Calvary Bible Church - Pastor Ken’s Weblog

Message for Sunday, May 11, 2008

Scripture Text: II Peter: 2  “But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you”

“Crop Report”

Kind of a weird title for a Mother’s Day message isn’t it!   The text is even weirder, but that’s because this message is not a “Mother’s Day” message!  To be honest, I had the message selected before I realized it was going to be Mother’s Day when I gave it.  So Mom’s, don’t take this message personal unless it applies!  It’s a message for all of us, not just the Mom’s!  The last Sunday that I was here, before we went on vacation, we tackled the first three verses of this chapter, and Peter warned us that false teachers would be “among” us.  That is a sobering thought.  We expect them to be active out in the “world” and we do a pretty good job of identifying and avoiding them and their heretical teaching, but “among” us?  That’s an area we may not have thought much about, but hopefully will pay more attention to after heeding Peter’s warning.  He pointed out that “many will follow their shameful ways” which means we need to be on guard not just for ourselves but also for one another.   Some “among” us will want to follow false teachers.  Hypocritical liars paint a pretty picture, a kind of “you can have your cake and eat it too” spirituality.  But as we saw two weeks ago, when they deny the Word of God they deny the God of the Word!  Remember the quote from the prophet?  Jeremiah 5:30-31: “A horrible and shocking thing has happened in the land: The prophets prophesy lies, the priests rule by their own authority, and my people love it this way.  But what will you do in the end?” The problem is, some of God’s people do love it that way, as Jeremiah pointed out, and many times their churches are full, they have the appearance of success, even of God’s blessing.

Peter’s second observation or warning was that by their behavior, they “bring the way of truth into disrepute.”  Those who call themselves “Christian” but by their beliefs and actions deny it, harm not only themselves but also all who claim the name.  The watching world doesn’t discern between those who have and practice the truth and those who are apostate.  They lump us all in together, and every time sin is judged and brought out into the open, they feel justified in their distrust and avoidance of anything “Christian.”  Peter pointed out that false teachers are motivated by greed, either for the praise of men or for material wealth, and often both.  Peter also pointed out that they wouldn’t get away with it, at least not in the end.  Peter says their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping.  God is watching, and will bring judgment.  Although delay makes it seem that they have escaped God’s judgment, destruction is a reality that is sure to come upon them.  We closed with Paul’s reminder from Galatians 6:7-8: “Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked.  A man reaps what he sows.  The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.”  That brings us to the topic of our message today, “The Crop Report”.  Again, it’s those first three verses that give us the context.

“But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you.  They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them–bringing swift destruction on themselves.  Many will follow their shameful ways and will bring the way of truth into disrepute.  In their greed these teachers will exploit you with stories they have made up.  Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping.”  Peter then gives us some well-known examples of God’s judgment in the past, demonstrating that while their condemnation and judgment may be postponed, God’s patience has a limit.  One characteristic of God’s nature, that which makes Him God, is His immutability.  He does not change.  Malachi 3:6a “I the LORD do not change.” That’s about as clear as you can get.  Listen to this from Numbers 23:19: “God is not a man, that he should lie, nor a son of man, that he should change his mind.  Does he speak and then not act?  Does he promise and not fulfill?”  He is also a God of justice.  His justice demands that sin be punished.  Nahum 1:3a “The LORD is slow to anger and great in power; the LORD will not leave the guilty unpunished.”  To make his point, Peter then gives us a few examples of God bringing judgment in the past on those who deserved it.
Verses 4-9: “For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but sent them to hell, putting them into gloomy dungeons to be held for judgment; if he did not spare the ancient world when he brought the flood on its ungodly people, but protected Noah, a preacher of righteousness, and seven others; if he condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah by burning them to ashes, and made them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly; and if he rescued Lot, a righteous man, who was distressed by the filthy lives of lawless men (for that righteous man, living among them day after day, was tormented in his righteous soul by the lawless deeds he saw and heard)–if this is so, then the Lord knows how to rescue godly men from trials and to hold the unrighteous for the day of judgment, while continuing their punishment.”   Here Peter gives us three examples.  First, because it was probably the first transgression, the first episode of sin, he speaks of the angels who joined Satan’s rebellion and sinned.  Understand that scripture does not clearly explain the specific sin of these angels, but it would appear it was the sin of rebellion against God’s plan and purpose.  One source said: “the sin referred to in this verse probably occurred before the fall of Adam and Eve.  The angels who fell became the devil and the evil angels, probably the demons and evil spirits referred to in the NT.”   God judged their sin, and “sent them to hell”, lit., “Tartarus”, a word used only here in the New Testament.  Tartarus was the term used by the Greeks to designate the place where the most wicked spirits were sent to be punished.  Why some evil angels are imprisoned and others are free to serve Satan as demons is another one of those things not explained in Scripture.  Their “sending” to hell is a process, evidently, and will be completed in the final judgment.  The logic Peter points to is that if God so punishes angels, surely He will not spare these false teachers.  He then points to one of, if not the most profound judgment leveled against mankind, the Noahic flood.  “if he did not spare the ancient world when he brought the flood on its ungodly people, but protected Noah, a preacher of righteousness, and seven others…..”

Here we first see God’s mercy in His judgment.  He brought the flood on those ungodly who deserved it, but spared righteous Noah and his family.  Genesis 6:5-11: “The LORD saw how great man’s wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time.  The LORD was grieved that he had made man on the earth, and his heart was filled with pain.  So the LORD said, “I will wipe mankind, whom I have created, from the face of the earth–men and animals, and creatures that move along the ground, and birds of the air–for I am grieved that I have made them.”  But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD.   This is the account of Noah.  Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked with God.  Noah had three sons: Shem, Ham and Japheth.  Now the earth was corrupt in God’s sight and was full of violence.  God saw how corrupt the earth had become, for all the people on earth had corrupted their ways.”  We struggle to imagine how far man had fallen since creation.  We live in a sin-filled and sick world today, but this was even worse.  Listen to what Matthew Henry said as he describes man’s condition: “The wickedness of a people is great indeed when the most notorious sinners are men of renown among them.  Things are bad when bad men are not only honored notwithstanding their wickedness, but honored for their wickedness, and the vilest men exalted.  Wickedness is then great when great men are wicked.  Their wickedness was great, that is, abundance of sin was committed in all places, by all sorts of people; and such sin as was in its own nature most gross, and heinous, and provoking; it was committed daringly, and with a defiance of heaven, nor was any care taken by those that had power in their hands to restrain and punish it.  This God saw.”

We think we see the evil in the world around us, but much is hidden and takes place where we don’t attempt to go, but God sees it all, thoughts as well as actions, and will one day judge it.  It is almost beyond our comprehension, this world-wide enacting of justice.  We have no idea how many people perished.  We know no righteous persons did.  Of the entire population of the whole earth, 8 people were saved due to their righteousness.  Noah preached for 120 years while he built and fitted the ark, yet evidently only his family believed and were saved.  The point Peter makes is that they were saved!  God protected Noah and his family while passing judgment on the ungodly.  Today, people will say: “But what about the animals?  They didn’t sin.”  True, but they are animals.  If God had not destroyed the animals, Noah and his family would have been overrun by them, and that was not His plan!  God gave man dominion over the animals, and He protected that by sparing those who entered the ark with Noah and his family and destroying the rest.

One lesson we can learn from that is that the consequences of our disobedience can have widespread effects.  Then, as if to show that ungodliness didn’t die in the flood, Peter gives his third example, that of Sodom and Gomorrah and “righteous” Lot.   Verses 6-8: “…if he condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah by burning them to ashes, and made them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly; and if he rescued Lot, a righteous man, who was distressed by the filthy lives of lawless men (for that righteous man, living among them day after day, was tormented in his righteous soul by the lawless deeds he saw and heard)”  You probably remember the story.  Abraham pleaded with God to spare the city for the sake of 10 righteous people.  (He started with 50, but bargained down to ten.  He knew his nephew Lot and his family lived there, and probably had hope they had been a positive influence on some of the people of that wicked city.)  So God agreed.  He said if there were 10 righteous people there, He would spare the city.  They found four.  Well, one evidently, and his family.  (I’ll be honest with you, I struggle with these verses describing Lot as a “righteous” man, but that’s a sermon for another day.  Ryrie gives this explanation, and it’ll have to do for now: “He was a righteous man in that he believed God and was vexed at the licentiousness of the wicked people about him, though his life was lived for himself.”  I have to simply trust that Peter, writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, knew something about Lot that we miss as we read the account in Genesis 19.  (Fortunately, I don’t stand in judgment of him, God does, and God knows his heart.)   But again, the point is that God brought just punishment on the ungodly and rescued those He saw as deserving it.  And that’s Peter’s point in Verse 9: “–if this is so, then the Lord knows how to rescue godly men from trials and to hold the unrighteous for the Day of Judgment, while continuing their punishment.”  Peter says history demonstrates that God is paying attention and that He does deal with Saints and with Sinners according to what they deserve.  Peter reminds us that God’s goodness led him as forcibly to save Lot as his justice did to destroy the ungodly.  His goal is to show the people to whom he was writing that, although God would destroy the false teachers he had warned them about, God would also powerfully save his faithful servants from their wicked influence and from the destruction that would come on them.
This is a powerful promise for us, but we need to make sure we properly understand it.  God does not promise to prevent trials and temptations, but to rescue us in them!  Psalm 34:15-22:  “The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their cry; the face of the LORD is against those who do evil, to cut off the memory of them from the earth.  The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears them; he delivers them from all their troubles.  The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.  A righteous man may have many troubles, but the LORD delivers him from them all; he protects all his bones, not one of them will be broken.  Evil will slay the wicked; the foes of the righteous will be condemned.  The LORD redeems his servants; no one will be condemned who takes refuge in him.”  The Lord knows how to rescue godly men.  The key for you and me is to live a godly life!  That is our part, that and trusting Him to do His.  History demonstrates He will.  It also demonstrates we tend not to!   That’s one reason Peter reminds us that the Lord also knows how to hold the unrighteous for the Day of Judgment, while continuing their punishment.  Interesting statement there, “continuing” their punishment.  Sin is its own punishment.  It may seem exciting and fun, but the reality is far different, and God knows that full well.

Peter wraps this section up with a final warning for a specific group of people.  Verse 10a: “This is especially true of those who follow the corrupt desire of the sinful nature and despise authority.”  Peter says God is a just God who punishes sin, especially that of following the corrupt desire of the “sinful nature” and despising authority.  In the context it would seem he is talking first of all primarily of sexual sin, homosexuality to be even more precise as evidenced by the example of Sodom and Gomorrah, but in reality any sexual sin.  Romans 8 sheds a little more light on following the desires of our flesh.   Romans 8:5-8:  “Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires.  The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace; the sinful mind is hostile to God.  It does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so.  Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God.”  The question for you today is: On what do you have YOUR mind set?  What dominates your thought life?  The things of the world or the things of God?  Are you heading toward and focusing on “life and peace” or death?  It is a critical question that must be asked and honestly answered.  Romans is also a great place to go to see more details on what “despising authority” is all about.  Chapter 13, right?  (You knew I’d take ya there, didn’t ya!)  Actually, that’s probably not what Peter is talking about here, so today I want to have you listen to Titus instead.  You can do Romans 13 for your homework!  Titus 3:1-2: “Remind the people to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready to do whatever is good, to slander no one, to be peaceable and considerate, and to show true humility toward all men.”

That gives us a glimpse, but I think Paul nails “despising authority” in his description of what people will be like in the “last days’ with these words from II Timothy 3:1-5: (I know I used this reference last time too, but like Peter said in verse 12 of chapter 1, “I will always remind you of these things, even though you know them…I think it is right to refresh your memory…”) Listen to Paul one more time for me: “But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days.  People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God–having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them.”

To me, that describes despising authority.  Living for self, making my own rules, doing it my way.  Finding a way to make scripture say what I want it to, rather than adjust my life to conform to it’s guidelines.  Peter warns that such people will attempt to infect the church and its doctrines, and that they will enjoy success, at least for a while.  But false teachers and false doctrines and the people who follow along will ultimately be judged, and it is a judgment you and I want no part of.  Stay alert.  Keep up your guard.  Concentrate on the “Truth” so that you can better detect error.  And remember, God knows how to rescue godly men, and how to “hold” the unrighteous for the day of punishment.  Don’t sell the glory of eternity for the vain pleasures of this life.  Don’t get caught in the lie.

In His Grip,

Pastor Ken

Passage for Sunday, April 27th, 2008

II Peter:2  “But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you.  They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them–bringing swift destruction on themselves.  Many will follow their shameful ways and will bring the way of truth into disrepute.  In their greed these teachers will exploit you with stories they have made up.  Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping.

“The Danger Within”

Reading this chapter you get the impression that Peter gets a little worked up about those who attempt to mislead God’s people, don’t you?  Last week he made it very clear that Scripture is the very Word of God, and that Scripture, and that which aligns with it, is the only truth.  He dedicated his life to the advancement of the gospel, the Truth, to feed, protect and Shepherd Christ’s sheep, and he understood the danger from those who would change the gospel message to fit their own schemes and plans.  Jesus Christ was the promised Messiah, and the many Scriptural prophecies fulfilled by his birth, life, substitutionary death and resurrection support that claim.  But there were those who attempted to deny it then, as there had been in ancient times and, he says, there will continue to be.
In Jeremiah 5:30-31 the Prophet reports this chilling statement from the Lord: “A horrible and shocking thing has happened in the land: The prophets prophesy lies, the priests rule by their own authority, and my people love it this way.  But what will you do in the end?”  Not much has changed in all the time since he penned those words, has it.  Prophets, preachers, preach lies, rule by their own authority rather than submit to God’s as revealed in the Word, and the people “love it” that way.  How did Paul put it?  II Timothy 4:3-4: “For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine.  Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.  They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.”  Sometimes the people initiate the false teaching, sometimes the Teachers do.  Recently, one such group that subscribes to false teaching and follows a false Teacher has made quite a splash in the News.  I’m talking about the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.  FLDS for short, the group in Eldorado, Texas most recently under fire for their abhorrent “religious” practices, this time again accused of forced marriages between very young teenage girls and older men, marriages allegedly arranged by the Church’s “Prophet” and Elders.  The church currently practices the “law of placing,” where a young woman of marriageable age is assigned a husband by “revelation from God” to the leader of the church, who is regarded by the people as a prophet.  The prophet elects to take and give wives to and from men according to their worthiness.
FLDS is a splinter group that broke with the Mormon Church in the 1930’s over the issue of polygamy.  The Mormon Church had agreed to abandon the practice as a condition of Utah statehood in 1890.  Their current “Prophet”, Warren Jeffs, was convicted in Utah on two felony counts of accomplice to rape for his part in the 01′ marriage of a 14-year-old follower to her 19-year-old cousin.  He was sentenced to two consecutive prison terms of five years to life.  Today he sits in a cell in a Kingman Arizona jail, awaiting trial on similar charges related to two other child-bride marriages.  The power of the lie is evident in the way his followers still follow him and his teachings, and still look to him as their God appointed Prophet.  No wonder Peter was concerned.
I want to take you back to verse 19 of Chapter 1 as we begin today’s message, to give you again the context of Peter’s statement. I’m going to read through verse 3 of chapter 2:  “And we have the word of the prophets made more certain, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.  Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation.  For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.” (False prophets always claim their message comes from God, but if it contradicts the Word, it is a lie.  The Holy Spirit will never contradict scripture.)  “But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you.  They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them–bringing swift destruction on themselves.  Many will follow their shameful ways and will bring the way of truth into disrepute.  In their greed these teachers will exploit you with stories they have made up.   Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping.”
Peter first establishes the veracity of the Scriptures, God’s very Word. We looked at that last week.  Having established the standard, he then warns that just as there have always been those who would mislead and twist scripture, they will continue.  His desire is to warn his readers, to help them be aware of the danger.  The battle for truth and trust in what God has said has been raging for all of recorded history.  The Enemy introduced a destructive heresy in the attack against Eve.  Listen again.  Genesis 3:1 “Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made.  He said to the woman, “Did God really say, `You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”  First he calls into question what God really said.  He inserts the seed of doubt.  Did God “really” say…?  They use the same tactic today.  “Does the Bible really say…..?”  And then he deliberately inserts error; he denies God’s character by calling Him a liar.  Verses 4-5: “You will not surely die,” the serpent said to the woman.  “For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
Here is the destructive heresy Satan introduces: God lied, and is withholding something good from you.  And she chose to believe the lie.  And Adam stood there and failed to protect his wife from the attack, instead joining her in following the liar. People still do.  Satan’ tactics haven’t changed much because they don’t need to.  Why change what works?
There is one notable example of his tactic failing however.  When he tempted Jesus in the desert, he used the same basic tactics, but Jesus successfully resisted him.  He trusted in the indwelt power of the Holy Spirit (in each of the Gospel accounts the “temptation” followed His baptism and Holy Spirit anointing or indwelling) and the truth of Scripture to resist the temptation and win the battle.  Scripture was His defense against the Enemies schemes, and when the Enemy tried to use Scripture, he had to “misuse” it to attempt to make his point.  They will do the same thing today.  Jesus saw through him and told him to go away!  (Which, by the way, he did!)  He gave us the example to follow.
Drawing on the power of the indwelt Holy Spirit, knowing Scripture, and knowing when and how to use it, is our best defense against false teaching and Satan’s attacks as well.  Peter points out that the false prophets were “among the people.”  They blended in, seemed to be viable, trustworthy, were widely accepted as “one of them.”  So will the false teachers against whom we need to be on our guard.  The attack on the 21st Century Church rarely comes from outside, but begins when those inside secretly introduce destructive heresies.  There are several other warnings in Scripture for us besides Peter’s. Naturally, Jesus said it best: Matthew 24:4 “Jesus answered: “Watch out that no one deceives you.”   But he wasn’t the only one.  Paul shared Peter’s awareness of the danger and mentions it several times.  Here’s just a few: Acts 20:28-31a: “Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers.  Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood.  I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock.  Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them.  So be on your guard!”  One function of your church Elder Board, your Shepherd and under-shepherds, is to guard the flock against the wolves (danger from outside the church) and the sneaky sheep (danger from inside the church)!  Paul says in Colossians that he presents the word of God in its fullness, proclaiming Christ, so that no one may deceive them by fine-sounding arguments.
Knowledge of the truth is our best defense.  He goes on with this warning in 2:8 “See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ.”  Anytime the focus is on tradition or worldly principles (business strategies and numerical growth for instance) you need to be on your guard.  He really gets down on the false teachers in I Timothy 4:1-5:  “The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons.  Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron.  They forbid people to marry and order them to abstain from certain foods, which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and who know the truth.  For everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, because it is consecrated by the word of God and prayer.”  Notice how it is the awareness and knowledge of truth that defend against error?
I’ll give just one more.  Paul is given a pretty bleak picture of humanity as the end comes closer, and when you hear his description you can’t help but see our world today.  II Timothy 3:1-5: “But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days.  People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God–having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them.”  I can’t help but think of the cult in Texas, and the women and children caught in that trap.  Where did they first get tangled up in the lies and false teachings?  Maybe a quick look at what defines a cult will help.  I found this information at “gotquestions.org”, it’s a site I recommend.
Often in our minds we think of a cult as a group that worships Satan, sacrifices animals, and takes part in evil, bizarre, and pagan rituals.  In reality, though, most cults appear much more innocent.  The specific “Christian” definition of a cult is a religious group that denies one or more of the fundamentals of Biblical truth.  Or, in more simple terms, a cult is a group that teaches something that will cause a person to not be saved if they believe it.  In distinction from a religion, a cult is a group that claims to be Christian, yet denies an essential truth of Biblical Christianity.
The two most common teachings of cults are that Jesus was not God and that salvation is not by faith alone.  A denial of the deity of Christ results in Jesus’ death not being a sufficient payment for our sins.  A denial of salvation by faith alone results in salvation being achieved by our own works – something the Bible vehemently and consistently denies.  The two most well-known examples of cults to most of us are the Jehovah’s Witnesses and Mormons.  Both groups claim to be Christian, yet both deny the two key doctrines I just mentioned.  Jehovah’s Witnesses and Mormons believe many things that are in agreement with and/or similar to what the Bible teaches.
However, the fact that they deny the deity of Christ and salvation by faith alone qualifies them as a cult.  Many Jehovah’s Witnesses, Mormons, and members of other cults are “good people” who are genuinely seeking God and genuinely believe they hold the truth.  Our hope and prayer is that many people involved in these “Christian” cults will see through the lies and will be drawn to the truth of salvation by God’s grace through faith in Jesus Christ alone.  The danger of cults is not so much for us, as our children and friends.  Seldom does someone leave a mainstream fundamental church to join with the Mormons or Jehovah’s Witnesses or cults of their like.  But our kids do.  Once away from home and the influence of their local church they are often attracted to the zeal and seeming lack of hypocrisy in these cults.   They do live their faith, oftentimes more convincingly than professing Christians.  It’s one reason why it is so important that what we profess to believe is evidenced in how we live, especially in our homes.
Our kids are watching, and they are not going to be impressed with our “religion” if they see rampant hypocrisy in our lives.  But, as Peter reminds us, the real danger comes from within.  We need to be aware of those who would “secretly introduce” destructive heresies.  We read that Satan, masquerading as the Serpent, was more crafty, variously translated as: more cunning, more subtle, sneakier, or more clever.  He seldom uses a frontal attack, but sneaks up on your blind side, ambushes you, catches you when you aren’t expecting it.  In the church it may be a new program, an idea brought forward by a trusted member, a suggestion to follow what “worked” at a different church, etc.  None of these are bad in themselves, it’s just that we need to carefully examine any changes we make.
It can be just as wrong and harmful not to make changes.  “We have always done it that way” are the seven last words of a dying church, or so the saying goes!  We may not like to hear that, but there is truth to it in certain areas.  The truth never changes, but the presentation of it often does.  Peter’s point is that the change introduced “subtly” is a destructive heresy, not simply a different look at truth.   One source defined destructive heresies as: “Divisive opinions or teachings that result in the moral and spiritual destruction of those who accept them.”  Satan’s plan is to render the church ineffective.
Division will do that, so we must guard against an introduction of opinions or teachings that divide us.  God’s will for us is unity.  John said in II John 1:7-11: “Many deceivers, who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh, have gone out into the world.  Any such person is the deceiver and the antichrist.  Watch out that you do not lose what you have worked for, but that you may be rewarded fully.  Anyone who runs ahead and does not continue in the teaching of Christ does not have God; whoever continues in the teaching has both the Father and the Son.  If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not take him into your house or welcome him. Anyone who welcomes him shares in his wicked work.”  It’s the message that matters, not the format.  Paul, writing to the Philippians said in chapter 1:15-18a: “It is true that some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry, but others out of goodwill.  The latter do so in love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel.  The former preach Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing that they can stir up trouble for me while I am in chains.  But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached.  And because of this I rejoice.”
That’s spiritual maturity!  We get all caught up in arguing and fighting about the method, and the Enemy grins, cause we’re being divided.  But, says Peter, the false teachers are even more insidious, because they deny the sovereign Lord who bought them.  John agrees, and identifies them for us very clearly.  I John:2:21-23: “I do not write to you because you do not know the truth, but because you do know it and because no lie comes from the truth.  Who is the liar?  It is the man who denies that Jesus is the Christ.  Such a man is the antichrist–he denies the Father and the Son.  No one who denies the Son has the Father; whoever acknowledges the Son has the Father also.”  You can’t deny the Son without calling the Father a liar, and that will bring “swift destruction’ on those who do it.  Not swift in the sense of “say it today, pay for it today,” but swift as in when it comes it comes swiftly.
Peter points out several results of these false teachers and their heresies.  First of all, he says “many will follow their shameful ways.”  It seems there is no shortage of people, even in the church, looking for a way to please their own sinful appetites while pretending to serve God.  Immorality often accompanies deviant theology.
We have, as an example, once orthodox churches accepting homosexual behavior, not simply in their congregations, but in their pulpits and leadership.  Many “seeker-sensitive” churches condone, by their silence and unwillingness to confront sin, couples openly living together and raising children outside of marriage, as well as those involved in other “alternate lifestyle” choices against which Scripture clearly speaks.  By denying the Word of God they deny the God of the Word!
But, people like it, as Jeremiah pointed out earlier, and their churches are full.  Peter’s second observation is that by their behavior, they “bring the way of truth into disrepute.”  Those who call themselves “Christian” but by their beliefs and actions deny it, harm not only themselves but also all who claim the name.  The Christian faith is not simply a matter of correct doctrine but also correct living.  Peter points out one motive behind many false teachers, greed.  They are greedy either for the praise of men, or material wealth, and often both!  They abandon scripture and teach “made up” stories and doctrines to exploit those who follow them.  (Why does the word “Televangelist” come to mind?)   But Peter also points out that they won’t get away with it, at least not in the end.  Jeremiah again, remember?  Jeremiah 5:30-31: “A horrible and shocking thing has happened in the land: The prophets prophesy lies, the priests rule by their own authority, and my people love it this way.  But what will you do in the end?”  Peter says their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping.  God is watching, and will bring judgment.   Although delay makes it seem that they have escaped God’s judgment, destruction is a reality that is sure to come upon them.
Remember what Paul said in Galatians 6:7-8: “Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked.  A man reaps what he sows.  The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.”  What kind of crop are you sowing?

In His Grip,

Pastor Ken

Passage for Sunday, March 9, 2008

Luke 10:1-20  “However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”  

Rejoice!

With Palm Sunday, Good Friday and Easter Sunday fast approaching, I thought I’d stay here in Luke again this week as we look at the final months of Jesus earthly ministry.  Last week, we saw how He resolutely “set His face” to go to Jerusalem, determined to accomplish the father’s mission, and knowing His time was short, emphasized the cost of discipleship to His followers.  Discipleship is serious business, and no one knew that better than He.  We need to take our calling to discipleship seriously as well.  That journey to Jerusalem that we discussed last week probably took place in the fall, Jesus arriving in time for the Feast of Tabernacles, which took place in October.  He then left Jerusalem and traveled into Perea where our story today takes place, before going back to Jerusalem in December for the Feast of Dedication, after which He went back into Perea, Bethany beyond the Jordan according to John 10:40 and after teaching the people there, into Judea, traveling from village to village, which Luke documents in chapters 11-18, as He makes His way toward the final journey to Jerusalem in the Spring, the Triumphal Entry we celebrate next week as Palm Sunday.

Keep in mind that the purpose of the gospel accounts is not to give a precise chronological or historical account of Jesus’ life, but to reveal Jesus to us.  While each writer reports factual accounts, chronology was not important to them.  It is not unusual for a gap of time to fall between two accounts, as we see here between the end of chapter 9 and the beginning of chapter 10, or to report events out of their chronological occurrence.  In the culture to which the original accounts were written and received, none of this would seem unusual, as it does to us today.  Context is King, remember?  That applies to cultural context as well.  So now that you’ve hopefully got a better “big picture” idea of this journey, we come to today’s scripture, and take one more look at discipleship.       

Luke 10:1:  “After this (Jesus visiting Jerusalem during the Feast of Tabernacles) the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them two by two ahead of Him to every town and place where he was about to go.”  There is some debate about whether there were 72 or 70 disciples appointed and sent out.  Since the manuscript support for both readings is equally good and good reasons can be given for the authenticity of either number, it cannot be said for certain which one Luke actually wrote. Manuscript evidence is basically equal for either number.  Some translators picked 70 because it ties in better with their view of how Jesus operated, others used 72 for reasons they believe valid, which also tie in with how Jesus operated!  The number isn’t critical to the point.  The point is that at this stage in His ministry Christ had a large enough group of “committed” followers (remember last weeks focus on commitment?) that He could choose 72 of them and send them out on a short-term mission trip to prepare the people of the area He would be traveling through for His coming.  He sent them out, not alone, but “two by two” so they could strengthen and encourage one another.  This is a pattern followed by the early church, which we have seen in our study of Acts in our Adult Sunday School class.

Verses 2-4:  “He told them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few.  Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.  Go!  I am sending you out like lambs among wolves.  Do not take a purse or bag or sandals; and do not greet anyone on the road.”   The instruction reveals the urgency of the mission.  Having chosen His Workers, He motivates and instructs them.  First He tells them that the harvest is plentiful.  Nothing helps motivate workers like the prospect of results!  But He also points out that their work will be all the more difficult because the workers are few.  72 may have seemed a big crew of reapers, but not when they understood the size of the Master’s field.  He tells them to pray, to ask the Lord of the harvest to send out workers, to help with the harvest.  That, by the way, was not intended as an “out” for those who had been “appointed” to go!  It was to be a prayer for help, not replacement or substitutions.  Some Christians today tend to use it as a way to convince the Lord to find someone else to go!  Then He gives them their “Marching Orders” as it were!  Go!  And another warning: they would be like sheep among wolves.  The mission was a dangerous one, they should expect danger.  But the Lord who sent them was their protection.

One Commentary said:  “He who is called to preach the Gospel is called to embrace a state of constant labor, and frequent suffering.  He who gets ease and pleasure, in consequence of embracing the ministerial office, neither preaches the Gospel, nor is sent of God.  If he did the work of an evangelist, wicked men and demons would both oppose him.”  That’s a sobering statement.  If you and I are facing no opposition, if you and I never feel like a lamb among wolves, never experience the opposition of “wicked men and demons” we need to take a hard look at how hard we are working as the Lord’s reapers, don’t we.  Jesus instructs them to go as they are, not to take a wallet (don’t worry about money), or suitcase (don’t worry about clothes) or extra sandals, and, to emphasize the urgency even further, not to be distracted even by the exchange of pleasantries with those they met on the way.  They were on a mission!  How easy it is to become “distracted” from the mission we have been given by the distractions of every-day life.  He continues:

Verses 5-7:  “When you enter a house, first say, ‘Peace to this house.’  If a man of peace is there, your peace will rest on him; if not, it will return to you.  Stay in that house, eating and drinking whatever they give you, for the worker deserves his wages.  Do not move around from house to house.”  Jesus here gives the  reason for His earlier instruction on not taking the time to gather and carry provisions.  The people to whom He was sending them would extend hospitality to them if their hearts were ready!  Imagine that, hospitality as the test!  How would you fare?  When was the last time you opened your home to someone other than family or close friends?  The disciples, on their part, were to graciously accept the hospitality given, not ask for special treatment.  Don’t look for someone else to stay with that may treat you better, Jesus says!  He gives them further instructions, including an admonition not to be picky:

Verses 8-12:  “When you enter a town and are welcomed, eat what is set before you.  (Can you imagine?  The disciples sit down to supper and say: What?  Dry bread and bean soup again?)   Heal the sick who are there and tell them, ‘The kingdom of God is near you.’  He also gave them the message to proclaim.  The kingdom of God is the rule of God and is both a present reality and a future hope. The idea of God’s kingdom is central to Jesus’ teaching throughout the Gospels.  Some of its different meanings in the Bible are: the eternal kingship of God; the presence of the kingdom in the person of Jesus, the King (which is probably it’s intended meaning here); the approaching spiritual form of the kingdom; and the future kingdom.) Here too we have an indication that Jesus not only chose the 72, but empowered them for the mission as well.  Healing the sick required God’s healing power, given to bring God the glory and authenticate the message of these disciples.

He continues: “But when you enter a town and are not welcomed, go into its streets and say, `Even the dust of your town that sticks to our feet we wipe off against you.  Yet be sure of this: The kingdom of God is near.’  I tell you, it will be more bearable on that day for Sodom than for that town.”  What to us seems a weird ritual had a far greater meaning to these people.  To “shake the dust off one’s sandals” was a symbolic act, practiced by the Pharisees when they left an “unclean” Gentile area.  Here it represented an act of solemn warning to those who rejected God’s message, a sign of rejection for their refusal to accept God’s message and messengers, and a gesture showing the disciples separation from everything associated with the place.  The warning and comparison to Sodom and the judgment was intentionally severe.  Although Sodom was so sinful that God destroyed it, the people who heard the message of Jesus and his disciples were even more accountable, because they had the gospel of the kingdom preached to them, yet chose to reject it.  These verses also point out what may well be another reason Jesus sent them out “two by two”.

According to Old Testament Law:  “One witness is not enough to convict a man accused of any crime or offense he may have committed. A matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.”  (Deuteronomy 19:15) Two witnesses would testify against a town that rejected them.    The next couple verses continue this theme of greater judgment for those who had greater opportunity.

Verses 13-16:  “Woe to you, Korazin!  Woe to you, Bethsaida!  For if the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes.  But it will be more bearable for Tyre and Sidon at the judgment than for you.  And you, Capernaum, will you be lifted up to the skies? No, you will go down to the depths.”  Jesus spent much of His time during the Galilean Ministry in Capernaum, which was His headquarters, so to speak.  Korazin was a town only about two miles away, and Bethsaida was on the northeast shore of the Sea of Galilee.  The inhabitants of these towns had many opportunities to see and hear Jesus.  Therefore the condemnation for their rejection was the greater.  Tyre and Sidon, by comparison, were Gentile cities in Phoenicia, north of Galilee on the Mediterranean coast, and had not had the opportunity to witness Jesus’ miracles and hear His preaching.

Listen to this from Adam Clarke: “In Jude 7 we are told that these persons (The people of Sodom and Gomorrah) are suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.  The destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah happened 1897 years before the incarnation.  What a terrible thought is this!  It will be more tolerable for certain sinners, who have already been damned nearly four thousand years, than for those who live and die as infidels (unbelievers) under the Gospel!  There are various degrees of punishments in hell, answerable to various degrees of guilt, and the contempt manifested to, and the abuse made of; the preaching of the Gospel.”    An awareness of the coming judgment should be a powerful incentive to do all we can to share the Good News with those who need it.  I chose the responsive reading this morning to help make that point.  People who die without trusting Christ for salvation are destined to spend eternity in hell.  We, as disciples of Jesus Christ, have the privilege and responsibility to point them toward the gospel!  The best spot in hell is still a terrible place to spend eternity.

Jesus emphasizes the point in verse 16:  “He who listens to you listens to me; he who rejects you rejects me; but he who rejects me rejects Him who sent me.”  We sit in Sunday School or in Church, or listen to our favorite radio or TV preacher or teacher many times forgetting that rejecting the truth of scripture taught is not rejecting the teacher or preacher but the God whose truth is being taught.  That is a sobering thought.  The true Believer doesn’t need to worry about hell-fire, but will in fact face a judgment and give account for what we have done with the truth we have been exposed to.  Our works will be tested with fire, according to I Corinthians 3:12-15.  Knowledge of truth is important, but it’s the application of the truth we know that really counts.  The 72 applied what Jesus told them.  Listen to the report:

Verses 17:  “The seventy-two returned with joy and said, “Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name.”  Here we have another example of how time transpires between verses.  We do not know how long these disciples were gone, how long the mission lasted, but probably for at least several days to several weeks.  They came back, and reported to Jesus. Can you imagine their excitement?  These disciples were mostly farmers and fishermen, common people like you and me.  Nothing like this had ever happened to them before, and they could hardly contain their joy!

Verses 18-20:  “He replied, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.  I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you.  However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”   What a powerful statement.  Jesus watched the reign of Satan on earth crumble as these disciples spread the good news, healed the sick and cast out demons, an indication that Satan was suffering defeat!  His fall was like lightning falling from heaven, the fall was sudden and apparent!  He reminded them that it was His authority that won the victory, and that as amazing and exciting as that was, the true source of their joy should not be in circumstances, in spiritual experiences, in victory over snakes and scorpions (probably a reference to demons), and even the protection they have against Satan himself, but the fact of their salvation, that their names were written in heaven!  This is a theme that runs throughout scripture.

Speaking of last days, Daniel writes in  Daniel 12:1-3: “At that time Michael, the great prince who protects your people, will arise.  There will be a time of distress such as has not happened from the beginning of nations until then.  But at that time your people–everyone whose name is found written in the book–will be delivered.  Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt.  Those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars for ever and ever.”  Imagine that.  The faithful disciple has an amazing future to look forward to.  Shining like a star!

Listen to this from Revelation 20:11-15: “Then I saw a great white throne and Him who was seated on it.  Earth and sky fled from His presence, and there was no place for them.  And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened.  Another book was opened, which is the book of life.  The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books.  The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what he had done.  Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire.  The lake of fire is the second death.  If anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.”

Knowing this, it is no wonder Jesus told the disciples to rejoice that their names were written in heaven.  I pray that is the source of your rejoicing as well, and that the awareness of the coming judgment will motivate you to accomplish the mission Christ has “appointed” you to!  I’ll close with this reminder of the message you should be proclaiming, from the Apostle Paul in II Corinthians 6:1-2:  “As God’s fellow workers we urge you not to receive God’s grace in vain.  For He says, “In the time of my favor I heard you, and in the day of salvation I helped you.” I tell you, now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation.”  Discipleship is serious business because judgment is serious business, and lost people need to hear and see the truth of Jesus Christ in us.  Their eternal destiny hangs in the balance. 

In His Grip,

Sunday, February 3, 2008
Scripture passage for today: I Timothy 2:1 – 3:15

“This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.”

The Church – Part III

Today we look at Paul’s instructions on how we ought to conduct ourselves in the church. In chapters 2-3 of this letter, Paul gives some pretty detailed instructions regarding worship and church organization. When Paul wrote this letter, near the end of his life, churches such this one at Ephesus had been established for many years. Now the time had come for a more formal organization and for instructions governing appropriate and inappropriate behavior in church.

As we look at this section of the letter today, we will continue to keep in mind those two questions we have been considering, individually and corporately;

• Are we doing what Christ has called us to do?
• Do we increasingly reflect Christ in our services, ministries, and actions?

We also want to keep our mission in mind, the task of proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ and helping those who respond to that gospel to grow-up in Christ. Let’s take a closer look at today’s passage, and see how we measure up!

I Timothy 2:1-4 “I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone–for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.”
Paul’s first priority for this church should be ours as well; we should be a church of prayer.

This is a major theme of Paul’s. We saw it last week in Romans 12:12: “Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.” In Philippians 4:6-7 he tells that Church: “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

That’s powerful motivation for prayer. In Colossians 4:2 he commands: “Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.” And, as a final example, he gives this charge to the church in Thessalonica, in I Thessalonians 5:16-18: “Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” Here, he ties the priority of prayer to the mission of the church. He doesn’t necessarily give details on how to pray, but rather, general guidelines on focused prayer.

He says our prayers should include requests (prayer for God to avert evil, similar to Jesus telling the disciples to pray: “lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil”), prayers (for obtaining the good things, spiritual and material, which we ourselves need, as in “give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses”), intercessions (which is interceding before God on behalf of others, one aspect of which is our prayer chain), and thanksgiving, remembering to be thankful for mercies already obtained from the Lord, not the least of which is our salvation!

Paul also tells us whom we are to pray for. He says we should pray for everyone, and specifically for kings and all those in authority. This was a pretty amazing command, considering that Nero was in power at the time, and he and those authority figures under him were actively persecuting the church. But there was a practical side to his logic, as well as a spiritual side.

Adam Clarke states: “If the state be not in safety, the individual cannot be secure; self-preservation, therefore, should lead men to pray for the government under which they live. We thus pray for the government, that the public peace may be preserved. Good rulers have power to do much good; we pray that their authority may be ever preserved and well directed. Bad rulers have power to do much evil; we pray that they may be prevented from thus using their power. So that, whether the rulers be good or bad, prayer for them is the positive duty of all Christians; and the answer to their prayers, in either ease, will be the means of their being enabled to lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty.”

Our country and her government are in serious need of our prayers. But Paul has a deeper motive than the peaceful and quiet lives of Christians in mind. About a church that prays like this he says: “This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.” That is our mission, remember? Salvation and growth. Prayer changes things, and is often instrumental in the salvation and spiritual growth of all men. Paul encapsulates that truth:
Verses 5-7 “For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all men–the testimony given in its proper time. And for this purpose I was appointed a herald and an apostle–I am telling the truth, I am not lying–and a teacher of the true faith to the Gentiles.”

After reiterating his authority to teach, Paul continues with rules of conduct in worship: Verses 8-10 “I want men everywhere to lift up holy hands in prayer, without anger or disputing. I also want women to dress modestly, with decency and propriety, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or expensive clothes, but with good deeds, appropriate for women who profess to worship God.”

It is very interesting how through the ages conservative scholars have determined that certain instruction in a letter is cultural and other instruction, often immediately following it, is cross-cultural! For example, you seldom see men in our church following Paul’s guidelines for posture in prayer, but we hold pretty strongly to his guidelines in the next paragraph!

I agree that the focal point of his instruction is the attitude, but it does make me wonder. The important thing is that the hands we lift in prayerful worship, figuratively or literally, are holy, not stained with sin, and that are hearts are clean, not harboring anger or expressions of arguing or disputing. We are to clear all that up before we approach the Lord in prayer and worship. Two scriptures come to mind.

Matthew 5:23-24 “Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift.”
Psalm 66:18 “If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened.”

Paul’s instruction to the ladies on dress, jewelry and hair style is along the same line, it’s the attitude, not the items. In the Ephesians society, as sometimes in ours, these were often a display of personal wealth and pride, not simply an expression of style or fashion. Peter agrees, and his advice is very similar. I Peter 3:3-5a: “Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes. Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight. For this is the way the holy women of the past who put their hope in God used to make themselves beautiful.”

Many “beautiful” people are incredibly shallow. I like Clarke’s response: “When either women or men spend much time, cost, and attention on decorating their persons, it affords a painful proof that within there is little excellence, and that they are endeavoring to supply the want of mind and moral good by the feeble and silly aids of dress and ornament. Were religion out of the question, common sense would say in all these things: Be decent; but be moderate and modest.”

We need to examine our motive in what we wear and how we present ourselves. Keep Paul’s admonition from last week in mind: “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” Don’t let the world squeeze you into its mold in manners of dress, hairstyle, jewelry etc. We are to portray the image of Christ. The world wants you ladies to adopt immodest clothing styles for yourselves and your daughters. Just say no.

Men, have the courage to help them understand why immodest is wrong. If you need a reminder, listen to what Jesus said in Matthew 5:27-28: “You have heard that it was said, `Do not commit adultery.’ But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” Don’t be the cause of others falling into sin by your immodest dress or behavior. We men have enough trouble without that type of temptation in the church.

Paul goes on: “A woman should learn in quietness and full submission. I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man; she must be silent.” These verses have caused a lot of controversy in the church. The short answer is that Paul did not permit women to teach men or usurp the authority of men in the teaching and preaching ministry of the church. The women’s liberation movement was not an innovation of the 1970’s. The seed of rebellion was planted with the punishment placed on the first woman, Genesis 3:16b: “Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.”

Paul explains the basis for his ruling: “For Adam was formed first, then Eve. And Adam was not the one deceived; it was the woman who was deceived and became a sinner.” It is the created order, not just the result of the fall that places man first. It is not a position of superiority but of position, of authority. About Verse 15 one commentary said: “This is one of the most difficult verses of the New Testament to interpret. “But women will be saved through childbearing–if they continue in faith, love and holiness with propriety.” We know what it does not mean. Women do not receive salvation from sin by having babies. The most plausible interpretation is that it speaks of the godly woman finding fulfillment in her role as wife and mother in the home, that a woman’s greatest achievement is found in her devotion to her divinely ordained role: to help her husband, to bear children, and to follow a faithful, chaste way of life. My goal today is to stick more closely to Paul’s instruction on church conduct and organization. He talks to us now about the leadership of the local church.

Chapter 3:1 “Here is a trustworthy saying: If anyone sets his heart on being an overseer, he desires a noble task.” Last week I pointed out that just as there is no room for pride regarding our spiritual gifts, there is no room for a false modesty that either denies the existence of gifts or refuses to use them. We are to use them in proportion to our faith, the power given by God to each of us as believers to fulfill the various ministries in the church.

Paul says that seeking to use your gifts in this position is a noble task. This is one of those cases where I prefer the King James translation: “a good work.” Being an Elder in the Church is work. It’s a good work, true, but it is work. The word Overseer here refers to a man who oversees a local congregation. The equivalent word from the Jewish background of Christianity is “elder.” The terms overseer and elder are used interchangeably in the New Testament. The primary duties of an overseer were to teach and preach, to direct the affairs of the church, to shepherd the flock of God and to guard the church from error.

Paul then gives the “qualifications” so to speak in Verses 2-7: “Now the overseer must be above reproach, (not perfect, but not harboring known, unrepentant sin in his life. One commentary said: “a person against whom no evil can be proved.”), the husband of but one wife, (A general principle that applies to any violation of God’s marriage law, whether in the form of polygamy or of marital unfaithfulness. A “one-woman” man.), temperate, (moderate in indulging the appetites; not self-indulgent.), self-controlled, (self-restraint with regard to one’s lusts and desires), respectable, hospitable,( friendly, kind, and solicitous toward guests. 2) favoring the health, growth, comfort, etc. of new arrivals.), able to teach, (speaks of a leaders ability to correctly handle the Scriptures. He must be able to both understand and communicate the truth to others, as well as to refute those who mishandle it.), not given to drunkenness, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. He must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him with proper respect. (If anyone does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of God’s church?) He must not be a recent convert, or he may become conceited and fall under the same judgment as the devil. (Pride was the cause of Satan’s downfall.) He must also have a good reputation with outsiders, so that he will not fall into disgrace and into the devil’s trap.”

Satan likes nothing better than to disgrace God’s work and God’s people by trapping church leaders in sin before a watching world. Paul then gives the “qualifications” of Deacons. In its non-technical usage, the Greek for this word means simply “one who serves.” Generally, their service was meant to free the elders to give full attention to prayer and the ministry of the word.

Verses 8-13 “Deacons, likewise, are to be men worthy of respect, sincere, (the King James says “not double-tongued” which is speaking one thing to one person, and another thing to another, on the same subject. This is hypocrisy and deceit. This word might also be translated liars.), not indulging in much wine, and not pursuing dishonest gain. They must keep hold of the deep truths of the faith with a clear conscience. (The deacons needed to maintain a good conscience with regard to their life testimony to the local church members and to the unbelievers, the world.) They must first be tested; and then if there is nothing against them, let them serve as deacons. (This is one reason we have a one-year membership requirement for all board members.) In the same way, their wives are to be women worthy of respect, not malicious talkers but temperate and trustworthy in everything.” The Greek for the phrase translated wives here simply means the women and therefore could refer to deacons’ wives or to deaconesses.

“A deacon must be the husband of but one wife and must manage his children and his household well. Those who have served well gain an excellent standing and great assurance in their faith in Christ Jesus.” One of the many benefits of serving the Lord in a leadership position is the growth you experience in your relationship with the Lord. This growth often leads a deacon to become and Elder! We close with Paul’s reasons for writing these instructions!

“Although I hope to come to you soon, I am writing you these instructions so that, if I am delayed, you will know how people ought to conduct themselves in God’s household, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth.” So what’s the bottom line here, how should we conduct ourselves in the church? Are we doing what God has called us to do? Are we increasingly reflecting Jesus Christ in our services, ministries and actions?

Well, as Paul said, first of all, we need to be a praying church, and a church of praying people. We need to pray for all people, and we need to pray all kinds of prayers. Requests, prayers, intercessions and Thanksgivings. We pray for the salvation of all people, we pray the mission of the church will be accomplished, the task of proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ and helping those who respond to that gospel to “grow-up” in Christ.

We should conduct ourselves according to biblical guidelines, living holy lives devoid of anger and arguing. We make sure that it is the beauty of our inner-self that draws people to us; that we do not get caught up in the “fads” of the world, in immodest and self-centered dress and styles.

We need to adhere to biblical roles and not try to twist scripture to accommodate our selfish desires. We need to do what we can to have strong, healthy marriages and families.

We need to make sure that we chose our leaders based on their spiritual gifts and growth, according to the “qualifications” laid out for us in Scripture, not based on popularity or personal influence. We need to discover and use our spiritual gifts, for the good of the body. We need to die to self, and live for God and our fellow men. In the final analysis, we need to model Christ.

In His grip,

Sunday, January 27, 2008
Romans 12:1-13
“Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”

For the last couple Sunday’s, as we look forward to our Annual Meeting, we have been looking at a couple fundamental questions every individual believer and every congregation ought to ask:

• Are we doing what Christ has called us to do?
• Do we increasingly reflect Christ in our services, ministries, and actions?

The questions imply that we should be looking toward those steps that we need to take, individually and corporately, to be able to answer in the affirmative if we discover we are not doing what He has called us to do and reflecting Him in that doing.
We talked about the fact that God has given the church a mission that is people-focused and Christ-centered. That mission is the task of proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ and helping those who respond to the gospel to grow-up in Christ. We said that this is true of every congregation of believer’s in every place.

The mission does not change with time, culture, or congregational size. Methods may change, and undoubtedly do in each of those areas, but the mission never does. We said that people maturing in Christ, then, people becoming more Christ-like in attitude and action, should be the ultimate measure of success for any church.

Not number of people attending, number of people joining, the size of the building, how many programs they have or what kind of music they use. People becoming more Christ-like, living in obedience to the will of the Father. Jesus said in John 14:30-31: “I will not speak with you much longer, for the prince of this world is coming. He has no hold on me, but the world must learn that I love the Father and that I do exactly what my Father has commanded me.”

Christ-like. Reflecting Christ in my service, ministry and actions, not striving to bring credit or glory to myself. We looked at the Great Commission as an initial basic indicator or measuring rod; asking if we were in fact going, making disciples, baptizing them and teaching them to obey everything the Lord has commanded us to do.
We looked at how we accomplish that through word and deed, living our testimony and speaking it. Then last week we also looked at Paul’s analogy of our physical bodies as an illustration of the Church, which is the body of Christ. God, working through the Holy Spirit, gifts each Christian with a spiritual gift to be used for the building-up of the church. He also arranges the parts, (you and me) in the body as He sees fit for the purpose of continuing the ministry of the Lord Jesus. Through us as His body, equipped, empowered, and enabled by the Holy Spirit, under the authority, direction and guidance of Jesus Christ, who is the head, we minister to one another.

Paul showed us the amazing diversity and value of such gifts and the unity necessary to properly function as His body. He showed us that while we are unique and different, that is exactly what God intends and that in God’s sight different in gifting does not mean a difference in value. It shouldn’t mean that to us either.

As Paul said: “Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.” Our goal then, is to determine our position in the body, our function, and then by God’s grace do our part! As we said, the practical result of being joined to one another in Christ is that we need other believers in order to grow spiritually. Conversely, if we need other believers, then other believers also need us.

Every member contributes to the overall well-being of the church. There are no unnecessary members. Each of you here today has a gift, given by God for you to use in the church to help accomplish the mission of proclaiming the gospel of Christ and helping those who respond to the gospel to grow-up in Christ.

In light of that, we come to today’s scripture. This is “practical Christianity 101” as Paul lays it out for us. In the first 11 chapters of this letter he laid out the basic theology and doctrines of the faith, now he shows us how to put them into practice in order to fulfill the commands of Christ. Saving faith results in active obedience on our part, and Paul details what that action should be. Let’s take a look:

Paul begins with two verses that I believe have the power to completely change your life, when you commit to apply them. They have mine. Romans 12:1-2 “Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God–this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is–his good, pleasing and perfect will.” It is one thing to profess faith in Christ, it is quite another to live your faith in a visible, tangible manner. Here, Paul shows us the first step.

We must offer God our very lives as a “living sacrifice.” To be an acceptable sacrifice, our lives must be holy and pleasing to him. They are made holy positionally through the shed blood of Christ, and kept holy practically by an obedient lifestyle. We are called to be Holy. Offering our bodies as holy, pleasing, living sacrifices is our spiritual act of worship, our “reasonable service” to God. Just going through the motions, “doing” Church, is hypocrisy. Jesus was clear on His opinion of hypocritical worship. Speaking to a group of Pharisees and teachers of the law in Matthew 15:7-9 he said: “You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you: “These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men.” They were just going through the motions. We may fool the people around us, but God looks at our hearts, and knows the motive behind our thoughts and actions, our worship included. Speaking to the Samaritan “Woman at the Well” Jesus said in John 4:23-24: “Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and His worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth.”

Our acceptable worship then, is when we truly die to self and crawl up on that alter, presenting our “living” bodies sacrificially to Him, for His use and purpose. The visible, tangible expression of this is our repentance, our turning or transformation from looking, thinking and acting like (conforming to the image of) the “world” around us, and allowing the Holy Spirit of God to transform our lives into the image of Christ by the renewing of our mind. From the inside out, as it were. And by the way, this is a process, not an instantaneous change. When we acceptably worship then, in actions and heart, in spirit and truth, we will be able to “test and approve what God’s will is—His good, pleasing and perfect will.” Matthew Henry says in his commentary: “What is the great effect of this renewing, which we must labour after: That you may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God. By the will of God here we are to understand his revealed will concerning our duty, what the Lord our God requires of us. This is the will of God in general, even our sanctification, that will which we pray may be done by us as it is done by the angels; especially His will as it is revealed in the New Testament, where “He hath in these last days spoken to us by his Son.”

Knowing God’s general will, we can better answer that first question: “Are we doing what we are called to do?” Paul then goes on with more practical instruction for us as believers, as those who have offered God our bodily service with a right heart and attitude and a renewed mind for His purpose and plan. He starts where we need to, with our attitude, and moves to our service, our different types or kinds of service.
Verses 3-8: “For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you.” He reminds us that who and what we are is no glory of our own, it is God who gives each one what He determines. We can no more brag and boast about our gifts and position in the body than we can our physical genetic make-up! I like to say I am blessed with good health because I picked good parents, but anyone with any sense knows I had nothing to do with it. It is the same in the body of Christ, the church, isn’t it. “Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.”

As we saw last week, we are a community, a body, not simply a conglomeration of parts. We are designed to function as a whole, a unit. Diversity is good, but it is meant to be unifying, not divisive. “We have different gifts, according to the grace given us” (again, not of our doing or even asking, but given by God. I Corinthians 4:7 “For who makes you different from anyone else? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not?) Here Paul lists several of the grace gifts with which God has equipped the church for the carrying out of the mission He has given. “If a man’s gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith.” Just as there is no room for pride, there is no room for a false modesty that either denies the existence of gifts or refuses to use them.

We use them in proportion to our faith, the power given by God to each believer to fulfill the various ministries in the church. This is the gift of preaching rather than fore-telling supernaturally revealed truths. But the emphasis is not on the person or the specific gift, but rather the putting that gift to use.

Paul continues: “If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully.” Serving or service here means any kind of service needed by the body of Christ or by any of its members. While many people have this gift, many don’t put it to use. Fortunately, many do.

If you see a need and just handle it, this may well be your gift. If you see a need and wait for someone to ask you to meet it, it still may be your gift; you just haven’t used it enough to be comfortable with it yet! Don’t worry about it, practice makes perfect! This is a gift that has many different expressions in the body. As we saw last week in I Corinthians 12:5 “There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord.” The gift of service is, in my opinion, one of the greatest ones to have, because there are so many ways and opportunity’s to use it! Paul goes on, he says if your gift is teaching; teach! Use it.

If encouraging, then be a Barnabas, be such an encourager that you earn the nickname! I think encouraging finds its greatest expression in encouraging other Christians to do and be all God has called them to do and be! Contributing can mean both giving what is yours, as God impresses it on your heart to give, or possibly being involved in distributing what has been given by others in Jesus’ name. There is need for both in the Church. The church has need for gifted leadership, and those who have this gift need to use it diligently. Leadership is a serious responsibility. Paul ends with the gift of mercy, that of extending care to the sick, the poor, the aged and the needy. He tells those who have this gift to exercise it cheerfully. Serving those in need should be a delight, not a chore. Proverbs 17:22 reminds us: “A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.” This is especially true when reaching out to others in mercy.

Paul continues with the practical application of body life. Verse 9: “Love must be sincere.” The world, and the church, hate a hypocrite. Agape love is the love of action, not emotion. We choose to agape others. But even then, it must be sincere. We must love because we understand the agape we have received from God, and with an understanding of our responsibility to agape others because we are the body of Christ fulfilling the ministry of Christ. I John 4 details this love for you, if you want some homework!

One commentary stated: “Paul, as did the Savior before him, stressed the fact that love is not only the norm of the Christian life, it is the motivation and ruling principle of the Christian life. The love of which he speaks is no mere emotionalism or sentimentality. The Greek term here translated “love” is agape and implies an unselfish love, because agape-love is a love willfully exercised and expressed to those who would not be naturally appealing or would not automatically reciprocate.

Did you ever notice that in the church, the body of Christ, people you would never click with apart from the love of Christ become your brothers and sisters, and you begin to truly love them? It has been defined as loving for love’s sake, loving without expecting anything in return. It is a term that emphasizes giving, not receiving. One of the reasons we have trouble with this is that our flesh wants to get something for loving. When we don’t, we either want to quit or get resentful. We can become insincere. Hypocritical. We have to die to the flesh and love in the Spirit, agape.

Paul goes on. Hate what is evil, cling to what is good. When our love is genuine, void of all hypocrisy; then that love will express itself in varying forms as Paul has shown us here. And one form of its expression will be to hate what is evil and cling to what is good. Proverbs 8:13 “To fear the LORD is to hate evil; I hate pride and arrogance, evil behavior and perverse speech.” When we properly love, we will hate what God hates and love what he loves, we will cling to that which is good, His purpose, His plan. His, not ours or the worlds.

Paul continues with more practical aspects of body life for us to implement: Verses 10-12: “Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves.” I think he speaks here of the priority of our loving. Jesus identified who we show brotherly love to by defining who His true family was. Matthew 12:50 “For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.”
He defines one aspect of His Father’s will for us in John 6:40 “For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.” He set a precedent for our responsibility to the body of Christ, the Church above that of our own flesh and blood. Not to the exclusion of our flesh and blood, but I believe in priority over it. Not a popular doctrine.

I believe, and I may be wrong but I don’t think I am, that according to Scripture we have a higher responsibility to exercise our spiritual gifts and spend our time, energy, and resources working at building-up the body of Christ than spending time watching TV or playing cards or tipping a few beers with unsaved or carnal members of our biological family.

Paul, writing in the power of the Holy Spirit, tells us to be devoted to one another in brotherly love. One of the primary problems with the church today is that we are not devoted to one another. We put the needs of the body, especially the individual members of the body, towards the bottom of our priority list. We do church if there’s not something else going on that gets in the way. And be honest, the excuses we use for neglecting the body of Christ are pretty flimsy when you look at them from God’s perspective. And yes, I do mean neglecting.

Paul goes on. “Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.” Wouldn’t you like to see your brothers and sisters in Christ exhibiting a zealous heart toward spiritual things? Where did we get the idea that we need to be sorrowful saints in order to please God? Christianity is exciting! AMEN? Amen! So, express it! Get excited about fulfilling the mission; proclaiming the gospel and edifying the body!

We certainly don’t have any trouble being zealous for the Packers, or deer hunting, or shopping or whatever else gets us cranked up! Paul tells us to be joyful in the hope we have in Christ. Peter had the same idea.

I Peter 1:3-9 “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In His great mercy He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade–kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith–of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire–may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.”

That’s worth getting excited about! Peter touches a little in that section on Paul’s next point, being patient in affliction. Paul them reminds us of one of the most important acts of love, being faithful in prayer. We must not only pray in hard times, but also maintain communion with God through prayer at all times.

And finally, Verse 13: “Share with God’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.” One of the reasons God blesses us materially is so that we can share the blessings we enjoy with those who are in need. Paul cautioned the Christians in Galatia in Galatians 6:7-10 “Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. Let us not b