matthew 18, He made some very revealing statements that ought to make every Christian take their responsibility as ambassadors of Christ more seriously.

Beckoning to a child, the Lord said, “whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea” (vs. 5–6).

If your presence here on earth is going to be one that causes others to even be tempted to sin, then you’re better off dead—for everyone’s sake.

He continued: “Woe to the world for temptations to sin! For it is necessary that temptations come, but woe to the one by whom the temptation comes” (vs. 7), (emphasis mine)!

These are not words to be taken lightly. If God would think us better off dead and in need of a statement of woe on our actions, then that only means one thing—we are not glorifying God. The most frightening possibility would be that we are not really saved, which could be indicated by our carelessness to God and His children. The fruit of the Spirit is the fruit of someone who is really saved. If we have been regenerated by the Holy Spirit, then His fruit will start growing—the first one being love. If we love God we will obey God and give up our rights for others.

It is true that our own sin nature and the depravity that comes with it, is able to conjure up temptations on its own (Js 1:14), yet those sinful bents can be exacerbated by the acts of others. Each person is responsible for not acting on their sinful inclinations, but everyone else can also be culpable for our temptation at the same time.

I recall the Apostle Paul’s command for children to obey their parents in Colossians 3 and Ephesians 5 & 6, while simultaneously charging parents not to provoke their children either. It goes both ways.

A Few Final Remarks

While all Christians are to be mindful of any situation that could potentially cause someone to struggle in their hearts and minds about anything in particular, pastors must be even more careful—especially as it pertains to alcohol. We cannot drink whatever we want, whenever we want, and always think we are doing so unto the glory of God. That is an entirely ridiculous, even irreverent, presumption to think that whatever we do determines the glory of God. On the contrary, it is when we act within God’s predetermined will that brings glory to God. Scripture is clear on this. It is not as if—as some would have us believe— the act of drinking alcohol commends us to God (1 Cor 8:8)! It is often in our abstinence of that thing in particular that will bring honor to God, considering the vice that so often surrounds it.

It must further be said that we must not be so offensive to the godly men who have gone before us in the past who have been documented as having enjoyed, made, been paid in, and sold things like beer and wine as being the justification for our modern and loose standard today. For one thing, they are not apostles and, therefore, do not exist as the final example of anything, per se. Secondly, there were practical benefits that spurred the consumption of beer in the Reformation period, for instance, like curbing the spread of dysentery in the water—reminiscent of Paul’s encouragement to Timothy to have some wine with his water for his frequent stomach ailments (1 Tim 5:23). Alcohol has a purifying effect in water. There is virtually zero need for any alcoholic consumption today in civilized areas, which places us in an entirely different situation, thus limiting our reasons.

It cannot be forgotten that even men of old, while at times articulating the same truths of the amoral quality of alcohol, were still privy to its common association and connotation that came with its public use. Spurgeon, in a sermon on the topic of parents whose children were not walking in the truth, once said, “I pity the father whose children are not walking in the truth, who yet is himself an earnest Christian. Must it always be so, that the father shall go to the house of God and his son to the alehouse?” His dichotomy is not without purpose.

Even Martin Luther, who has wrongly been criticized as a drunkard, wrote vehemently against drunkenness. He knew the difference and did not even want an association with it. For the modern hipster “pastor” to purposely self-promote their consistent consumption of alcohol is nothing short of having a very low view of what a pastor is actually called to do, not to mention what holiness is. Ultimately this stems from lacking the appropriate fear of God. Being above reproach becomes nearly impossible if that is what you are known for because that is a standard that is to be generally understood by all men—not just close friends who may approve and commend the practice.

This is not to say that a pastor couldn’t rightly enjoy some in his own private time, but it is not a matter for public display since impressionable eyes could be watching. Even at restaurants, the pastor must be thinking of more than himself. The time and place makes a huge difference on the perception of the order.

I have a dear friend who I knew to enjoy the taste of beer and would often order just one if he were at a restaurant—nothing more. Once he started teaching Sunday school at his church to younger children, though, he came under the conviction that it could be a devastating thing for one of his Sunday school kids to see him in a restaurant with a beer in his hands. Though he would never get drunk, he knew that it could be a devastating stumbling block, not to mention implicitly advocating alcoholic consumption as their spiritual teacher! He wisely decided not to ever order beer out again.

I told him how much I personally appreciated that because I was one of those children once. I used to immediately associate alcohol with sin—always. I only knew of it in a bad context. If I knew of a pastor who liked to drink, then I was instantly taken back to my former association with it (not mine, but family member’s) and it bothered me greatly. We eliminate the stumbling blocks by eschewing the practice. My friend’s concern was in the heart of the people who were watching and he gave up his rights. This is what God expects of us, men.

Ultimately, the alcoholic culture we live in today demands our higher level of prudence in regards to alcohol. Let us not be immature children who demand our own rights and then parade them as some self-stylized badge of godliness. Let us be careful to not approve, or commend, someone else to sin by our own lackadaisical approach to the faith.

“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” (Rom 14:21–22).

In His Sovereign Grip,

Ben

On Measles, Mumps, and Data Bumps

2015-04-08T12:53:00.000-07:00

I’m a numbers guy. I like to see numbers tell a story and reveal trends. This is probably why I thoroughly enjoy working out of Microsoft Excel for eight hours a day tracking numbers and creating graphs to tell stories about historical levels and current levels of financial execution. While I love numbers, I would be remiss to not look deeper and see that I ultimately care about details when it comes to data and text. This is probably why I enjoy getting into the weeds of word studies when I read the Bible and try to understand the true meaning behind the Greek and Hebrew words that are translated into our English language, but that is more of an aside. Today, I am mainly interested in helping all of us understand some of the nuances of statistics that are presented on, well . . . just about anything. I think this will be particularly helpful, though, for those of us who have been racking our brains over discerning true and false information on the internet related to vaccinations.

My intent is not to necessarily make a case for or against vaccinations (even though I do possess a general opinion), rather to equip us with some critical thinking skills that will come in handy when reading presented data.

I think parents are smart to know more about what they're doing, particularly what they’re allowing to be injected into their children. No matter the current side of the debate, as long as a parent’s intent is to keep their child alive and healthy, then everyone is at least pursuing the same agenda. There’s a grain of unity after all. If the assumption is that every parent is only seeking to provide their children with the best possible chance of a healthy life, then it is indeed helpful and necessary to understand whether or not Decision A provides the best chance for a healthy life, over and against Decision B.

From a biblical perspective, parents are tasked with raising godly children and doing the basic job of nurturing our children to be as healthy as possible. The Apostle Paul said that there is indeed value in bodily training—being healthy—though godliness should always be the first aim of the Christian who loves God (1 Tim 4:8). He even told Timothy to drink some wine with his water in order to avoid his frequent stomach ailments (1 Tim 5:23). Furthermore, we know that physicians were acknowledged in Jesus’ day as having a purpose to help people be healthy, rather than sick (Mk 2:17). Luke, who wrote the Gospel of Luke as well as the book of Acts, was a beloved physician himself (Col 4:14), so spoken of by the Apostle Paul.

What’s the point? I think it helps to see that seeing a doctor in and of itself does not nullify one’s faith in God unless someone—in their heart of hearts—really doesn’t trust God. We make decisions all of the time that will increase our safety and we take preventative measures to avoid medical problems in the future. The Bible teaches the general principle of planning for the future in regards to food (Prov 6:6) and finances (Prov 13:22), so health would certainly not be out of place if we are to be good stewards with everything we have been given by God.

With that said, no one can make a biblical case against all medical procedures and all medicines. One may have to draw the line somewhere for matters of personal conscience and others should respect that, but no hands-down argument exists for boycotting medicine and physicians altogether.

So then, how do we handle the vast amount of data going around about vaccinations? Well . . . as I said, I am a numbers guy and not a scientist (though I love science), nor a medical professional (though I used to be a Pharmacy Technician and appreciate the science behind the medicine), so I will just stick to what I know best—data!

Here’s what I want to do . . . I simply want to offer a note of caution in regards to how to interpret cold, hard facts. The more I have read financial charts and graphs on all kinds of official documents and having created plenty of my own, I have learned that you can take valid and legitimate information and still display it in a way that seems to prove a point that the data never intended.

I once read an incredibly fascinating and insightful book called "The Wastrels of Defense" by Winslow Wheeler, a staffer on Capitol Hill for about 30 years, who testified to this very thing. Congressmen will many times do legitimate data pulls from the Library of Congress or the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), for instance, and then tweak the x-axis and y-axis just right while highlighting a particular point of a historical trend—not revealing the larger story that the graph fits into—to make the point they wish to make, which looks seemingly obvious due to their visual presentation. Not only that, but when you’re dealing with financial information it gets even trickier since one graph may show inflation, while another does not, so are you really comparing apples to apples? I digress.

Let me give you an example. Below is a graph that depicts the amount of bad apples that Ben’s Bakery has received from his distributor over the years using real, verifiable evidence:

Thankfully, Ben has an insurance policy on such atrocities. In order to show his insurance provider just how bad it is, he created a graph of his own with the same real, verifiable evidence:

Upon further consideration, the insurance company asked a third party to review Ben’s Bakery’s bad apple distribution. The results were indicated in the graph below:

Unfortunately for Ben, the insurance company did not feel that his business had suffered unusual loss, so they denied his claim. In fact, if history repeated itself, Ben may be in for another healthy decrease in bad apples just like he experienced after his 2009 bump.

Now let’s look at some cold, hard facts that one website offered in their case against the Measles’ Vaccination. Again, I am simply coming at this from a numbers standpoint only because it is a great example of how verifiable data can be used on both sides of an argument, thus demanding critical thinking and the ability to ask the right questions.

The article was titled ZERO U.S. Measles Deaths in 10 Years, but Over 100 Measles Vaccine Deaths Reported

If you just looked at the link you can see that the case is stated clearly: Zero people have died from the Measles in the last 10 years according to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), while 108 people have died from the Measles’ Vaccine in the last 10 years, according to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS). I did the same search and it is a legitimate search result, which can be found here.

Open and shut case?

A quick search about the Measles at the CDC website will tell you that 1–2 people out of 1,000 will die from the Measles and that most people who get Measles are unvaccinated.

Here’s a key question: How many people were vaccinated, say, 12 years ago when this article started tracking?

According to the CDC, the National Immunization Survey (NIS) reports about 93% of children aged 19–35 months had received at least one does of the MMR vaccination in 2003. This report can be found here in Table 1.

To understand rates and percentages, we need to understand the denominator, i.e. what was the total US population of 19–35 month old babies in 2003? This is a more difficult number to ascertain and this is where finding real statistics becomes tricky and even allows people some room to fudge the data.

Case in point, when you search the United States Census Bureau for the total US population by age in 2003, the youngest age bracket is 4 years old and younger—that is 48 months old and younger. This information can be found here. Our age bracket in question (19–35 months old) only makes up about 33% of the youngest population bracket. How do you determine that?

When you subtract 19 from 35 you get a range of 16 months. You then have to divide 16 months into 48 months (lowest US population bracket span) and you end up with 33%.

Assuming all things are equal (a perfect world, no doubt) then you can then use the 33% and apply it to the total population number in the lowest bracket to get a number of children who are between the ages of 19 and 35 months. The US census tells us on the same page that there are 19.8 million children who are 4 years (48 months) and younger. 33% of 19.8 million is 6.6 million.

This means that 6.6 million children in the United States were between the ages of 19 and 35 months in 2003.

So then, if about 93% of these children received their MMR immunization shot in 2003, then that would be 6.1 million children, thus leaving roughly 462,000 children who are not vaccinated with the MMR.

Now let’s see how many kids received their MMR in 2013 when this article first surfaced. This will help us understand the trend for those 10 years that the article wrote about.

The NIH reports that the percentage decreased slightly to 91.9% of a coverage rate, found here. Not much changed, but what was the US population of these children in 2013? According to the census bureau and applying our same math using 33%, there was a population of 6.6 million children between the ages of 19–35 months. Again, not much changed. That information can be found here.

So then, if about 91.9% of these children received their MMR immunization shot in 2013, then that would be 6 million children, thus leaving roughly 532,000 children who are not vaccinated with the MMR.

Important note: Trends over a decade like this are important to consider because as these children grow up they are still vaccinated against the MMR that they received as a baby. While we may be focusing on the younger age bracket as a fixed point in time, it is only because of the fact that the MMR is administered at that age. Overall, we can safely assume that as these generations get older and maintain a vaccination rate of 92-93%, then the entire population would have a coverage rate at that level—albeit given enough time.

Since we have done some leg work in seeing that the vaccination rate has stayed consistent, then let’s apply this rate to the entire United States population—from 2003 to 2013. The article implied that there is a problem with the Measles vaccine because it has killed 108 people over a ten year period.

The total United States population in 2003 was 285.9 million people. As of 2013 it was 316.1 million people. This averages to 301 million people.

92% of 301 million gives us 276.9 million—the estimated amount of all MMR vaccinated people in the US.

According to the article (citing VAERS), 108 people have died because of the MMR vaccine.

The percentage of MMR-vaccinated people then who have died from the vaccine is a simple mathematical equation that gives you a rate of:

0.000039%

I don’t know about you, but I’m comfortable with that.

Now then, consider the other side. First of all, were there really zero deaths due to Measles in that 10 year period?

The CDC reports 2 in 2009 and 2 more in 2010.

The interesting thing is that the article almost makes Measles sound like it has no real, inherent danger for anything like death at all, yet globally, 145,700 people died from Measles in 2013 alone according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Granted, that is also a very small percentage, but apparently the article is, in fact, very interested in small percentages.

Additionally, let’s not forget that death is not the only thing one can experience with Measles. According to a CDC Infographic:

- 1 in 4 people become hospitalized

- 1 in 1,000 people develop encephalitis (brain swelling), which could lead to permanent brain damage

Okay, so let’s consider again that 4 unvaccinated people have died from Measles out of our unvaccinated population of 24 million (difference between 301 and 277 million). This gives us a death rate of:

0.000017%

So, as far as deaths go, it appears that non-vaccinated people had a lower death rate right? One problem. On the VAERS website that recorded the vaccine-related deaths, it has a caveat that almost flushes all attempts of factual analysis down the toilet:

“When evaluating data from VAERS, it is important to note that for any reported event, no cause-and-effect relationship has been established. Reports of all possible associations between vaccines and adverse events (possible side effects) are filed in VAERS. Therefore, VAERS collects data on any adverse event following vaccination, be it coincidental or truly caused by a vaccine. The report of an adverse event to VAERS is not documentation that a vaccine caused the event.”

Even if VAERS could positively identify that all 108 deaths were directly tied to the MMR vaccine, then we are still left to wonder if all of the commotion regarding the pros and cons of taking or not taking the vaccine is worth arguing over when we are dealing with competitive mortality rates like 0.000039% and 0.000017%? This compares with, say, being killed by lightning—a 0.000011% chance, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

The number one killer in the US—besides the devastating reality of abortion—is heart disease, coming in at just over 600,000 deaths per year—a death rate of 0.2% of our population average of 301 million.

But again, is death the only thing that the vaccine protects someone from? One must not forget all of the other potential side-effects that could have mingling effects in someone’s life. Considering that VAERS is not a cold-hard fact as it states itself, the weight of evidence seems to indicate that there is no reasonable evidence to reject a vaccine like the MMR based on negative outcomes alone. If anything, there is a better chance of adverse impact in an unvaccinated person.

Finally, if there are other personal reasons for avoiding vaccines, then let’s be careful to not place political and selfish principles over our children’s health. I say this only because I hear arguments made that there are people at the top who are manipulating the costs and schedules for vaccines to make a lot of money.

So what?

Personally, I am totally fine with an elite few making billions of dollars because they sell something that keeps my family alive. In fact, thanks. Arguing from this point of view reeks of the selfish entitlement mindset that permeated those who decided to #OccupyWallStreet because they were the 99% who didn’t make as much as the 1%. The sooner we can get over that and take the Apostle Paul’s stance to be content in all circumstances—whether in plenty or in want (Phil 4:11–12)—the better we will be and the more we will honor the Lord Jesus Christ.

Let’s not make this somehow-controversial issue bigger than it is. Let’s not be conspiracy theorists about everything that goes on at a corporate and governmental level. Let’s be diligent, discerning, and wise. If (some) vaccines are still against one’s comfort zone due to ingredients, or source of ingredients, etc. then those are things to address one at a time, but as far as the basic arguments for the safety one way or another . . . in this case, the vaccine has the upper hand as far as I can tell.

By the way, I’m willing to rethink my whole approach if my assumptions and/or data were not accurately presented. I don’t want to be right just to be right, but I do want to know the right information so I can make the right decisions that pertain to my family’s health. That’s what we all want, right?

Hopefully this shined some light on how information is presented on the internet and how many different aspects can quickly change the outcome of the data being presented.

Ultimately, as Christians, make sure you still respect the person who you are speaking with, even if you are trying to persuade them one way or another. Don’t hold one another in derision based on something like this. Remember that no matter what, God is sovereign over your time of death and he has also given people medical skill in order to care for our bodies while we’re here on the earth. Use your resources while simultaneously trusting God’s providence.

In His Sovereign Grip,

Ben

Do We Deny God By Our Entertainment Choices?

2015-02-12T14:00:00.000-08:00

The characteristics of Christian men and women are ones that should be unmistakable in this fallen world. Over and over again, the Bible tells us that while we are certainly in the fallen world, we are absolutely not of it (Jn 15:19; 17:15–16). The separation indicated in these passages alone is clear—one speaks of proximity, the other of assimilation.

We are salt, which is inherently different from that which is being salted (Matt 5:13).

We are light, which is inherently different from that which is being illuminated (Matt 5:14).

Paul wrote to Titus, “We ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another. But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior” (3:3–6) (emphasis mine).

Speaking of this new life to the Ephesian Church, the Apostle then exhorts them to do what would be most expectant of someone who is now regenerated by the Spirit of God and different from the former days of being entertained by sin:

“Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children . . . sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints. Let there be no filthiness, nor foolish talk, nor crude joking, which are out of place . . . at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true), and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord . . . it is shameful even to speak of the things that [the sons of disobedience] do in secret” (5:1–12).

This has immediate implications on the decisions we make regarding entertainment. When it comes to sin, Christians are still under the authority of Jesus Christ and must do everything with His glory in mind, as if He were there with us, because guess what?—He is. We must “try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord” in all things, but some things we know are off-limits from the start—sin.

Is it any small matter that God flooded the whole earth because of violence? God Himself spoke to Noah, saying, “I have determined to make an end of all flesh, for the earth is filled with violence through them. Behold, I will destroy them from the earth” (Gen 6:13). Yet, how many Christians will tell you that their favorite movie is Gladiator, or Braveheart, or Saving Private Ryan—all of which are rated R? Why do we throw our God-given time away to play fantasy games that kill people? Trying to justify anything like this as being educational or motivational is a stretch that God will not honor.

Is it any small matter that God destroyed whole cities for sexual immorality? God Himself spoke to Abraham about destroying Sodom and Gomorrah because “their sin is very grave” (Gen 18:20). The angels that stayed with Lot in Sodom warned of the “punishment of the city” that was coming the next day (Gen 19:15). Yet, how many Christians never missed a show of Desperate Housewives, Grey’s Anatomy, Modern Family, or The New Normal?

Is it any small matter that God killed Ananias and Sapphira on the spot for lying? When they lied about their financial situation in Acts 5, God killed them in front of the whole church. Their ultimate sin was they had “not lied to man but to God” (v. 4). Every sin is ultimately a direct offense against God—something David rightfully understood after his sin with Bathsheba, saying, “I have sinned against the Lord” (2 Sam 12:13).

Why then do we purposely watch movies and television shows, read books and articles, listen to radio shows and podcasts, that promote, glorify, normalize, and love these things? If we do, Christian friends, then we are denying the very God that we claim to be children of. We are belittling the crucifixion of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We are reviling the Word of God.

“If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth” (1 Jn 1:6).

Do not be entertained by the sins for which Christ died.

God is the same today as He was yesterday and will be the same forever more—His hatred of sin has not waned (Heb 13:8). Remember that when God killed Ananias and Sapphira in the church, this was a New Testament event. We tend to think that the God of the OT is markedly different than the God of the NT. No, friends. While we may think we are experiencing less of God’s wrath in general in the world, it is not because His justice is slipping; rather the riches of His grace and mercy are being magnified.

In Romans 2, Paul says that God’s wrath rightly falls on the reprobate, but when it seems to be delayed we ought not to presume on His kindness in His delaying of judgment as He is really allowing more time for repentance (2:2–5).

Similarly, Peter says that the Lord is not slow in His judgment on sin or in the fulfillment of His promises to the saint; rather He is “patient . . . not wishing that any should perish” (2 Pet 3:9).

Therefore, if God is the same then and now, can we imagine that He would have found it acceptable for the Hebrew people to watch shows that were laced with sex, violence, lying, drugs, alcohol, cursing, taking God’s name in vain, and all other forms of sin? If they were making the right sacrifices and offering the right offerings and taking the right days off of work, then they were good to go, right? God wasn’t too concerned with anything else?

Let’s allow the following OT passages to sink into our hearts for a moment as we realize that even then, God wanted the hearts of the people to be holy, pure, and obedient to His law, loving Him and hating sin—before they sacrificed a thing:

“What to me is the multitude of your sacrifices? says the Lord; I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams and the fat of well-fed beasts; I do not delight in the blood of bulls, or of lambs, or of goats . . . bring no more vain offerings . . . your appointed feasts my soul hates . . . when you spread out your hands, I will hide my eyes from you; even though you make many prayers, I will not listen” (Isaiah 1:11–15).

What were they to do?

“Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your deeds from before my eyes; cease to do evil, learn to do good” (1:16–17).

The prophet Amos gave the same message from God:

“I hate, I despise your feasts, and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies. Even though you offer me your burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them; and the peace offerings of your fattened animals, I will not look upon them. Take away from me the noise of your songs; to the melody of your harps I will not listen” (21–23).

Today, likewise, simply attending church, or even serving in the church, does not count for anything if we are not truly rendering our hearts to Him. If He is our Lord and Master, then we live for Him and according to His standard. We do not have the right or the ability to justify our habits that are satiated by the observation of sin. A Christian, in actuality, is one who really is submitted to the Lordship of Jesus Christ—not someone who simply makes the claim in order to sin on purpose, thinking their sin is always excused.

Peter says, “Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God” (1 Pet 2:16).

Let's also be clear to church leaders: there is no such thing as sanctifying something sinful by preaching or teaching in a way that follows a show in order to pull some self-contrived spiritual parallels out of it. If anything, this just gives Satan a foothold in the church because it forces people to consider the original source in order to understand the parallel. It also makes the object of attention the secular media and not the Word of God. This is an abomination that should not be done in our pulpits or in our homes.

When a movie, show, or book comes out that includes sin, then Christians are obligated to shun it. Paul told the Romans to be “innocent of evil” (16:19) and exhorted the Ephesians to not let there be even a hint of sexual immorality among them, or even on their lips (5:3).

“Understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self . . . lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people” (2 Tim 3:1–5) (emphasis mine).

We are to be lovers of God and not lovers of pleasure, or ourselves—our own evil desires that produce temptations and sin. Those who really love God will keep His commandments (Jn 14:15) and His commandments are not burdensome (1 Jn 5:3).

Those who are called to be sanctified, holy, set apart, and pure before our holy God cannot, then, simultaneously be entertained by things that are unholy, irreverent, impure and sinful. We must choose what type of person we will be. Will we love God, truly? Or will we pretend that we are Christians who are saved by God when we do not live for God?

“Present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect” (Rom 12:1–2).

How we respond to God and respond to the temptations of sin will speak to whether or not we are really Christians, for only someone who is filled with the Spirit of God will act in a way that honors God. “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” (Phil 2:12–13) (emphasis mine).

Friends, put a stake in the ground. If what you are watching is the acting out of something that is sinful in the eyes of God, then it is sinful for us to be watching that act. If we love God more than the world then our entertainment venues will be severely limited. If we are to be contentious about this then we have no practice.

As the Apostle Paul said, “To the pure, all things are pure, but to the defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure; but both their minds and their consciences are defiled. They profess to know God, but they deny him by their works. They are detestable, disobedient, unfit for any good work” (Tit 1:15–16) (emphasis mine).

Since we have been called out of darkness and into His marvelous light, let us not partake in any way of the deeds that are associated with darkness; rather:

“Whatever you do, do all to the glory of God” (1 Cor. 10:31).

In His Sovereign Grip,

Ben

Does the Old Testament Make the Bible Irrelevant?

2014-12-12T08:40:00.001-08:00

It is an unfortunate joy for some people to bring up the lifestyles of the Hebrews in the Ancient Near East and attribute them with ridiculous ways of life and thought, while decrying God as unjust, harsh, and—now—irrelevant. The most common quips are sarcastically spoken of in regards to the dealing of sin.

For instance, Exodus 21:17 says that “anyone who curses his father or mother must be put to death.” Someone would say, “Well then, how should my sister die because I heard her curse my mom?” Similarly, Leviticus 20:10 says that anyone who commits adultery should be put to death. “That’s ridiculous. That would then wipe out quite a few of my own friends and family if that were still true,” one might think with skepticism.

On and on it goes. Granted, there are many verses that list sin after sin after sin and many of the consequences are that the sinners are to simply be put to death. The modern reader of the Bible looks at this in light of his current circumstances within a nation or maybe even a church where the death penalty is not upheld for sins like adultery and juvenile disobedience, which may tempt us to think that the Bible really is outlandish, outdated, and irrelevant, when in reality, the Bible is as consistent as it has always been.

People can be quick to judge the Bible as out of date and entirely ridiculous upon reading the first few books of the Bible, known as the Pentateuch (five books) also known as the Torah—the Law of Moses. What they usually fail to see is the consistent abhorrence that God has with sin from the very beginning of Genesis even to the end of Revelation. Though the present day sees less swift judgment of sin in our understanding of “swift”, does this mean God has in fact changed, or that the Bible is theologically antiquated?

Upon a careful consideration of the sacrificial laws that were integrated into the Israelite culture by God Himself, the modern reader would quickly realize that the reality of sin was always something that had to be dealt with.

For instance, if a common person in the Israelite community committed a sin unintentionally, he or she would have to bring a female goat or lamb without blemish to the entrance of the Tent of Meeting, or the Tabernacle, as a sin offering.

“He shall lay his hand on the head of the sin offering and kill the sin offering in the place of burnt offering . . . and the priest shall burn it on the altar for a pleasing aroma to the Lord. And the priest shall make atonement for him, and he shall be forgiven” (Lev 4:29–31).

There was a prescription for the atonement of sin that required the shedding of blood. God established these regulations in order for the people to see the seriousness of their sin and to keep them holy.

It is important to realize the theological implications of sin and holiness and the shadow of these sacrifices that preempted Christ’s own sacrifice for us as the substitutionary atonement for our own sin. He was the unblemished Lamb of God for us! While God established the way of atonement for sin, it was the obedience of the people to flesh out the sacrificial system that God recognized. One could not simply go through the motions of sacrifice while hating and despising God, or by remaining unrepentant.

Isaiah prophesied, “What to me is the multitude of your sacrifices? says the Lord; I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams and the fat of well-fed beasts; I do not delight in the blood of bulls, or of lambs, or of goats” (1:11).

Even the prophet Samuel said earlier, “Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams” (1 Sam 15:22).

The writer of Hebrews helps us understand the Old Testament sacrificial law in light of the death and resurrection of Christ when he says quite pointedly that “it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins” (10:4). He explains in the previous chapter that the Old Testament system consisted of “copies of the heavenly things” (9:23) and that “if the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer, sanctify for the purification of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ” (9:13–14).

God has always hated sin and has always had a way of dealing with it. Some crimes were indeed called to be dealt with by way of capital punishment including some of the following: killing someone (Ex 21:12), striking your mother or father (21:15), kidnapping (21:16), adultery (Lev 20:10), incest (20:11–12), homosexuality (20:13), bestiality (20:15–16), divination (20:27), and blasphemy (24:16).

God is rightly exercising his justice on rebellion and blatant sin when He decides to kill the sinner. As people within the New Testament age, we remember the oft quoted verse: “The wages of sin is death” (Rom 6:23), yet sometimes fail to grasp the full implication of that.

Is it any wonder that the Apostle Paul reiterated to the Romans that the sins of the world are evident in acts of maliciousness, disobedient children, murder, envy, and the like (1:28–32) and then goes on to ask, “Do you suppose, O man . . . that you will escape the judgment of God? Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God's kindness is meant to lead you to repentance? But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God's righteous judgment will be revealed” (2:3–5).

Let’s not forget the example that God made out of Ananias and Saphira when they lied to God about their financial donation. He killed them on the spot, in front of the whole church (Acts 5). This was not an Old Testament event.

Make no mistake friends, the expectation of God still stands. His justice has not slipped. His common grace and mercy is being given to all who aren’t killed the moment they sin. It is—as Paul put it—His kindness, forbearance, and patience that is meant to lead us to repentance. He gives some of us more time than others, but He will still execute justice on the whole earth nonetheless—either judgment with mercy, or judgment without—depending on whether or not we have been justified by God through our faith in Jesus Christ.

The death and resurrection of Jesus Christ cleanses the sinner of their sin and takes away the penalty of the sin—eternal death in Hell. The Gospel (good news) is only appreciated when the bad news is understood. Christ’s death covered even the previous sins of those Old Testament saints who had faith in God—evident in their repentant and obedient lives (Rom 3:25).

While the speedy and seemingly harsh reality of the Old Testament history in its dealing with sin is something that may seem inconsistent today—it is not because God has become indifferent to sin, rather He is extending more and more opportunity for those who do not yet believe, to confess their sin to God and call upon the Name of the Lord for forgiveness (Rom 10:13).

God’s sovereign nature is simultaneously just and merciful. Praise God for that!

“For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom 6:23).

Friends, the Bible is not now irrelevant just because God is patient with us and has sent His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, to act as both the High Priest and sacrifice once and for all. This very event of the virgin-born Christ fulfilled numerous prophecies from over the centuries for the sake of taking away the sins of the world. Jesus Christ fulfilled the Law and made a way for us to be reconciled to God, in spite of what we deserved.

Don’t presume on His patience. Rather, in repentance, believe and call upon the Name of the Lord in faith and you will be saved.

We are encouraged by God’s patience for the sake of evangelism and we are encouraged by God’s patience for the sake of justice. As the Apostle Peter put it:

“Do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance” (2 Pet 3:8–9).

In His Sovereign Grip,

Ben

Loving the Son of Man at the Expense of the Son of God

2014-12-08T08:57:00.000-08:00

In our world today—sadly, within evangelicalism itself—there is rampant confusion on what it means to know Jesus Christ, to love Jesus Christ, and to live like Jesus Christ. I cringe when people use His Name so lightly, showing little reverence when talking about Him and having no concern for how they preface the Name itself. Those of us within the church are constantly bombarded with programs and best-selling books that claim to help us know, love, and live like Jesus, but the predominant focus is on the temporal aspects of Jesus the Son of Man, showing little regard for the fact that He was also Jesus, the Christ, the Son of the Living God who commanded our reverence and obedience.

When Peter rightly declared that Jesus was not merely a prophet or good teacher, but “the Christ, the Son of the living God,” (emphasis mine) (Matt 16:16) it was through that confession that Jesus said He would build His church. Peter was the example of what every true Christian in history would always confess—that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. It was not enough to be satisfied with Jesus the Son of Man—that is half of the picture. Everyone wanted free food from Him, free healings, free advice, but many of these same people turned away from our Lord Jesus Christ when He actually spoke to them about Himself and what the cost was to follow Him.

After Jesus fed the 5,000 (only counting the men) the people—eager to see more miracles—followed Jesus across the Sea of Galilee all the way to Capernaum saying, “’Rabbi, when did you come here?’ His response is pretty clear: ‘You are seeking me. . . because you ate your fill of the loaves’” (Jn 6:25–26). They weren’t seeking salvation from Jesus the Son of God, they were more interested in the temporal benefits coming from the Son of Man—free food.

Jesus continued in delineating the difference for the people in verse 27, “Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For on him God the Father has set his seal.” He effectively declared that He was not only good for temporal bread, but for the bread that satisfies the eternal need of being reconciled to God.

“Then they said to him, ‘What must we do, to be doing the works of God?’ Jesus answered them, ‘This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent’” (28–29). We must believe in Jesus as the Christ, the Son of God. The people here loved Jesus, the Son of Man, but not Jesus the Son of God. They did not, then, believe unto salvation as is revealed in their response: “Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know” (42)?

Today, sadly, we typically hear the most well-known evangelicals, or falsely so-called, speak about Jesus as if He were simply the guy to imitate for His good deeds as if that is the height of fulfilling the greatest commandment—to love the Lord Your God with your heart, soul, mind, and strength (Matt 22:37) and your neighbor as yourself (Matt 22:39). In fact we are hearing that even if someone of any religion has similar values, then they most certainly must be among God’s people even though they have different ways of fleshing out their religion. Perhaps the various differences between Islam, Mormonism, and Roman Catholicism, for instance, have just been misunderstood over the centuries? After all, they all have a place for Jesus in their system. Most claim to love Jesus. Most claim to hold to the moral necessity of loving their neighbor. Is that all that matters? Is loving Jesus the only means of determining one’s salvation?

Friends, no. Saying that we love Jesus is not specific enough. Do we “love” Jesus the Son of Man at the exclusion of Jesus Christ, the Son of God? It must be understood that he was the God-Man, fully human and fully God. They cannot be separated without upending the entire prophetic history that started in Genesis 3 and wove throughout the millennia. Do we “love” Jesus only for temporal things, or do we love Jesus Christ, the Son of God because He saved us from our sin that was at one point taking us to Hell?

When God gives us the gift of faith to believe and confess our sins in repentance, then we fall in love with Him. “We love because he first loved us” (1 Jn. 4:19).

The way that our love is then reciprocated and fleshed out is in obedience to Him and His Word—“If you love me, you will keep my commandments” (Jn 14:15). It is also fleshed out in how we love each other (1 Jn 4:11). Since the Bible was written to a Christian audience it must be recognized that a non-believer cannot read verses like, “whoever loves has been born of God and knows God” (1 Jn 4:7) and think that they are good with God because they have some kind of loving feeling for people. No, these pertain only to the Christian reader—someone who has, by grace, placed their faith in Jesus Christ as Lord, for the only way to be justified before God.

The growing popularity among professing evangelical leaders now is to lump together all people who profess to love Jesus, regardless of their religion. Careful theological understanding of faith, salvation, the nature and implications of the triune God as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, are effectively dismissed as “little details”. Major false religious systems are then looked at as simply being a type of denomination of the larger Christian world.

Rick Warren, in a recent video interview that aired on the Catholic News Service, called for evangelical Christians to unite with Roman Catholics for the sake of social justice, stating that “we have far more in common than what divides us. When you talk about Pentecostals, Charismatics, Evangelicals, Fundamentalists, Catholics, Methodists, Baptists, Presbyterians and on and on. . . They would all say, ‘We believe in the Trinity; we believe in the Bible; we believe in the resurrection; we believe in salvation through Jesus Christ.’ These are the big issues.”

The fundamental problem is in all of the excesses of the Roman Catholic Church that Warren completely glosses over. The RC Church believes in the Bible and its additional traditional writings, including the doctrinal assertions that the Pope makes, as being infallible. The RC Church believes in salvation through Jesus Christ and meritorious work.

The Council of Trent (1545–1563) was the Roman Catholic Church’s definitive response to the Protestant Reformation and the writings that were coming from men like Martin Luther and John Calvin. In it they defined what still remains as the bedrock of Roman Catholicism today.

In Section 6, Chapter 11, it reads: “No one ought to flatter himself up with faith alone, fancying that by faith alone he is made an heir [of Christ].”

In this same Section 6 are a number of Canons that further define the Catholic position on justification. Canon IX states: “If any one saith, that by faith alone the impious is justified; in such wise as to mean, that nothing else is required to co-operate in order to the obtaining the grace of Justification, and that it is not in any way necessary, that he be prepared and disposed by the movement of his own will; let him be anathema.” (emphasis mine)

“Let him be anathema” simply means “let him be accursed”. The Apostle Paul, however—under the divine inspiration of the Holy Spirit—wrote to the Galatians: “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” (1:8) (emphasis mine). What was that Gospel that Paul preached?

“A person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified” (Gal 2:16).

“By grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast” (Eph 2:8–9).

According to Rick Warren—on the question of differences between Roman Catholicism and Evangelicalism—he states, “There’s still real differences—no doubt about that, but the most important thing is, if you love Jesus, we’re on the same team.”

Sweeping all fundamental doctrine and biblical theology aside, Warren simply states that unification of religion can be defined in whether or not someone "loves Jesus". Again, friends, this sounds good on the surface, but it doesn’t say anything about repentance of sin, faith in the Son of God for forgiveness of sin, or even that this Jesus that someone loves is the Jesus of the Bible, the Son of God. We cannot blur the lines about God—Father, Son, or Spirit—for it is the very belief of who exactly Jesus is and what work He did on the cross and the implications thereof on faith, that determines true salvation, or a false assurance of one.

Similarly, on Fox News, Joel Osteen was once asked ‘Is a Mormon a true Christian?’ in light of Mitt Romney’s run for the Presidency. He answered, “Well, in my mind they are. Mitt Romney has said that he believes in Christ as his Savior and that’s what I believe, so, you know, I’m not the one to judge the little details of it, so I believe they are. . .to me that’s a common bond.”

Strangely, most evangelicals are quick to dismiss Joel Osteen as a false-teacher for his prosperity gospel and other false teachings that continue to surface over the years, yet men like Rick Warren are still defended as being misunderstood, or not actually denying the faith in spite of his ecumenical agenda. For Warren, uniting under the pretense that people “love Jesus” does not stop at Roman Catholic theology.

In 2007, an open letter titled A Common Word Between Us and You was written and signed by 138 leading Muslim scholars and intellectuals to the Christian community calling for unity on the grounds that they both worship the one true God and that they are both called to love God with their whole self and love their neighbor as themselves. The introduction states:

“The future of the world depends on peace between Muslims and Christians. The basis for this peace and understanding already exists. It is part of the very foundational principles of both faiths: love of the One God, and love of the neighbour. These principles are found over and over again in the sacred texts of Islam and Christianity. The Unity of God, the necessity of love for Him, and the necessity of love of the neighbour is thus the common ground between Islam and Christianity.”

Countless signatories from the professing Christian community reciprocated their favor and acceptance of the Muslim outreach by responding with their own letter titled "A Common Word" Christian Response . In it, the signers concur with the common bond based on the love of the one true God and the love of each other’s neighbor. They even go so far as to “ask forgiveness of the All-Merciful One and of the Muslim community around the world” for the grievances that may have been caused by Christians in the past.

The letter goes on to effectively equate Allah with the God of the Bible:

“We applaud that “A Common Word Between Us and You” stresses so insistently the unique devotion to one God, indeed the love of God, as the primary duty of every believer. God alone rightly commands our ultimate allegiance. . . We find it equally heartening that the God whom we should love above all things is described as being Love. In the Muslim tradition, God, “the Lord of the worlds,” is “The Infinitely Good and All-Merciful.” And the New Testament states clearly that “God is love” (1 John 4:8).

The people claiming to represent Christianity on this letter were some of the most recognizable faces and institutions within the evangelical world, including, but not limited to: Rick Warren, Bill Hybels, Robert E. Cooley, President Emeritus, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, as well as the Fuller Theological Seminary itself. Additionally, other recognizable names from the Emergent/Emerging Church movement were (not-surprisingly) listed as well, such as Brian McLaren and Tony Jones.

Friends: claiming to love God, or love Jesus, does not define your faith unless you can say who God is and who He is not. He is the sovereign Creator—the triune God. Jesus Christ is the only begotten Son of God. The Holy Spirit is equally God.

To call our love of the one true God as something that is equal to the Muslim’s love, or Mormon’s love, of the one true God is blasphemous. This may promote peace on earth, but only at the expense of the exclusive Gospel of Jesus Christ. This may successfully bring about peaceful relations on earth, but it will not bring about the eternal peace that surpasses understanding (Phil 4:7). It may successfully bring about the eradication of poverty, thirst, and hunger, but only at the expense of the “bread of life” and the “living water” that Jesus Christ alone can provide for eternal life (Jn 4:14; 6:35, 48, 51).

The only way anyone can possibly fulfill the Law of God that is summarized in the commandments to love God with all of your heart, soul, mind, and strength, and your neighbor as yourself, is to have been credited with the work of Christ on your behalf who in fact did fulfill the Law of God perfectly.

Take note, that this requires an act of the Holy Spirit in spiritual regeneration that is brought about by the gift of faith. This is something God first does in us because He loved us first. We love because He first loved us. If we love God then we will keep His commandments. If God has indeed saved someone, then they will love God for God is love and God is in us. Love is necessarily the natural fruit that is revealed in a regenerated soul.

Love, then, is defined by God because God is love. We do not determine our own definition of love and then act it out and call ourselves, or others, true believers based on that definition.

We recognize that only Christ in us will actually allow us “to will and to work for his good pleasure” (Phil 2:13).

Christ’s righteousness has been imputed, or credited, to us in such a way that we are treated as one who has kept the entire law perfectly. We know that “whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become accountable for all of it,” (Js 2:10) but that “where sin increased, grace abounded all the more” (Rom 5:20). The work of Jesus Christ has credited us with keeping the entire law—the very law that is summed up in loving the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, and your neighbor as yourself.

We cannot put the cart before the horse and say that our own loving deeds are fulfilling the entire law. No, friends. Only someone with the Law-fulfiller inside of them has such confidence. Therefore, it is of absolute necessity that the Gospel is what unites people together as children of God. This requires understanding its exclusive claims that no other religion on planet earth would approve:

“We know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true; and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life” (1 Jn 5:20). “There is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom 6:23). “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 Jn 1:9). “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God” (Eph 2:8).

In His Sovereign Grip,

Ben

What Our Political Views Reveal About Our Love of God and Biblical Conviction

2014-06-25T12:51:00.000-07:00

In our world today, especially in the United States of America, we are a part of a democratic system that allows an incredible amount of freedom compared to most other countries. Indeed, this desire for freedom filled the sails of the first pilgrims and settlers as they traveled here and tried to carve out a living in a completely raw land.

For some pilgrims they only wanted freedom to build their own houses wherever they wanted. For many others, they sought religious freedom from persecution back home. No matter the case, the people wanted freedom from oppression.

Only a handful of centuries and 44 Presidents later, we are growing up in a culture that has only ever known this freedom and has become groomed to think in such a context all of the time. The way in which we cast ballots and vote for whomever we want to fill a political office reveals that the people determine what goes on in this country. The people can essentially vote themselves freedoms and restrictions. They vote themselves money and taxes. They vote themselves leaders that think like them or that will do what they want. They vote in a way that is informed by their own views on morality and what is “right” to them.

This is the rule of American life. The United States of America is deemed sovereign. The Constitution is deemed as authoritative. The citizens of America are deemed a free people and each century has revealed the growing yearning for more and more freedoms. With this demand for certain freedoms comes arguments from all sides on which freedoms are necessary and what Constitutional amendments should still apply to modern times.

God, Who’s throne is the heavens with the Earth as His footstool, has given us governmental institutions to protect us from enemies outside and keep us in control from within. Romans 13 makes very clear that “there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God” (13:1).

Whether a particular government is godly or not does not matter. We are still under their authority and expected to be subject to them, no matter the freedoms they allow or disallow us, so long as we are not commanded to sin. If the government took our guns away, we can be upset about it, but in our anger we should not sin and retaliate, though a controllable appeals process would be completely acceptable. If we really understood and rested in the sovereignty of God, then gun control would be the least of our worries.

Some of the godliest people we read about in our historical accounts lived under the most oppressive governmental situations—regimes of anti-Christian sentiment. Just think back to the medieval ages and into the Reformation period when persecution started coming from the government and even the very church that purported to represent God. John Huss, Martin Luther, John Wycliffe, William Tyndale, John Calvin—to name a few—were not exactly free men like we would consider ourselves today in America. Their dedication to sola Scriptura (“scripture alone”) got many of them killed.

Let’s go back further. Think about Joseph and Daniel in the Bible. They served at the highest levels of government, neither of which honored God, yet they maintained their faithfulness to God in belief and in practice even when it threatened their lives. They had no ability to weigh in on a moral code that would help restrain their nation’s vice. They were not given authority to write laws that would come more into line with the law of God.

If Daniel or Joseph were given an opportunity to vote for their civilization’s establishment of moral law—like we can today—how do you think they would make their decisions? Would they vote for laws that allowed gay marriage, or obliterated the lines between men and women in their unique roles? Would they call that a civil right? Would they vote for the freedom of killing children in the womb? Would they call that an issue of a woman’s health and thus her own prerogative and right? Would they vote for no-fault divorce? Would they vote for leaders who campaigned on legalizing these rights?

Put another way, would Daniel or Joseph allow “freedom” to dethrone God and His law?

To our deep shame, many professing Christians today do just that. In the name of freedom we have separated our conviction of Scripture from the checkbox on the ballot. In the secrecy of the local school gymnasium’s voting booth, we are abandoning God’s clear commandments and working against His call for us to be holy and to go out and preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ that will save people from the penalty of the very sins we are voting to make legal.

As Christians, we can’t have it both ways.

The freedom we have in America is an amazing gift in itself! Why would we then take that gift and use it to rebel against God? We have political parties in this country that campaign on legalizing the very things that Scripture has condemned since the beginning of time and we are arrogant about it.

The Democratic Party today prides itself on tolerance of just about everything. Abortion is approved. Homosexuality and gay marriage is applauded. Light drug use is acceptable. These are at both the federal and state levels. Every professing Christian that votes for someone with these beliefs and for someone who has the intention of applying these beliefs to governmental rule is participating in a proactive assault against God and His Word. They are declaring that they are at odds with God and, by way of legislation, showing themselves to be an enemy of God.

In Romans 1, Paul talks about how people rebel against God and suppress the truth by their unrighteousness and—although God is known to them—they exchange the glory of Him for idols. For these reasons we are told that “God gave them up” over and over.

“Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves…” (1:24).

“God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error” (1:26-27).

“God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless” (1:28-31).

What we see here is a condemnation of all kinds of specific sin, yet it is also generalized in the final list to cover nearly all sin in itself, i.e. “haters of God”. Hating God necessarily means you do not love God and we know that Jesus said, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments” (John 14:15).

Even the phrase “inventors of sin” implies that you don’t need to have the Bible list every specific sin in order to know it is sin. The fruit of the Spirit of God makes abundantly clear what is good and acceptable, the final characteristic (fruit) in that list being self-control.

The clinching verse of the day follows our Romans passage. This is so important for us to come to grips with and pastors need to do a better job of speaking to the implications of how we vote as voting for people who promote unrighteousness is a sin of culpability:

“Though they know God's righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them” (1:32).

Here, Scripture shows us that the sinner is not only the one fleshing out the sins as outlined above, but it is also the person approving the practice of it. This verse literally reveals the fact that few Christians run in liberal circles at the governmental level as the policy of their liberality is grounded in their being liberated from any outside source placing a restraint on their lifestyle.

Again, think again about Joseph and Daniel. Too far removed to be relevant? If someone were to think that, it would sadly prove the extent to which the Bible is authoritative for their life, which reveals the real problem.

It is important to remember that to God, “one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day” (2 Pet 3:8). This means that Daniel and Joseph would have had the chance to vote just 3 or four days ago! Do you really think that time has softened God’s wrath on unrighteousness? Has His holiness slipped? Has His hatred of sin waned? Friends, no.

Christians are people who have been regenerated by the Holy Spirit and now walk according to the Spirit by the grace of God.

Listen: The Spirit of God would not contradict Himself and His eternal decrees by actually moving someone to vote in favor of legalizing sexual immorality, infanticide, and a loss of self-control in drug use—the very things that the Spirit of God has written against in Holy Writ.

Unfortunately, no one particular political party is exempt from this rebellious nature. Even the Republican party is starting to slip into the same moral dilemma. In fact, some are already there. There is going to come a time when the best vote will be a fill-in-the-blank because you cannot in good conscience use your wonderful right to vote for approvers of iniquity.

Why vote at all? Perhaps there are times when we don’t vote, but the main question is whether or not we are honoring God in the voter’s box, or hating God. We must be thinking bigger than us. We must be humbled and recognize who God is and what He has said and that we are obligated—rather, we are eager—to do what glorifies Him!

At this point in our country there is virtually no objective standard that is recognized as a moral code, which has allowed room for people to campaign on platforms like the Libertarian party. Again, the term liberty is being used because it has become a term signifying a liberation from moral restrictions. The only way to think about this kind of freedom is to completely ignore God.

The Libertarian agenda would decrease or completely eradicate laws against prostitution, sodomy, gambling, drug use, etc. They don’t consider these crimes. Why? They do not involve hurting other people or their property. They are consensual acts. This is right off of the Libertarian Party website.

What many politicians end up doing is redefining what sin is. They are the target of Isaiah’s warning:

“Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter” (5:20).

Our country believes that we are mainly good people who are and should be free to do what we want because that is where the true principle of freedom lays. Moral boundaries have become intrusive and offensive in a culture that rejects God and His authoritative Word.

There is, in reality, only one freedom we have as sinners—before we are redeemed by God’s grace—and it is found in our being free of righteousness all while we are enslaved to sin (Rom 6:20). This is the reality of the state of fallen man. When sinners create laws to allow the freedom to sin, they are really reveling in their slavery to it.

The Apostle Paul wrote to those Roman Christians who gave up their sin and turned to Christ:

“What fruit were you getting at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (6:21-23).

Where is actual freedom? It is in the redemptive work of Christ Jesus. Will Christians ever vote America into a perfectly moral state? No chance. However, we must not aid in its decline. Even if we were to establish all of God’s laws in an effort to make a “moral” country . . . that does not actually make anyone a Christian, so our original concern of sharing the Gospel of Christ remains the same.

Again I ask: Where is actual freedom? The Christian should know this more than anyone else. We should not approve and vote for sin to be legal. Voting for the freedom to sin is antithetical to the holiness of God. We will be held accountable for the people we vote into power.

Where is actual freedom? It is only found where there is no sin. That is true freedom.

“When one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom” (2 Cor. 3:16), (emphasis mine).

The Democratic, Republican, or Libertarian party may have the best plan for the middle class, or for tax reform, or for crime, but if they can’t get the definition of life, marriage, familial matters and sexuality right, then why would we lend our support to them when it offends God? Let’s be honest, if they can’t get those basic fundamental definitions right, do you really think they will be able to handle the vast complexities of financial reform anyway? Not a chance.

Don’t selfishly prioritize the middle class and financial reform over the preservation of children and familial constructs. Don’t dethrone God for the sake of our self-perceived notion of freedom. Let us vote and act like people who are indwelled with the Holy Spirit of God, the testimony of the Word, and with full conviction (1 Thess 1:5).

“If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land” (2 Chron. 7:14).

In His Sovereign Grip,

Ben

When Christians Take God's Name in Vain

2014-06-16T06:08:00.001-07:00

I have sensed an interesting trend. It seemed good at first, but now I am left with a sense of grief. Have you ever wondered why it is that Jesus’ name is somehow becoming “easier” to say and use? I mean, really easy. Too easy. Casual, even! Here is what I mean…the context in which people speak of our Lord Jesus Christ seems too often to drop the Lord and the Christ while throwing his first name around for every silly fancy that comes to mind. As a family member recently put it, too many people treat our Lord as if He is just the guy next door that we can talk to however we like. Reverence and awe seem to be a scarce disposition among the saints nowadays.

The name of our Lord Jesus Christ is sacred. Jesus is, after all, God Himself in the flesh. How, and in what context, we utter it ought to be done with the highest regard for Him and His glory. The truth of the matter is…the way we use the Name(s) of God is a direct representation of how high or low we actually view God.

The context in which people speak of our Lord Jesus Christ seems too often to drop the ‘Lord’ and the ‘Christ’.

When you say His Name, does it reveal your reverence and awe of Him? Respect? Adoration? Love? Fear? The highest regard? The recognition of your depravity which has been regenerated to a new creation by grace and mercy, which you should have never received? Does it?

Or, when we say His Name, is it in jest? Casual? Light-hearted? Silly? Irreverent? Meaningless? Worthless? In vain? With no regard to His sovereignty? No regard to His worthiness? Is it?

Dear Christian, this is serious. The way that we speak of God reveals what we really think of God.

Some of the most painful things for me to hear in this world are not necessarily the vulgar words from the mouths of unbelievers, but the way that the Name of our holy and almighty God is misused. The worst case scenario, though, is when someone who is a professing believer in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior – uses His name in vain.

A.W. Tozer once said something to the effect that anyone who uses God’s name in vain is revealing their lack of the fear of God. You do not fear God if you misuse His Name. Plain and simple.

The most recent article I wrote was on the subject of the words in our worship music and how vital it is that they are theologically sound and God-exalting. Words are important. It is by the very Word of God that we live (Matt. 4:4). It is with words that we understand meaning and ultimately, understand truth.

The Apostle Paul said, “How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard?And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? […] So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ” (Rom. 10:14-15,17).

God has purposed words to convey meaning.

Additionally, we will actually give an account for every single careless word that we speak (Matt. 12:36). If we cannot bridle our tongue, then our religion is deemed worthless (Js. 1:26). It is out of the abundance of the heart that the mouth speaks, whether good or evil (Lk. 6:45)!

If our day to day words are so important to God and so necessary for communicating meaning, worth, value, or understanding, then why do we ever utter the Name of our Almighty God with anything but careful fear?

The word “fear” is a word with joint meanings, essentially: reverence & awe. It comes from the Greek word phobos.

The command to “fear God” is found all throughout Scripture.

King Solomon said that the whole duty of man is to “fear God and keep His commandments” (Ecc. 12:13).

The Apostle Peter: “Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God” (1 Pet. 2:17a).

The angel in Revelation 14:7 said, “Fear God and give Him glory.”

It is this disposition that marks the true believer. It is this disposition of reverence and awe that will naturally manifest itself in our words, especially in the way that we speak His holy Name.

When the earthquake took place right after Christ yielded up His spirit on the cross and died, Matthew 27:54, in the ESV, says that the centurion was filled with awe (phobos). The NAS says that he was filled with fear (phobos)!

When we are told to fear God, we are told to stand in awe of Him. When we utter His Name, how do we sound doing it? What is the intent of our comment? Are we making a passing comedic comment to someone, or are we elevating one’s gaze to Him in awe? Are we dropping His Name in our anger, or are we praising His Name in reverence?

The kicker is this: Many people don’t understand the extent to which taking God’s name in vain can go. Put another way, there are countless ways that we can use His Name in vain, without ever prefacing it with “Oh my”.

For one thing, when rightly and reverently stated, one can say, “O my God, I am ashamed and blush to lift my face to you, my God, for my iniquity has risen higher than my head, and my guilt has mounted up to the heavens” (Ez. 9:6).

Or consider David: “I delight to do your will, O my God; your law is within my heart” (Ps. 40:8). Or, “O my God, in you I trust; let me not be put to shame; let not my enemies exult over me” (Ps. 25:2).

In every instance the writers are crying out to God. They are actually talking to Him. They are not talking to someone else; they are not joking about something; they are not mad at something. They are praying directly to God, so they are addressing God directly.

The definition of “vain” is this: without real significance, value, or importance; baseless or worthless; ineffectual or unsuccessful.

Now let’s have the heart-breaking moment of recalling anytime we said God’s name that wasn’t expressing real value, worth, reverence, or importance.

Friends, I think many more of us are guilty of this than we think. We should never say His Name unless we have an intent to talk to Him in prayer; teach about Him; or speak reverently of Him in general. Otherwise, don’t waste His Name in worthless, unimportant talk. Don’t speak His name in vain.

God has spoken very clearly on this issue. If He has something to say about His own name, then we need to take it to heart:

“You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain” (Ex. 20:7).

Deuteronomy 5:11 reiterates the same thing.

Think about how else the term “in vain” is used in Scripture. It always means unsuccessful, pointless, worthless:

“A scoffer seeks wisdom in vain, but knowledge is easy for a man of understanding” (Prov. 14:6).

“In vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men” (Matt. 15:9).

“If Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain” (1 Cor. 15:14).

“Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches the city, the watchman stays awake in vain” (Ps. 127:1).

Now let’s use this last verse as a spring-board to understanding something better: On the flip side, nothing that God does is in vain. Since He is all-powerful and sovereign and ordains blessing and calamity, He guarantees the outcome of what He decrees all by Himself. He never says anything in vain because everything He says is of immense value, importance, significance and worth. Everything that He says is going to happen…will indeed happen! It will be effectual and successful.

“I have not said in vain that I would do this evil to them” (Ez. 6:10).

“[God’s] grace toward [Paul] was not in vain” (1 Cor. 15:10).

We must seek to be more like our God who has called us to worship Him in spirit and in truth (Jn. 4:23) and in reverence and awe (Heb. 12:28). Only God’s enemies take His Name in vain (Ps. 139:20). May we not align ourselves with them!

Here’s an interesting fact about the saints of God. By definition, we are a reverent people. The Greek word for “saint” is hagios, but it is almost always translated as holy, although it is also used to describe the people of God. No wonder as we are called by God to be what…? Holy as He is (1 Pet. 1:15).

The word hagios is similar to the Greek word hagnos, which means: exciting reverence; pure. When we read the letters from the apostles we see the word hagios used for the saints as well as the Holy (hagios) Spirit to indicate that we are indwelled by Him and made holy by Him. The saints are the holy priesthood, the holy nation chosen by God (1 Pet. 2:5,9). They are the holy people who revere God in word and deed!

Do we act like it? If the Holy Spirit has truly regenerated us, then we will.

The reality is this: the way we use God’s name reveals a very deep truth about us. It reveals if we are people of conviction and maturity, or scant beliefs and immaturity. It could be the difference between being a true Christian or not.

A person who continually meditates on God’s Word day and night; who knows that it is by His Word that they live; and that the only way to really know God and His heart is through His revelation; then they will not be prone to speak of God casually, or indifferently. They will be very careful not to take His Name in vain. This person will speak with tenderness in their voice and with a humble disposition because they know who it is they are speaking about and they know that the holy God of Heaven demands reverence in our utterance at all times.

A person who doesn’t take the Bible serious enough to study it deeply, let alone read semi-regularly, will be much more prone to taking God’s name in vain because they have much less information to go off of when speaking of God. If you speak about God in an inaccurate way, you are taking His Name in vain. If you speak about God in a deceptive way, then you are taking His Name in vain.

When churches across the globe promise health, wealth, prosperity, power, healings, visions, new revelation, salvation by works, etc…they are all taking God’s Name in vain (Matt. 15:9). They are using His Name in a false, unworthy and irreverent manner. They are using His Name in a way that is ineffectual and powerless.

In many churches today, I fear that the man Jesus is only respected as the Son of Man and that’s it. The way that many Christians speak of our Lord Jesus Christ is in a way that a Mormon or Muslim would be comfortable…a good guy who can show us practical ways to live a good life!

I fear that we are insufficiently addressing our Lord and Savior when we don’t address Him as our Lord and Savior and as God Himself. We must be much more careful in how we teach about God and how we talk about Him in our day to day conversations. If the unbelieving world doesn’t notice a sense of reverence and seriousness in us when talking about God, then what message is that sending?

“From the rising of the sun to its setting, the name of the Lord is to be praised” (Psalm 113:3)!

Let us not be casual or indifferent about the living God. Let us not be arrogant or presumptuous in how we speak of the one, true, holy God. Let us not ever say His Name unless it is in praise, in teaching, or in pointing people to Scripture, or to know Him better. Don’t forget, we’re talking about the holiness of God in all of His manifestations – Father, Son & Holy Spirit. Don’t misuse any of His Names.

If we ever say God’s name in a way that is not meant for praise or reverence or exaltation, then we are taking His Name in vain and we must confess this sin and repent of it (turn away from it) and cease doing it.

Soli Deo Gloria!

Worship Leaders, Step Back and Remember: Lyrics Are Paramount

2014-05-15T13:43:00.001-07:00

The statement is true that the lyrics of our music used within God’s Church are of utmost importance. This cannot be understated, yet it seems that too often it is overlooked as a secondary issue. Why? Usually, it is because we lean towards our gut feeling and emotional impulse that the music itself solicits instead. When we hear a song that has been composed with thoughtful dynamics and builds, accentuating the right beats, pulling back at the right time for reflection and then pushing forward with energy, we are left thinking that the song was powerful, captivating, epic, etc. Then if we really want to be philosophical and dogmatic, we can listen to the lyrics.

This shouldn’t be the case.

In case you missed Part 3, find it here: Worship Is Not Summed Up In Music

It is true that music, in and of itself, is emotional. If you were to sit down and listen to well composed thematic songs then you would instantly be brought to think about things that the music helps to conjure up in our minds. Some songs can only leave us feeling like we are sailing on the high seas, or standing in an elevator, or running away from a bear, or about to be run over by a train until someone pulls you out at the last minute, or falling in love. With no screen and no words, our minds can feel these emotions. This is the beauty of music, but this is also the danger of it, especially within the Church.

When Jesus told the woman at the well, in John 4, that true worshipers will worship in spirit and truth, it is important to remember that the truth He is speaking of is the truth of the Word of God. Truth is never subjective. It is always objective. Meaning, it is what it is. What it says and reveals has an objective purpose that is not to be translated in different ways based on the subject receiving it.

He told the woman, “You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews.” (Jn. 4:22)

How is it he can make a statement like that?

First off, the Israelite tribe had always been God’s chosen people and through them God would raise up the Messiah to save them from their sin. Jesus was that Jewish Messiah, so salvation quite literally came from the Jews. Even before Christ, true salvation was found only in those who's faith was in the promised Messiah (to come!).

Another testament to this is found in Paul’s letter to the Romans. Of the Israelites, Paul said, “To them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises. To them belong the patriarchs, and from their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ…” (Rom. 9:4-5).

They worshiped what they knew to be true because it was God Himself who revealed the truth to them through the giving of the law, the ministry of the prophets and then through Christ Himself.

We are under no different expectation to worship what we know. This is to be contrasted to worshiping how or what we feel.

Paul speaks to this exact issue and we see it clearly addressed in 1 Corinthians 14. He is telling this church in Corinth that they need to get their priorities right in their worship services so that everybody is edified and that God is honored.

Starting in verse 14, he has just finished telling them that they should only speak in tongues (languages) when someone can interpret them. Otherwise, no one knows what they are really saying and it is a fruitless exercise. Paul’s thrust throughout this whole passage is that the congregation is to understand and comprehend everything, so that they are edified with the truth, which happens through clear prophesying (preaching) of words.

“For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my mind is unfruitful. What am I to do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will pray with my mind also; I will sing praise with my spirit, but I will sing praise with my mind also” (14:14-15).

Make no mistake that while the various un-interpreted tongues were a big part of their problem at Corinth, the big takeaway that Paul wanted them to get out of his corrective letter was to have a service where the mind was fully engaged and not given to mindless emotion. He wanted them edified, not confused.

By being aware of what was being taught and able to sing comprehensible songs, they were being built up (edified!), which is the entire point of the local assemblies of the Church in the first place, even today…to be built up in the most holy faith, always giving glory to God.

All throughout the Psalms we see that we are to ascribe to the Lord the glory that is due His name as well as ascribing attributes to Him that we know are true, based on His Word (Ps. 96:8). We should worship and praise Him for who He is and what He has done. When we do this, we glorify Him and we also edify each other with this truth exultation.

If we are to worship in truth, as our Lord Jesus Christ said in John 4, then we should take note of what David said in Psalm 119:160: “The sum of your Word is truth.”

What else do the words of Scripture say about our God and about the praise and worship of him?

“Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, for His steadfast love endures forever” (Ps. 106:1)!

“Praise the Lord, all nations! Extol him, all peoples! For great is his steadfast love toward us, and the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever. Praise the Lord” (Ps. 117)!

In Psalm 18, David illustrates beautifully how awesome, mighty and merciful God is to him for His provisions in David’s life. He starts out with, “I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised…”

For about the next 44 verses, we see reason after reason for why David knows that God is worthy to be praised. He says things like, “the earth reeled and rocked; the foundations also of the mountains trembled and quaked, because he was angry” (vs. 7); and then, “He brought me out into a broad place; he rescued me, because he delighted in me” (vs. 19).

He marvels after God: “For who is God, but the Lord” (vs. 31)? “The Lord lives, and blessed be my rock, and exalted be the God of my salvation” (vs. 46).”

Then he ends with, “For this I will praise you, O Lord, among the nations, and sing to your name” (vs. 49).

Even Moses and all the Israelites sang a song about their rescue from the Egyptians through the parting of the Red Sea (Ex. 15).

Friends, this is why we still sing about God, to God. Too often we are caught up with the subjective feeling of a song and how the tempo is too slow, or too fast. Why would we ever care about the tempo of a song as long as the song accurately expresses praise and worship based on the revelatory truth of God Himself? This is not to downplay the practicality of choosing an appropriate, predictable, tempo, but it is important that we are not demanding the surface at the expense of the deep.

How many churches would do themselves a favor by shaping their congregation’s theology of worship, rather than changing the superficial elements of the music based on who gets annoyed the most?

It is important, again, that you don’t drag your music so much that it is distracting. If people are barely getting through a word when they need another breath, then you could be dragging a song down and playing at a sub-excellent level. This takes discernment and the careful, constructive criticism of gracious people who have the same desire for theological accuracy and doxological excellence as you do. I have had such help and it is necessary to consider and helpful to hear.

I will be dealing with the styles and genres of music in a future post to help think biblically along that vein. Make no mistake, though, our first priority in our music should always be on the words. Start there. Every time. That is what reveals the spirit and truth behind your music; not sixteen measures of synth.

Let’s take this a step further for the sake of practicality.

Instrumental Worship leaders, if someone sends you a song asking you to consider playing it in church as a worship song, then read the lyrics first before you even listen to the song. Let your doxology be informed by proper theology. If it doesn’t pass that test, then who cares what it sounds like?

Consider what passage your pastor is preaching on in order to bring a song in behind it that will drive that truth home. This is something I have been trying to get better at myself. Sure, any appropriate song could be sung after a sermon, but why not sing “In Christ Alone” by Keith & Kristyn Getty after hearing a sermon on Acts 4:12: “There is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”

Why not sing the gripping hymn “It Is Well” by Horatio Spafford after the pastor preaches on 2 Corinthians 12:10: “For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities.”

Why not sing “Jesus Messiah” by Chris Tomlin after having Communion and hearing a sermon on 2 Corinthians 5:21: “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” Or Philippians 2:8: “He humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”

It’s not just that the titles to the songs have a topical match. No, we must be better than that. We must be more theologically informed than that.

From “In Christ Alone”: “In Christ alone, my hope is found. He is my light my strength, my song. This cornerstone, this solid ground, firm through the fiercest drought and storm.” And: “In Christ alone, who took on flesh, fullness of God in helpless babe!” The Getty’s were writing about the exclusivity of God incarnate (in the flesh), our Lord Jesus Christ! This distinguishes the Christianity of the Bible from all other religions. Let’s sing that in God’s Church.

From “It Is Well”: “When peace, like a river, attendeth my way; When sorrows like sea billows roll. Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say: “It is well, it is well with my soul.”” Horatio, after losing all four of his children in a sea-faring journey, as well as all of his wealth in the Great Chicago Fire, could still say “it is well with my soul” because he trusted the sovereignty of God and knew he would see his children in Heaven again.

From “Jesus Messiah”: “He became sin who knew no sin, that we might become His righteousness. He humbled Himself and carried the cross. Love so amazing! His body the bread, His blood the wine; Broken and poured out all for love. The whole earth trembled and the veil was torn. Love so amazing!” Chris Tomlin pulls this right out of Scripture and puts it to music, singing about the substitutionary atonement of Christ.

If anyone has heard Keith Getty talk about writing songs for the Church, there is no doubt you have heard him say: “We are what we sing”. This is not to mean we can sing ourselves into salvation, but the words we put in people’s mouths are words that they will start believing, just like a pastor who is preaching. We need to be careful and thoughtful with what we are having people sing.

When I attended one of Keith’s workshops in Annapolis, he recounted how his grandfather, though losing some of his memory, could still sing the hymns he grew up with, without missing a beat. Those of us who lead the songs in our churches are responsible for putting solid theology in the mouths and minds of the people in the pews. Let’s not forget that. We are really a musical type of preacher.

Keith wrote a great article for The Gospel Coalition a number of months ago on What Makes "In Christ Alone" Accepted and Contested? In it, he says:

“Truth put to music remains with us. It's why we still sing the powerful lyrics of hymns written centuries ago. Speculation and questioning about theology will come and go, but truth remains.”

He also said:

“We must sing wholeheartedly about concepts such as penal substitution, as well as the many other attributes of God that unfortunately go ignored in some churches today. The songs we sing have a powerful way of shaping our soul and becoming grafted into our being.”

Remember, the whole reason God had Moses put the Law (essentially, the book of Deuteronomy) into the form of a song was for remembrance of the truth. He told Moses, “Write this song and teach it to the people of Israel. Put it in their mouths, that this song may be a witness for me against the people of Israel” (Deut. 31:19).

Scripture also tells us that we will give an account for every careless word we have spoken (Matt. 12:36). This includes lyrics sung. I certainly don’t want to stand before God confessing I picked songs that were musically energetic even though I knew they were theologically shallow and insufficiently articulate of His majesty. The word of Christ ought to dwell in us richly as we sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs (Col. 3:16).

If we are living with an expectation of worshiping God who sits on the Great White Throne and that we will be joining the elders and creatures of Heaven by singing, “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!” then let’s start now.

Let us lead with God’s glory in mind. Let us lead with a conviction that we are helping people to remember the truths of Scripture. Let us lead with an overflow of our own study of Scripture, so that our doxology is truly informed by proper theology. Let us sing to God about who He is and what He has done and is doing and will do…

“And I saw what appeared to be a sea of glass mingled with fire—and also those who had conquered the beast and its image and the number of its name, standing beside the sea of glass with harps of God in their hands. And they sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, “Great and amazing are your deeds, O Lord God the Almighty! Just and true are your ways, O King of the nations! Who will not fear, O Lord, and glorify your name? For you alone are holy. All nations will come and worship you, for your righteous acts have been revealed” (Rev. 15:2-4).

In His Sovereign Grip,

Ben

Part 5: You Are a Type of Pastor

Worship Leaders, Step Back and Remember: Worship Is Not Summed Up In Music

2014-04-29T11:46:00.001-07:00

It should go without saying, especially in light of our recent posts, that worship is not summed up in music. To say that worship is music, or that church music is worship, is to miss the very definition and understanding of what true and acceptable worship is.

In case you missed Part 2, find it here: You Cannot Create a "Worship Atmosphere"

This issue of the proper identification and definition of worship is by and large the most difficult misconception that many people in the Church have. When a church hires someone to lead the music in their local assembly, what do they call him? The “worship leader”. Thus, churches tend to equate worship and music as synonymous terms, which is a far cry from reality. I would almost prefer my own title at my church to be changed from “Director of Worship Ministries” to “Director of Instrumental Worship”. The latter is more true to what I am actually doing. I am leading a type of worship: one of songs, music, melody, instrumentation, etc.

Let’s look at some Biblical text. Worship, as found in Scripture, is commonly defined as service. Not just any service, but service to God; a religious type of service for our holy God.

When Satan was tempting Jesus in the desert in Matthew 4, Satan showed Jesus all the kingdoms of the world and said to Him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” To which Jesus replied, “Be gone, Satan! For it is written, ‘you shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.’”

The word here for “worship” is the most common one we find in the Greek, proskuneo. It literally means to “kiss towards” and physically means to bow down, or kneel down, which would often entail kissing someone’s hand in the process. Notice that Satan told Jesus to “fall down and worship me”. “Fall down and worship” is what proskuneo means.

The other word we see here that Jesus follows up to proskuneo with is “serve”, which is latreuo, the second most common word for worship in the Greek. This starts to shed light on the multi-faceted diamond that worship is. Worship is not just bowing down, it is also reverent service.

We see latreuo in other places of Scripture, translated both ways: serve & worship:

Paul wrote in 2 Timothy 1:3, “I thank God, whom I serve (latreuo) with a clear conscience the way my forefathers did…”

Paul also wrote in Philippians 3:3, “We are the circumcision, who worship (latreuo) in the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus…”

Different translations do their best to get the exact context right, but both translations are acceptable as latreuo is a word to connote reverent and obedient service, or even ministry, to God as a form of worship.

When David was old and nearing death, he wanted to set up his son Solomon for success by organizing the Temple construction and staff. We read in 1 Chronicles 22:5, “David said, ‘Solomon my son is young and inexperienced, and the house that is to be built for the Lord must be exceedingly magnificent, of fame and glory throughout all the lands. I will therefore make preparation for it.’”

He then organizes different aspects of the entire project, including getting mass quantities of supplies, i.e. iron for nails and clamps, bronze (too much to be weighed), cedar timbers (too many to count), etc. (22:3-4). He also provided Solomon with an abundance of workmen, i.e. stonecutters, masons, carpenters, metal workers, etc. (22:15-16).

He also organized different groups of people for the religious service: the Levites (chap. 23), the priests (chap. 24), and the musicians (chap. 25). In each chapter, they are said to be set apart for “the service”. One of these services of religious worship to God was indeed a music ministry! This was not just a fun time for the people to request which tempos and styles they liked best. This was a time for the people to sing songs that cried out to God with jubilant, repentant, obedient hearts.

In fact, the word “jubilee” comes from Noah’s brother’s name, Jubal. Guess what Jubal did in his spare time? Played the lyre and pipe. He is forever known as “the father of all those who play the lyre and pipe” (Gen. 4:21).

We see in 1 Chronicles 25:1 that there were three different instruments used in the Temple: lyres, harps and cymbals; and they were run by three different families: the sons of Asaph, and of Heman, and of Jeduthun. We also see that these instrumentalists had brothers, who were “trained in singing to the Lord” and they were “skillful” (25:7).

We can consider many practical things from this one passage, in that the musicians and singers should be trained (not necessarily professionally), skilled individuals, but the larger theological truth we can see in this is that it is not considered the only worship of the Temple. In fact, the word “worship” isn’t found in this chapter, but “service” is and it is used to describe the acts of the priests as well. This is because the worship of the temple included the instrumental and musical service, but it was not defined and summed up by it. Big difference.

True worship is worship that is done in spirit – the right heart – and in truth – grounded in the Word of God (Jn. 4). The Temple was a physical place of worshipful acts, but obedience was always demanded and expected by God, no matter where His people were. Remember that before the Temple was built, the Lord had often highlighted the importance of obedience over that of stark ceremonialism.

“Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams” (1 Sam. 15:22). This was said by the prophet Samuel to a disobedient King Saul who thought he could keep the animals God said he couldn’t keep if he simply sacrificed some in heartless, or spiritless, ceremonialism.

Saul fell into the group of people that Jesus decried when He said, “For the sake of your tradition you have made void the word of God. You hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy of you, when he said: ‘These people honor me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; In vain do they worship me…” (Matt.15:6-9).

We must force ourselves to speak a little differently when we throw the word worship around. Don’t speak as if music and worship are synonymous terms. They are not. When we speak of worship, we must speak of obedient lives, surrendered to our Master and Lord in humility and reverence and awe, in fear and trembling, for our God is a consuming fire!

When the Psalmist wrote in 29:2 & 96:9: “Worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness” he was essentially saying, worship the Lord by being holy. This can only be granted us by our holy Father in Heaven, along with our faith. See my post on this very topic, Acceptable Worship. In The Splendor of Holiness.

This means that only true Christians can truly worship because they are the only ones that God has truly redeemed and made holy and righteous in God’s sight because of the substitutionary atonement by Jesus Christ, our Lord, for our sins. What grace and mercy!

Friends, don’t cheapen the meaning of worship by limiting it only to music played for 30 minutes on one day of the week. Worship = Obedience. This is a 24/7 gig.

In His Sovereign Grip,

Ben

Part 4: Lyrics Are Paramount

What Lessons Can Be Learned From World Vision's Flip-Flop?

2014-03-28T13:23:00.001-07:00

One must wonder – and indeed many have – What were they thinking?

If they really did care about the Bible’s authority, how did they come to their conclusion in the first place? Such a basic understanding of sexuality and life is understood by the most immature of Christians…or so we thought.

First Lesson Learned: Conviction Is Needed Because Conviction Is Steadfast

If any one person does not have an unwavering commitment to the inspired, inerrant and sufficient Word of God, the conviction of almost anything will be subject to decay and evolution, if not entirely sucked out of you over time. This cannot be understated.

When speaking of the one faith in the one true and living God, Isaiah said, “If you are not firm in faith, you will not be firm at all” (7:9).

Or in Psalm 119 we read, “The sum of your word is truth, and every one of your righteous rules endures forever” (160). The eternality of the Word of God must be so if God Himself is eternal. If we really believe that God is eternal and immutable (unchangeable) then we have to concede that so are His instructions and laws.

A conviction of these truths will not wax and wane with the shifting sands of cultural trends because they are founded and grounded on the solid rock of our Lord Jesus Christ and His Gospel. They are steadfast. The consistency of Scripture shines brighter as the world moves away from biblical morality.

The Apostle Paul told his beloved son in the faith, Timothy, “This charge I entrust to you, Timothy, my child […] wage the good warfare, holding faith and a good conscience. By rejecting this, some have made shipwreck of their faith” (1 Tim. 1:17-19).

Paul also wrote to the faithful church in Thessalonica, “We know, brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you, because our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction” (1 Thess. 1:4-5).

As my pastor once said, “A belief is something you hold; a conviction is something that holds you.”

When you truly have a conviction from the Word of God, you will not so easily be swayed by popular opinion and you will say with the Psalmist, “I shall have an answer for him who taunts me, for I trust in your Word” (119:42) and “I will also speak of your testimonies before kings and shall not be put to shame, for I find my delight in your commandments, which I love” (119:46-47).

Second Lesson Learned: Christian Theology Cannot Be Separated From Christian Operation

In Christianity Today’s article, “World Vision: Why We’re Hiring Gay Christians in Same-Sex Marriages”, they shared that World Vision decides “to defer to churches and denominations on theological issues, so that it can focus on uniting Christians around serving the poor.”

The President, Richard Stearns, said, “We’re an operational arm of the global church, we're not a theological arm of the church.”

This is one of the most pressing lessons we can get from all of this. This has become the tendency among many evangelicals. It is the hopeful step of neutrality that many Christians seem to think they can take without compromising their faith. In reality, it’s a cop out to making up your mind. There tends to be this idea that since feeding the poor (or other socially helpful ventures) is highly looked upon in the eyes of the world and of God, that both of these parties will then be able to overlook any matters of compromise in other areas like, in this case, biblical sexuality.

Suddenly, altruism becomes the new evangelism, but with an emphasis on the works of the altruistic individual, rather than the salvation of the hungry. It is all well and good to feed the poor, but if you do not share the Gospel with them, then they could still be heading to Hell with a blanket and a bowl of food. The real mission of the Christian Church is to provide temporal and eternal needs. The temporal needs help now, but the eternal need of salvation from sin lasts forever. Lots of people will like us for giving away free things to needy people, but we can’t consider that as an approval of the Gospel, as if we are fulfilling the Great Commission.

This may be an easy temptation to fall into when you are running Christian organizations, but with a personal conviction on biblical theology comes a proper application of biblical theology. Think about it from a personal and individual perspective. Can you merely be an Operational Christian and not a theological one? Of course not.

When you start drawing lines in places like these you end up in a precarious situation, which is exactly what happened with World Vision. In Christianity Today’s first article, they clearly stated where they were drawing their authority from: “This is not us compromising. It is us deferring to the authority of churches and denominations on theological issues.”

As Dr. Al Mohler said in his first response on his blog, “These arguments are pathetically inadequate.”

He goes on to say, “The distinction between an “operational arm” of the church and a “theological arm” is a fatal misreading of reality. World Vision claims a Christian identity, claims to serve the kingdom of Christ, and claims a theological rationale for its much-needed ministries to the poor and distressed. It cannot surrender theological responsibility when convenient and then claim a Christian identity and a theological mandate for ministry.”

A Christian is, by nature, theologically informed. To do anything in the name of Christ while surrendering some type of personal responsibility to sound doctrine is delusional.

Is this harsh? Ask the Apostle Paul who directly linked a biblical view of sexuality with sound doctrine and sexual immorality, including homosexuality, as contrary to it (1 Tim. 1:9-10). Later in chapter six, Paul says that those who do not teach sound doctrine “understand nothing” and are “depraved in mind and deprived of the truth” (6:3-4).

Finally, Paul stresses to Titus the importance of rebuking those who contradict sound doctrine, holding firm to the trustworthy word (1:9).

Third Lesson Learned: Flip-Flopping Reduces Trust

If World Vision had a firm conviction on representing Christ and upholding the authority of Scripture rather than the authority of “churches”, then this matter of the biblical view of sexuality would not have been an issue whatsoever in the first place. They didn’t hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so they contradicted sound doctrine by considering committed sexually immoral people as being right with God:

“Changing the employee conduct policy to allow someone in a same-sex marriage who is a professed believer in Jesus Christ to work for us makes our policy more consistent with our practice on other divisive issues […] We are absolutely resolute about every employee being followers of Jesus Christ. We are not wavering on that” (emphasis mine).

This reveals the fundamental flaw in their real world-view. This is no accidental slip-up of semantics, or Biblical interpretation. They are making a theological statement by saying committed sinners can be Christians. Never mind what the Apostle John said: “No one who lives in God keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen God or known God” (1 Jn. 3:6).

Again, their deprivation of the truth shines forth.

Now, as we have seen, World Vision has recanted of their plan for the new policy change after threats of support withdrawal and backlash from the Christian community as to their capitulation from sound doctrine. Is it legitimate?

I don’t believe a true Christian leader committed to God’s word would ever have made this mistake. These men are old enough and mature enough to know this simple, basic truth. It would be like changing their policy to say that “not all employees must believe in the resurrection of Christ because whether or not you believe that has no bearing on saving faith” and then two days later saying, “Oops, we didn’t realize that was usurping Biblical authority. We’re so thankful people pointed that out to us.”

Can there be true repentance? Absolutely and I hope so! Unfortunately, the damage has already been done with their reputation. They have already and legitimately cast doubt on their whole view of Scripture and the sudden withdrawal does not necessarily prove any spiritual change of heart has taken place.

This can be proven from Scripture, for there are two types of grief when confronted with sin according to 2 Cor. 7:10: 1) Godly grief that produces repentance, and 2) worldly grief that produces death.

One will feel bad for dishonoring God with sin, the other will feel bad for getting caught.

This is where we must continue to pray, in that this company makes it clear who their captain is, men or Christ? Do I seem skeptical? I admit, I am a little.

The reason is because of some of the bold statements already outlined, but there are a few more. How can such clearly articulated statements be said in the first place?

“Our board felt we cannot jump into the fight on one side or another on this issue. We've got to focus on our mission. We are determined to find unity in our diversity."

“This is also not about compromising the authority of Scripture . . . . People can say, ‘Scripture is very clear on this issue,’ and my answer is, ‘Well ask all the theologians and denominations that disagree with that statement.’”

"I hope it's a statement that says when Christ left, he gave us the Great Commission [to make disciples] and the Great Commandment [to love others as ourselves], and we're trying to do just that," said Stearns. "Bridging the differences we have, and coming together in our unity."

"I'm hoping this may inspire unity among others as well," he concluded. "To say how can we come together across some differences and still join together as brothers and sisters in Christ in our common mission of building the kingdom."

"I think we've got a very persuasive series of reasons for why we're doing this, and it's my hope that all of our donors and partners will understand it, and will agree with our exhortation to unite around what unites us. But we do know this is an emotional issue in the American church. I'm hoping not to lose supporters over the change. We're hoping that they understand that what we've done is focused on church unity and our mission."

The agenda is clear and it is theological – as much as they deny it. Gay marriage is merely an “emotional issue” that is “tearing apart the church” and they want to make the statement that people should unite together “in love” as “brothers and sisters in Christ”, gay or straight, based on their desire for unity and on the authority of liberal churches.

In a best case scenario, the leaders of World Vision lack even a moderate understanding of the implications of the Bible. The most frightening aspect is that they would consider people who profess Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior to still be allowed to commit to a sexually immoral lifestyle.

What this means is that when polygamy is the next hot topic, they will be forced to apply their same logic based on their perception of “unity in the church”. Perhaps, as long as a man and his three wives are all professing believers in Jesus Christ and they are all faithful to each other (yes, all four of them) then they would be granted employment as a Christian – of course without World Vision actually endorsing polygamy.

Stearns: “It's easy to read a lot more into this decision than is really there," he said. "This is not an endorsement of same-sex marriage. We have decided we are not going to get into that debate. Nor is this a rejection of traditional marriage, which we affirm and support."

Though the caveat in his statement that we may be reading into it too much is included, the very statements that Christians can live homosexual lifestyles and commit themselves in marriage as such reveals such a bankrupt understanding of Christianity that the implications to how wide reaching their world view may be and how that will affect their future decisions is cause for legitimate concern.

When a spouse cheats in their marriage, we would be suspect to an apology that included statements like: “I failed to seek enough counsel before I decided to cheat”, or, “I am broken hearted over the pain I have caused my spouse who saw this as a reversal of my strong commitment to my marriage.”

Again, World Vision believes many things that may be true, however with no conviction the future is depressingly unreliable.

Fourth and Final Lesson Learned: This Is Not About Ranking Sin

What tends to happen in a situation like this is that the sin in question gets so much attention that people will often banter about how other sins aren’t highlighted as much, so why bother with homosexuality? Are we ranking sin?

This is not about ranking sin. It is about Biblical fidelity. If someone is a professing believer in Christ, or an organization is a professing Christ-centered organization, then they have just accepted the standard that God has laid out in His Word. If the sociopolitical topic of the day was drunkenness, or disrespecting parents, then there would be much more time spent in Biblical exposition around that, but that’s not the buzz-word of our day. The world is pushing an agenda to normalize homosexuality, so the Scriptures will shine brighter on these areas that are being challenged.

It is not as if the Church started a revolution to prove a point on sexuality that was already largely accepted as morally agreeable in the world. No, as the demand for accepting homosexuality as “good”, rather than sinful, was increasing, so did the witness of Scripture on the subject. It is what it is. What would anyone expect?

When Paul wrote what he did in his letters to various churches on the topic, homosexuality was more rampant then, than it has ever been in America until today. This blows the cultural argument out of the water for anyone who says that the Bible is outdated. Only people who don’t know the real contextual and historical scenarios in the Bible would say that, so it is largely due to ignorance, but this is why a faithful representation of Scripture is so important. What was written then is still just as binding for us today.

My prayer for World Vision is that this rocks them so much that their personal convictions are awakened by the Holy Spirit to flow through the organizational convictions. I pray that they aren’t subjecting themselves to churches that have no conviction. I pray that the Bible is taken more seriously and personally, so that they will not consider it as separate from their business.

They will no doubt receive much negativity from the world for almost supporting them and then not, so this will not be an easy ride for them and may be what the Lord uses to shine the light brighter on purity in our country.

My prayer is that the leaders of World Vision don’t just feel a grief that is temporary and leads to death, but is a Godly grief that produces real repentance to salvation if it wasn’t there. How can we tell the difference?

“See what earnestness this Godly grief has produced in you, but also what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what longing, what zeal, what punishment! At every point you have proved yourselves innocent in the matter. So although I wrote to you, it was not for the sake of the one who did the wrong, nor for the sake of the one who suffered the wrong, but in order that your earnestness for us might be revealed to you in the sight of God.Therefore we are comforted.” -2 Cor. 7:11-13

Why did Paul write his former corrective letter (1^st Corinthians)?

“Even if I made you grieve with my letter, I do not regret it—though I did regret it, for I see that that letter grieved you, though only for a while. As it is, I rejoice, not because you were grieved, but because you were grieved into repenting. For you felt a godly grief […]” (vvs. 8-9).

May it be so with World Vision.

In His Sovereign Grip,

Ben

Worship Leaders, Step Back and Remember: You Cannot Create a "Worship Atmosphere"

2014-03-24T10:31:00.001-07:00

The title to this post deserves some explanation. Better yet, clarification.

Undoubtedly, we have all heard the term “worship atmosphere” or “worship environment” used when making decisions as to how the lights should be set or what style of music should be played and then how loud. All of these decisions must be made, but it is important to consider them separate from that of what worship actually is. This is my main thrust in all of these worship leading posts – remembering the real meaning of worship and who worshipers are when throwing the word around for so many other things.

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In case you missed Part 1, find it here: What a Worshipper Actually Is
***

While it is practically necessary to consider the options for lighting and what the music will sound like, I think it would do the Church some good to stop speaking about those decisions as if they will actually create some sort of tangible worship experience. To be more blunt, I think the thrust behind most music in churches today is to create an experience, rather than drive the minds and hearts and voices of men and women of God, to God. If the stress and mission of churches were to do the latter, then they would be talking much more about the lyrics in the songs, than the lighting in the sanctuary.

When we are making decisions on lighting (a very first-world issue) then we should be thinking practically about the greater good. Can all people see where they are going? Don’t forget that grandma and grandpa sometimes need all the help they can get to stay vertical. Don’t make it difficult for them for the sake of some preconceived notion that you are enhancing the quality or quantity of true worship(ers) with every decrease of wattage. We ought to be willing to give up our rights and freedoms for the sake of others. We would not suffer from it and we would only be benefiting others by it.

To think that we can actually make an environment more “worshipful” is a fallacy that our Lord made very clear when he spoke to the Samaritan woman at the well in John 4. You see, when Jesus said that the time came for when God the Father was seeking true worshipers to worship in spirit and truth, He was saying this to directly and clearly correct the woman’s false view of worship, which was based on a notion that worship happened only at a physical place.

She said to Jesus, “Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you say that in Jerusalem is the place where people ought to worship” (4:20).

In this passage, from verse 20 through 24, the word for worship is always proskuneo. In total, it is used about eight times. This word is where we get the word prostrate from. It means to bow, or kneel. It is a sign of reverence and showing someone honor and worth.

The woman said that their Samaritan fathers went to Mount Gerizim to physically bow down to God but that the Jews did the same thing in Jerusalem at their Temple.

It was at this point that Jesus said that the true worshipers (proskunetes) would proskuneo the Father in spirit and in truth. They could not just physically bow the knee and consider their act as sufficient in itself just because they showed up at the prescribed place. The true worshipers will show this reverence, honor and worth of God in their hearts, so that they will not be numbered with those who Isaiah said had mouths that drew near and lips that fronted honor, but their hearts were far from Him (Is. 29:13).

Where are the lights in this conversation? Was the time of day specified? The place? The frequency?

When something fills your heart and your mind and your soul and your strength, then it is indicative to what you worship. True worship means there is true reverence and awe (Heb. 12:28) and value ascribed to the true God defined in the Scriptures. To look again at John 4, Jesus also made clear that the Jews worshiped what they knew, at least, but the Samaritans worshiped what they did not know. That is unacceptable worship. This is why Jesus said that the true worshipers will worship in truth.

Your love and adoration of God can only be informed by God’s Word. The more you eat this eternal food, the more your heart will be full of it and out of the overflow of the heart the mouth will speak, yes even sing (Lk. 6:45)!

This is why the lyrics in our music must also be based on truth. The lyrics are paramount! It unnerves me how little thought the lyrics are sometimes given when music is written and then selected. How many times do we hear a song and love it for the music more than for the theology? Admittedly, right theology put to really good music is one of the best compilations of all time. Bad theology put to good music is deceptive and heretical. Good theology put to bad music is a disservice to God and mockery of the theology. But accurate biblical theology put to good music – music that is easy to sing to and has a connotation of joy, is one of the sweetest gifts that God has given us to give back to Him over and over again. Our music must be based on truth – the truth of God’s written Word.

It is important to remember the fundamental definition of true worship so that we don’t con ourselves into thinking we can create an environment that can somehow stimulate it. The only thing that can stimulate true worship is the Word of God. It convicts us of sin and drives us to worship (1 Cor. 14:24). It humbles us and drives us to worship (Matt. 14:32). It gives us hope and drives us to ascribe praise and to worship (Ps. 119:7).

Only the people that come into our church building each week who have been feasting on the Word of God, the Bread of Life, will be the ones able to offer up true worship in song – even if the lights are turned all the way up! Perhaps there will be ones who walk in and though they couldn’t care less about the first couple of songs, they are convicted of sin through the means of the preaching of the Word of God and the next song sung is one that has never been sweeter in the mouth of that believer, or the ears of his God because it is finally out of a contrite and repentant heart.

There is nothing wrong with dimming lights, per se, but it can become wrong when we think we are producing more worshipers that way. Practically, people feel more comfortable singing in the dark. I can empathize with that. I’ve been there, but let me gently prod… While it is indeed easier, is that a good thing to encourage? Shall we keep our light under a basket (Matt. 5:15) in our very own worship center?

In all corners of the globe, people are suffering real persecution and death for their faith in Jesus Christ as the Son of God and only hope for salvation from sin and death. These people will whisper hymns with each other in a tight circle, hoping they are not caught and killed for it. These people will have bombs thrown through their windows of their meeting places and will lose their loved ones, but will continue living and serving the living and deserving God. These people worship God in spirit – the right heart – and truth – the Word of God.

May we do the same each and every week and not get caught up in the way our church looks, but in the way our church worships – in spirit and in truth.

In His Sovereign Grip,

Ben

Part 3: Worship Is Not Summed Up In Music

Worship Leaders, Step Back and Remember: What a Worshiper Actually Is

2014-02-11T10:34:00.002-08:00

As a worship leader of five years now, I am constantly addressing and studying what the Bible says that worship is. I don’t think I’ll ever stop thinking about it. Worship has such an overwhelming presence in the Scriptures that we would be remiss to never study it. From the first pages of Genesis to the last ones in Revelation, the topic of our worship of God is demanded to be heeded.

This topic is so vast and so worthy of the most intense scrutiny and deep exposition, but it is my goal to put forth some condensed truths about what the Bible says about worship that should force us to slow down when we use the word.

I am primarily speaking to those out there who are called “Worship Leaders” in your local Church. Those who pick up the guitar each Sunday and lead the band; Those who don the bench and address the keys and lead the choir; Those who stand solo with a song book, singing a capella; Those who would take the responsibility to handle the music in God’s Church for God’s people.

In this post, I hope to address this: As worship leaders, we need to step back and remember what a worshiper actually is.

This is important since we are claiming to be one and we intend to lead other worshipers in song, specifically, when songs do not sum up worship.

When God calls us out of darkness into His marvelous light (1 Pet. 2:9), He calls us from a state of sinful, disobedient worship to that of right worship – the worship of Himself. The Apostle Peter makes clear, as do all of the Apostles, that we have been sovereignly chosen by God to worship Him and to be obedient to Him as Lord. He says that we are “a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession…”

The Apostle Paul says in 1 Corinthians 6:11 that “you were sanctified,” which means to be set apart from profane things and dedicated to God. He is speaking of God’s sovereign election and the act of regeneration by the Holy Spirit that cleanses us from all unrighteousness by the saving grace of our Lord Jesus Christ: “You were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.”

To be more succinct, we are either a child of God, or a child of the Devil.

The Apostle John does not mince words when he says, “make sure no one deceives you; the one who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous; the one who practices sin is of the devil” (1 Jn. 3:7-8). He’s not talking about a small cult; he’s talking about whoever doesn't live for God. As an aside, this perspective should spur our passion for evangelism.

God, speaking to the Israelites, says, “Beware that your hearts are not deceived, and that you do not turn away and serve other gods and worship them” (Deut. 11:16).

The correlation here is something that should be very clear: we are either saved by the grace of God, or we are not; we are either obedient to God, or we are not; we are either practicing righteousness, or we are practicing sin (as a lifestyle); we are either worshipers of God, or we are worshipers of the Devil – all that is wrong and false.

We either live to serve (Hebrew: abad) and worship (Hebrew: shachah – prostrate, bow down) God, or we are living to serve and worship another god, or even ourselves.

As Jesus said himself, quoting Deuteronomy 6:13, “You shall worship (Greek: proskuneo – prostrate, bow down) the Lord your God and Him only shall you serve (Greek: latreuo). Latreuo is often translated as “worship” in the New Testament.

God makes clear in Deut. 30:20a what it means to flesh out the service and worship of Him: “By loving the LORD your God, by obeying His voice, and by holding fast to Him.”

The English word worship comes from the Anglo-Saxon word worth-ship, predating 900AD. It is a word that denotes the condition or character of worthiness. For someone to worship something or someone else is for them to ascribe a high degree of worth, or value. The word worship is most often understood in the context of religious adoration, veneration, reverence, or regard.

For us to worship the God of Heaven and Earth means we are condescending ourselves to hold God in the highest regard, in true humility, considering Him as being the pinnacle of all worth in our life and in existence itself. It is also a word that connotes submission to a lord. It is homage, which means deference, fidelity to, loyalty to, or obeisance – a French word, meaning to obey.

Understanding all of this makes it is easier to see that a Christian, one who is sovereignly called by God, is defined as a worshiper of God.

The Apostle Paul said to the Roman church, “Let not sin reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness” (6:12-13).

He goes on to explain this in verse 16: “Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness?”

Then, making the distinction even more clear, he says: “But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness” (17-18).

The language of worship is in here. One who is an obedient, reverent servant, or slave, of someone else is a worshipper of that person. “Worship” is not a holy term in itself. It just describes the relationship of the humble with their lord. For the Christian, we recognize our depravity, then experience God’s sovereign grace, and submit ourselves in reverence and awe to the Lord of lords who saved us.

A Christian is a regenerated soul.

A regenerated soul is a God-worshiping soul.

A Christian is a worshiper of God.

When we step onto the platform to lead worshipers in music, that’s exactly what we’re doing. We’re not creating worship. We’re not leading the only worship they will see or hear that week. They bring their acts of worship with them, having already been converted to worshipers when their faith in Christ was established by the grace of God.

As “Worship Leaders” we must step back and remember what a worshiper is. This will decrease the temptation for us to try and create a vibe or mood with lights and synth sounds that we think will somehow help people worship. It doesn’t work that way.

We are only providing the music and the melody for the worshipers to give to God what they already have – a heart changed by Him.

In His Sovereign Grip,

Ben

Part 2: You Cannot Create a Worship "Atmosphere"

Ken Ham & Bill Nye: What We Need to Remember Going into the Debate

2014-02-04T11:36:00.000-08:00

A rigorous, robust debate can be a good and even helpful thing. Two opposing sides purposely positioned to give a respectable appeal to their position and to allow the other side to respectfully counter the arguments with hopefully substantial and thought-provoking data.

However, the debate that many of us will watch tonight between Ken Ham, President of Answers In Genesis, and Bill Nye, known as “The Science Guy”, and a reputable science educator and television host, is one that can easily overstimulate both sides of the so-called Creationism/Evolution debate if we’re not careful.

Here’s how…

Christians know the truth about creation because we believe that what God has revealed in His Word is true, like everything else in Scripture. It is at this point where we differ vastly from an unGodly world. We also don’t expect the world to come to grips with this as our society as a whole has become very good at pushing God out of the public discourse altogether, though we constantly strive to convince the world that it needs the saving grace of Jesus Christ from sin and its eternal consequences.

That being said – that we believe what God said in Scripture is true – we must remember one thing: Creation, quite simply, was a miracle. Creation can’t be proven empirically because none of us were there. Creation can’t be proven by science at all because the Creation of everything as we know it was an unrepeatable event.

Science is the diligent study that uses systematic observation and experiment. Clearly, science can’t touch the Creation event.

Can science reveal the wonders and complexities of the world and universe and how they function? Absolutely. But this is merely man articulating in finite ways, the infinite splendor of God’s creation. Science is only here because God gave us something to work with. It will always give us even more ways to be in awe of God.

Ken Ham may be able to give stunning evidence as to how impossible it is to believe evolution and how we can only be enraptured with the glorious God of Heaven and Earth, but he will not be able to prove Creation. Additionally, let’s say that Ham has an off day…a Bronco’s kind of day…and can’t execute one sentence without fumbling something. This may win Bill Nye a rhetoric award, but it has no bearing on the facts of science, or the firm, fixed facts of Scripture.

We must not get caught up in the emotion of rhetoric and eloquence. We must discern the truth.

Additionally, believing God is an act of faith that is granted to us (2 Pet. 1:3).

“Faith comes from hearing,” the Apostle Paul says, “and hearing through the word of Christ” (Rom. 10:17). And as the author of Hebrews states, “Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things unseen” (11:1).

Not only did Moses pen the account of Creation by the inspiration of God, but the Psalms recognize it as well:

“The world and all that is in it, you have founded them. The north and the south, you have created them” (89:11-12).

“He commanded and [the moon, shining stars, highest heavens, waters above the heavens] were created” (148:5).

Even still, listen to God’s blistering remarks to Job, proving again that only God knows the history of the Earth:

“Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding. Who determined its measurements […] Or who stretched the line upon it? On what were its bases sunk, or who laid its cornerstone” (38:4-6)?

About 70 creation-specific, humbling verses later, Job replies, “Behold, I am of small account; what shall I answer you? I lay my hand on my mouth” (40:4).

It doesn’t matter how well Bill Nye or Ken Ham articulate evidence. Creation or evolution won’t be proven tonight, but I do know that Ken Ham is seeking to show that one must not sacrifice their intellect in order to believe God’s account in Genesis. This is something that is worth talking about because too often, people think you have to ignore science to believe in God, but that can’t be further from the truth.

Real science will never be at odds with Scripture, but it will also never be able to comprehend supernatural miracles. Science has always had a limit. Though we can see smaller microbes now and further galaxies than ever before, there has never been a wall we have reached where the beginning of all things is understood. We will never get there. It goes forever. Scientists will always have a job.

Science is helpful for us in very practical ways, but our infinite God created science. Science does not create Him.

Let us remember that this debate will not satisfy the age-old debate of who God is. It will not put an end to the momentum of either side, but hopefully God will be glorified tonight by the faithfulness of Ken Ham to point us to Scripture and to show us that what we can observe and experiment will only confirm our faith in our glorious creator God even more.

Pray for Ken Ham tonight.

For the live stream of the event, follow this link: http://debatelive.org/

Sovereignty, 2b: Immutable Attributes - Does God "Change" If He Is Merciful One Moment and Just the Next?

2013-12-06T14:24:00.001-08:00

We saw in our last post that God’s very essence cannot and will not ever change. He cannot be greater than He already is and He will never depreciate in any way, even from within Himself in what could be thought of as a neutral or lateral change. It is as simple as the fact that we do change. Just as simple as that is, we ought to be able to understand that God simply doesn’t change, nor is he susceptible or vulnerable to change by any external force – neither death, life, angels, powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to change God. That is why none of these things will be able to separate us from his love – His adoring attribute, as detailed in Romans 8:31-39.

How can we know for sure that the attributes of God don’t change? Is that to mean He feels all emotions at the same time like someone who never knows what to feel at the right time? Not exactly. Is it that he does change in one regard if he shifts from a judgmental disposition to a merciful one? Or a condemning one to a commending one? Wouldn’t these attributes be manifested differently depending on the prayers of the saints, or the circumstances with which men find themselves in?

These questions are based on flawed assumptions. If God was not omniscient or omnipotent, then perhaps He would have to re-act to circumstances, rather than having been pro-active in determining the circumstances in the first place. Further, if God had a will that could be imposed on by ours, then perhaps prayers would actually change His mind rather than Him causing men to pray within the eternal will of His immutable Self. That men have actually reversed the original intention of God through prayer has never happened, nor will it. For a helpful look at the point of prayer, in light of God’s eternality, omniscience and immutability, see my post: "If God's Will Doesn't Change, Is Prayer Pointless?"

The study of God’s sovereignty is no small chore and if we could sum up everything about God and His sovereignty in a series of blog posts, then He clearly wouldn’t be an infinite and eternal God. However, we know He is! And so, we take what has once for all been delivered down to us to see what the Holy Spirit has revealed in the pages of Scripture, which is sufficient to equip thoroughly and to build up the body of Christ, so that we may know God and have life in His Name.

A diligent study of God’s nature and character will only elevate our thoughts about God, which is what the Church desperately needs. The higher the mountain of our thoughts and belief of God, the more impossible it will be for the Devil-pricked philosophies and mentalities to scale it. Our thoughts of God could never be too high. As A. W. Tozer rightly said, “The first step down for any church is taken when it surrenders its high opinion of God.” This moves us to study Scripture, so that our opinions of God are accurate, being Biblically based. Tozer believed that there were answers in Scripture that were both full and satisfying saying, “While the name of God is secret and His essential nature incomprehensible, He in condescending love has by revelation declared certain things to be true of Himself. These we call His attributes.”

So the question of the day is: Can God’s attributes change?

In order to approach this properly, we need to remember God’s eternality. He was here before all creation and time as He was the Creator that made it happen. Speaking of the oneness of God the Father with the Son, the Apostle Paul said that “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him.” Paul’s conclusion? “That in everything He might be preeminent” (Col. 1:15-18). That is to say, first in, or before, all things, be it succession, rank, time, etc.

John Calvin wrote in his Institutes of the Christian Religion, “From the power of God we are naturally led to consider his eternity, since that from which all other things derive their origin must necessarily be self-existent and eternal” (Book 1, Chap. 5, Sec. 6).

God has also made it known to us that He has a predetermined plan in the world (Eph. 1:4; Acts 17:26). This will continue to come up through our studies, as it should, for God would certainly not be able to have a predetermined plan if He were subject to change in any way. By the very nature of God – His omniscience, omnipotence and immutability – we are forced into the corner of recognition that God would have to have a predetermined plan for everything with that kind of sovereignty. Being all-knowing alone demands it. He either knows everything that is going to happen, or He doesn’t know everything. The only way for any being to have knowledge of all future events, is to orchestrate them itself. Such it is with God.

All at once, God is all. He is all of His attributes all at once, which is why we sing of Him being our All in All! The Latin word for “all” is “Omni”, hence the way in which we describe His attributes. This is about as good as a finite mind could express our God of infiniteness. And being that God is eternal, having always been in existence without having been created by anything, we can count on the fact that God will remain eternal and immutably so – without any variation or shadow due to change (James 1:17).

All of this must be established in order to have a chance at understanding and believing that the more specific attributes of God are also immutable, such as His mercy & justice, love & wrath, etc. How can God be unchangeable if He, Himself, being these things (i.e. God is love), is also someone who exercises justice and sends unrepentant sinners to Hell? Does He shift a few degrees to the left or right depending on the situation? Isn’t that considered a type of change?

This only seems impossible to answer if our assumption is that mercy and justice are always at odds with each other and cannot coexist fully at the same time. God is always a God of mercy and of justice and, as A. W. Pink once said, His sovereignty determines how it is exercised, for He will have mercy on whom He will have mercy (Ex. 33:19 & Rom. 9:15-18). Where we must stop in our attempt at explaining God is in demanding an answer to “why?” from God. As Paul says about this very temptation, “Who are you, oh man, to answer back to God” (Rom. 9:20)?

This difficult reconciliation of justice and mercy can be better explained in this way: If God were only a God of justice and not a God of mercy, we would all be sent to Hell. Our sin has easily earned us a spot there. If God were only a God of mercy and not of justice, then sin would never be punished and all of human-kind would suffer immensely since the only way to know what justice looks like is to have it existent in the ultimate Judge. The problem of sin would never be rectified since it could never be dealt with…only winked at by God – an absurd possibility! God must be just and merciful all at the same time according to His will. Having mercy on a few does not mean He is not all-merciful based on the fact that all of human kind did not receive mercy; rather He is all-merciful to the few He chose.

Let’s not stop there. Even in God’s selection of whom He has mercy unto eternal life, it would not be right to say that not one person has every experienced the mercy of God, for when the punishment for sin is death, it is obvious in our wicked world that many reprobate minds are experiencing a temporal mercy of God in the time they have to repent of sin. Paul warns us, though, in Romans, not to presume on this gracious gift:

“Do you suppose, O man […] that you will escape the judgment of God? Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God's kindness is meant to lead you to repentance? But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God's righteous judgment will be revealed” (Rom. 2:3-5).

You see? Even the wicked experience the grace and mercy of God – every day they aren’t rightly killed by Him. God is indeed all-merciful and just, all at the same time.

Calvin also commented on this temporal mercy of God: “When any one crime calls forth visible manifestations of His anger, it must be because He hates all crimes; and, on the other hand, his leaving many crimes unpunished, only proves that there is a judgment in reserve, when the punishment now delayed shall be inflicted. In like manner, how richly does He supply with the means of contemplating his mercy, when, as frequently happens, he continues to visit miserable sinners with unwearied kindness, until He subdues their depravity, and woos them back with more than a parent’s fondness?”

Jonathan Edwards once said: “This world is all the Hell that a true Christian is to ever endure, and it is all the Heaven that unbelievers shall ever enjoy.” How true it is when we are extended life when it is not deserved. It should be the conviction of every true Christian to tell people about the temporary mercy of God they are already getting, but the coming Judgment that will once and for all come down on anyone who doesn’t yield to God’s kindness leading us to repentance. Christ was the substitutionary death for us!

Tozer talked about the archbishop of Canterbury, Anselm, and his findings when studying the justice and mercy of God. According to Tozer, “Anselm’s findings may be paraphrased this way: God’s being is unitary; it is not composed of a number of parts working harmoniously, but simply one. There is nothing in His justice which forbids the exercise of His mercy. To think of God as we sometimes think of a court where a kindly judge, compelled by law, sentences a man to death with tears and apologies, is to think in a manner wholly unworthy of the true God. God is never at cross-purposes with Himself. No attribute of God is in conflict with another.”

I will end this segment with another human example. There is a story of then Governor George W. Bush who had a difficult decision on his hands as a professing Christian in public office. A middle aged female criminal was tried and found guilty of serious crimes warranting the death penalty. While on death row, in prison, she allegedly placed in her faith in Christ, repenting of her sin and obvious immorality. Some of the public desired to see her released as she seemed to have been genuinely saved by God. Even Bush’s own family urged him to let her go. In Bush’s conviction of justice and mercy, He did not lift the penalty. He stated it was his responsibility to exercise justice as the Governor in power, but that if she was a Christian she would only experience the eternal mercy of God sooner than she ever thought.

Everyone experiences some level of mercy and grace of God, but it is to allow us time to repent of sin and start living obedient lives to God in anticipation of the glory of Heaven where God’s mercy is shown in the presence of His people and His justice is satisfied and shown in the death and resurrection of His Son, Jesus Christ, who graciously paid the penalty of sin for us. This drives the saints to their knees in thankfulness and worship. It is surely in the marvelous truth of God's immutability that we can find peace that surpasses understanding!

To be continued…

Acceptable Worship. In The Splendor of Holiness.

2013-09-05T11:24:00.001-07:00

As a “worship leader”, or music director rather, I am continually engaged on what it means to worship. If I am not being engaged in that question, then I often ask it myself, both to my team and others who may lead churches, or who appreciate this unique aspect of church ministry.

It is an important question.

I think many of us understand that it is not just found in the musical sing-along time of a Sunday morning church service, but at the same time we rarely use the term outside of that context. We talk about worship and quote John 4:23 all of the time and yet somehow we can’t get past the idea that worship is found solely in music and singing. It could be like what Dave Ramsey said about saving money – we always talk about it, but never actually do it! Or we get philosophical about it, but fail to understand or execute its application to our budget.

What we, as Christians, do not want to do, is to be able to talk about worship and where it is found in the Bible and then never actually do it, which presupposes we are doing it correctly, so it is accepted by God. That’s the bigger concern.

The Greek word for worship that we often see translated in the Bible is proskuneo. This word is very direct in its practical application in that it means to prostrate, bow, or kneel in profound reverence. It even means to kiss the hand “towards” someone. It is a physical action that shows submission, obedience and vulnerability.

We can read many passages in the Bible, like in Revelation, where people “fell on their faces and worshiped God” (11:16), or “fell down and worshiped God” (19:4), or when an overwhelmed John fell at the feet of the angel in worship and was rebuked and told to “worship God” (19:10 & 22:9).

This same word, proskuneo, was also used to describe the leper that came to Jesus in Matthew 8:2 when he “bowed down before Him”. Or when the synagogue official in Matthew 9:18 came to Jesus and “bowed down before Him,” asking Jesus to bring his dead daughter back to life. It was a sign of reverent and humble submission.

Even more telling is when Jesus explained in Matthew 18 how the Kingdom of Heaven was like the king who wished to settle accounts with his slaves. When one of the slaves had no means to repay him, the king ordered that he and his whole family be sold along with all his possessions in order to be paid back. At this the slave “fell to the ground and prostrated himself before him saying, ‘Have patience with me and I will repay you everything.’”

When the Bible talks about worship it is talking about the literal act of bowing down with our face to the ground in reverence, fear, humility and submission before God. This would be the actual “act” of worship, or the physical posture of worship.

It is no wonder, then, that Paul had to specify to the New Testament believers in Rome what their spiritual act of worship was, or what it was that demonstrated in their hearts that they were in fact bowing down to the holy and awesome God in humility and submission and not the world any longer. He says in 12:1, “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.”

So, what is the spiritual act of this falling down before God in worship? Offering our bodies as living sacrifices to Him. This is something the readers understood since the Jews, via the priests, were always offering sacrifices on their altars for different things, be it sin offerings, praise offerings, etc. Now with Jesus acting as the final atonement for sin, being the perfectly sinless Lamb of God, the people had no need for these physical sacrifices anymore. Christ was sufficient! Now they were to offer themselves to God in obedience to God, since it was by God’s mercy that they had been forgiven.

Now, take notice that it also says to be “holy and acceptable” to God.

This echoes what the author of the Book of Hebrews said in 12:28-29, “Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire.”

Acceptable worship is only found where there is reverence and awe for Holy God – a consuming fire! When anyone bows down before God with no reverence, no awe, no adoration or submission, then they are not worshiping God acceptably. They are only showing outward signs of compliance and are in fact an offense to God. Proverbs 21:27 says, “The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination; how much more when he brings it with evil intent.” It is the Judas Kiss being perpetuated throughout the ages when we say we worship God, yet do not live obediently to Him in every area of our lives, dealing with sin when it is present. May this never be for us! To come back to Romans 12, we must not be conformed to the world.

One phrase in particular that brings all of these thoughts together was said by David first in 1 Chronicles 16 in an exaltation of praise and worship to God for the safe delivery of the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem from the Philistines. His song is absolutely beautiful and shines brightly from a heart that sought God and His glory. In verses 28-30, specifically, we see an important indicator to acceptable worship:

“Ascribe to the Lord, O families of the peoples,
ascribe to the Lord glory and strength!
Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name;
bring an offering and come before him!
Worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness;
tremble before him, all the earth.”

Right away we see everything we just talked about in Romans and Hebrews. Holiness is to be evident in our heart and lives before God. Our spiritual worship, after all, is to be holy and acceptable as we offer ourselves as living sacrifices to God. Additionally, the word “tremble” found here in David’s song indicates having a fear of God. Fear is a word you get when you combine “reverence” and “awe” – the very things outlined in our Hebrews 12 passage as being necessary for acceptable worship.

But there’s even more to this one line in particular: “Worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness.”

It’s time to open this storm door and step down into the depths of this verse that will reveal even more to how worship is properly offered, thus being truly acceptable before our consuming fire – Holy, Almighty God.

Some theologians would translate this verse to say, “Worship the Lord because of the splendor of His holiness.” While I don’t believe that is the intent of meaning of this phrase in particular, this certainly is a most crucial reason to worship our Lord and there is plenty of evidence in Scripture where we can read of God’s holiness and the command to worship him as such.

David had a magnificent ability to talk about God’s holiness and majesty, especially in the form of songs we find in the Psalms. He was fully convinced and convicted that we must worship God because of His holiness.

Psalm 99 lays out some clear reasons for the believer to worship their God. A condensed look at verses 1-3 reveals: the Lord reigns; He is enthroned upon the cherubim; He is great in Zion; He is exalted; Holy is He!

Then 4 & 5: He loves justice; He’s established equity; He’s executed justice and righteousness; Holy is He!

Finally, verses 8 & 9: He is a forgiving God; He is an avenger of wrongdoing; The Lord our God is holy!

Twice in this chapter we are told, “Exalt the Lord our God; worship at his footstool [and holy mountain]; for the Lord our God is Holy!”

David cannot be clearer: Worship God because He is holy! Drop the gavel. Close the book. Done.

It is no wonder that some theologians take “worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness” to mean we are to worship the Lord because of His holiness, because that is, in fact, a true statement, but given the context of David’s song in 1 Chronicles 16, David is exhorting us to be something God has always wanted us to be – holy.

All over the Old Testament, God is seen telling the people of Israel to “be holy for I am holy.” His reason for taking the people out of Egypt was to bring the nation of Israel to a consecrated place to serve and worship Him as a holy people, since God is a holy God (Ex. 7:16; 8:1; 9:1).

“I am the Lord who brought you up out of the land of Egypt to be your God. You shall therefore be holy, for I am holy.” –Lev. 11:45

“You shall be holy to me, for I the Lord am holy and have separated you from the peoples, that you should be mine.” –Lev. 20:26

The Apostle Peter drove this home in 1 Peter 1 in his own explanation of the mandate to be holy and not to be a part of the world’s sinful lifestyles. He wrote, “As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy” (vv. 14-16).

This is reminiscent of what Paul said in Romans 12:1-2, again, “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”

Acceptable worship always comes around to the requirement to be holy. That is what defines a Christian. We are holy because God is holy. Indeed, we are holy because God made us holy by His mercies and by His grace.

It just so happens that a portion of David’s song in 1 Chronicles 16 is also re-recorded in Psalm 96, which is what we will use to understand the context of worshiping the Lord in the splendor of holiness. It helps if we break this short Psalm down into four segments:

1) Verses 1-3 are instructions to the worshiper

2) Verses 4-6 are reasons for why we ought to worship God

3) Verses 7-10 are more instructions to the worshiper

4) Verses 11-13 is a personal expression of praise and worship from David

Knowing this, we can then see our phrase in question is found in Segment 3, the second set of instructions for the worshiper. We are told here to “ascribe to the Lord glory and strength!” This is recognizing God as having all glory and strength and then attributing it to him as such. That’s what ascribing means- To attribute something to someone.

David also tells us to “bring an offering and come into his courts!” In David’s day, this could well be an actual offering on the altar, or perhaps even an offering of a sacrifice of praise (Ps. 116:17). This would be fitting with Hebrews 13:15 for us today, “Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name.” It is, after all, what David is doing in these Psalms- acknowledging His name and attributing to Him glory and strength.

Then, in verse nine, we see, “worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness.”

This verse can actually be read as, “worship the Lord in the splendor of holy attire.”

This is where our study reaches a new level of amazing. You will see what I mean. That key understanding to the translation, in that it can be read as “holy attire”, brings us to a deeper understanding of historical, transcendental worship – that is, worship that is historically consistent and transcends all times, from the OT days to us now.

David is instructing the worshiper to worship in something. What? Splendor. How do you get this splendor and what is it? You get it by being holy, but this not of yourselves, or for yourselves. It too, is the gracious work of God for the glory of God. As Paul told the Philippians, “for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.” This is right after he tells them to keep being obedient to God. When we continue to obey God’s laws, we will become more like Christ, which means He is making us more and more holy as He is holy.

God is holy and full of splendor, so we ought to worship in the splendor that is found in holiness! Just as an obedient sacrifice offered on the altar in the OT was a pleasing aroma to God (Ex. 8:21; 29:18,25,41; Lev. 1:9,13,17, etc.), so is the obedient, holy heart on the altar of our lives to God, or in the living sacrifice we offer ourselves as.

The prophet Samuel sternly corrected the disobedient King Saul’s shallow understanding of pleasing and acceptable worship when he said, “Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams” (1 Sam. 15:22).

The helpful understanding we get from the “holy attire” in the Psalm 96 parallel is found from cover to cover in the Bible. The splendor of holy attire was taken very seriously by God, and consequently by the Israelites, when God first laid out the guidelines for acceptable worship in Exodus 28 & 29.

These chapters give elaborate detail to the process that the priests must go through to not only offer an acceptable sacrifice, but consecrate themselves as well. Chapter 28 speaks specifically to the garments of the priests. Verses 2-3 says, “You shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother, for glory and for beauty. You shall speak to all the skillful, whom I have filled with a spirit of skill, that they make Aaron’s garments to consecrate him for my priesthood.”

The exact articles of clothing and the details required for them are then laid out in detail and Moses is constantly told they are to be executed with skillful precision (vv. 3, 6, 8, 15, 27 & 28).

With all of this said, we get to chapter 29, which outlines in detail how the priests are to be consecrated for service to God. There is about a week long process involved in this consecration. Let’s look at verse 21, though. It reads, “Then you shall take part of the blood that is on the altar, and of the anointing oil, and sprinkle it on Aaron and his garments, and on his sons’ garments with him[…]”

This last line is key…

“[…]He and his garments shall be holy, and his sons and his sons’ garments with him.”

Again, in verse 29, it refers to “the holy garments of Aaron” and how they were to be used by his sons after him, by which they would be ordained and consecrated in as well. No one else in Israel had garments like these that were considered holy by God. They were exclusively for the priests. The focus of the whole sacrificial system was to be done in strict obedience to God’s design, in a holy way. When done according to God’s plan, he considered them consecrated and holy to Him.

The purpose of these priests was to make atonement for the sins of the people and to intercede to God for them in this regard and this was no light matter. They were putting their lives at stake by doing this because if they didn’t do something right, they would die. They had to have the right articles of clothing crafted and then worn in the right way at the right time. If they didn’t, God said they would “bear guilt and die” (Ex. 28:35 & 43). This was pass or fail.

Exodus 30:10 says, “Aaron shall make atonement on [the Altar’s] horns once a year. With the blood of the sin offering of atonement he shall make atonement for it once in the year throughout your generations. It is most holy to the Lord.”

So we see through all of this that holiness was of utmost importance to God. The priests were to be consecrated and holy, as were their garments, and the altar they offered sacrifices on. He is, after all, the epitome of holiness. He is a consuming fire and He demands holiness from us.

Even a cursory glance at the sacrificial system of the Old Testament will quickly reveal to us the underlying principle and concept of the need for our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Every single person that ever lived, with the exception of Jesus of Nazareth, is a sinner. Left to our own devices, we will most assuredly end up in the eternal Hell that Jesus so often warned us about. Before Jesus came to this Earth, it was the same scenario for the Old Testament Jews. They had no way to be right before God without a priest interceding for them by offering sacrifices to God for the atonement of their sin.

Hebrews 9:22 says, “Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sins.”

This is why blood was sprinkled on the priests garments – to be made holy, and sprinkled on the altar – to be made holy, and sprinkled on the people – to be made holy. Blood was sprinkled on the tent of meeting and the vessels used in worship as well (vs. 21).

For us, in the post-resurrection world, we have no need for perpetual sacrifices anymore. The blood of Jesus Christ is far greater than any animal and has completely satisfied the requirements for atonement and reconciliation with God forever!

“But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come,then through the greater and more perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation)he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption. For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer, sanctify for the purification of the flesh,how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify ourconscience from dead works to serve the living God. Therefore he is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, since a death has occurred that redeems them from the transgressions committed under the first covenant” (vv. 11-15).

This is so important for us to realize the significant difference between the old covenant and the new covenant brought by Jesus. Even though the priests were consecrated to God and considered holy before God, they were still sinners in need of the very sacrifice they were offering for everyone else.

Hebrews 5: 1-3 says, “For every high priest chosen from among men is appointed to act on behalf of men in relation to God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. He can deal gently with the ignorant and wayward, since he himself is beset with weakness. Because of this he is obligated to offer sacrifice for his own sins just as he does for those of the people.”

Jesus came to settle this need for our atonement and He did so with a universal stamp of finality. He is perfect, sinless, holy and He is God. He is the only one who could have possibly fulfilled this spiritual need for mankind.

“And being made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him, being designated by God a high priest after the order of Melchizedek” (Heb. 5:9-10).

Then in 10:11-18, “And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet. For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.”

Finally, so as not to lose the lesson here that by Christ’s blood we are made holy, verse 21 & 22 says that “since we have a great priest over the house of God,let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water” (Emphasis mine).

Now, because of Jesus’s substitutionary atonement for our sins, by faith and repentance of sin, we are sprinkled with His blood so that we are considered imputed with His righteousness, being made holy unto Him.

Now we can worship Him in the splendor of holiness! It’s the only way to worship acceptably.

Now, referring back to 1 Peter and his exhortation to be holy…how is this fleshed out? Is there a connection to the new covenant believer in regards to the “holy attire” that David talked about in 1 Chronicles and in the Psalms? How are these all tied together?

This is where we get closer to the other cover of our Bibles. Look at Revelation 19.

This is beautiful.

In verse six, “Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like the roar of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, crying out, “Hallelujah! For the Lord God Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his Bride has made herself ready…”

As you probably already know, the Bride is the Church, the collective group of the redeemed saints of God – those sprinkled clean by the blood of Jesus Christ.

How has the Church, the Bride of Christ, made herself ready?

Verse 8, “It was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure [emphasis mine]” –

“for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints.”

Holiness! Righteousness! The church is adorned by it because of Christ! It is Christ in us who makes us righteous and holy. It is Christ in us that makes us fit for worship. It is Christ in us that gives us the ability to honor God back at all…

Like the Apostle Paul said in 1 Corinthians 15:10 while humbly recognizing his fallen nature, “By the grace of God I am what I am…”

Let’s make no mistake, either… the Church is granted the ability to be righteous and bear righteous deeds in keeping with repentance. We never would have wanted it or asked for it without God’s sovereign call in our lives. We recognize our responsibility in making the decision to repent of sin, but we recognize our inability to do so without His breathing into our spiritual corpse, life – Regeneration.

It is by grace we are saved and by grace that we can worship Him in the splendor of holiness.

Friends, do not think that acceptable worship is something you can manipulate out of an instrument or experience with the right “flow” of a worship service. True worship is found in those who are truly bought by Christ. These are the true worshipers that the Father seeks and saves. True worshipers worship in spirit (with a right heart before God) and in truth (informed by Holy Scripture). You bring your worship, your sacrifice of praise, to the Sunday morning meeting. You are either a worshiper, or you are not.

Worship God! And worship in the splendor of holiness.

All because of Jesus.