Category: soteriology

Through the Word in 2020 #121 – In Recovery

September 21st, 2020

For the audio Podcast of this and every episode, find us on Breaker, Google Podcasts, Overcast, Pocket Casts, RadioPublic, Spotify or HERE

If you’d like to join us in our journey reading all the way through the Bible this year, drop me a line at reid.ferguson@gmail.com, and I’ll be glad to email back a copy of the reading plan we are using.

The Bible is God’s Word. All of it. And once completed, the canon of Scripture was meant to be read as a whole. We cannot now detach or read the Old Testament without the light of the New Testament any more than we can read the New without the background of the Old. Countless errors crop up when we do either of those things.

But in reading the whole of God’s Word, we also need to note how and when certain things change. The Apostle Paul in Romans spends a lot of time helping his readers understand what remains constant between the two, and what changes. This is bound up in understanding that much contained in the Old are types, shadows and promises, which in the New are finally brought into fullness and completion. And one of the places Christians really need to grasp this is fleshed out for us in Hebrews chapter 10. The glory of a perfected conscience.

We’ll talk a bit more about that today on Through the Word in 2020. I’m Reid Ferguson.

Today’s reading roster bring us to Isaiah 14:28–19:25; Luke 18:18–30; Psalm 119:129–136; Proverbs 23 and Hebrews 10.

As Hebrews 10 unpacks the reality that the promised New Covenant of Jeremiah 31 has now come to pass, the Writer references how under the Old, Mosaic covenant, Believers, even the most devout and punctilious could never be made “perfect” – as vs. 1 says.

Of course that raises the question – in what sense was the one who sacrificed for his or her sin not “made perfect?” And in what sense is the Believer in Christ NOW made perfect?

Under that old system, as they made their sacrifices according to the Law, they received forgiveness. But that is not the same as having their guilt removed so as to be pronounced righteous in the eyes of God. The forgiven are still guilty, only pardoned.

But Christ has come that guilt itself might be removed. This is why Paul in Philippians 3 can say that he counts all of his previous religious life as completely worthless. Why he counts all of his old law-keeping rubbish. He does so so that he might gain Christ – and being found in Him having a righteousness that is not his own. But instead, have that righteousness, the guiltlessness that comes through faith in Christ – the very righteousness of God Himself.

We receive a perfect, not a provisional righteousness.

Oh glorious Christ!

John MacArthur draws a good analogy to help us understand something else of inestimable value here. He likens the old system to taking medicine. As long as I have to keep taking it, I am not cured, but being treated. But once I am cured, I no longer need to take the medicine.

The OT sacrifices had to be taken continually. But Christ has died once for all. The cure has been wrought.

But! – I hear some say: “We still sin don’t we?”

Yes we do.

Some of the symptoms of our old condition linger. Some of the after effects of the sin remain. But we need to remember that the cure has been received, and from this moment on, all is recovery. We are no longer being treated for our inherent sinfulness.

Christ the cure has been received by faith. We are in full remission. Sin can never again be the fatal disease it once was, even though great damage has been done.

Now, the blessed Spirit is administering all sorts of measures to bring us to where even those remnants are being reversed. And Christ’s promise is to complete the work He has begun in us. Until the perfect righteousness of Christ which is ours by faith, is at last completed in bearing His image without spot or wrinkle.

Rejoice in that today Christian.

God willing, we’ll be back tomorrow.
Through the Word in 2020 #120 – Sep. 18 / Spiritual Myopia

September 18th, 2020

For the audio Podcast of this and every episode, find us on Breaker, Google Podcasts, Overcast, Pocket Casts, RadioPublic, Spotify or HERE

If you’d like to join us in our journey reading all the way through the Bible this year, drop me a line at reid.ferguson@gmail.com, and I’ll be glad to email back a copy of the reading plan we are using.

God saves people individually. Each of us from Adam’s race need personally redeemed from our sins. Modern Evangelicalism has been keen on preaching a Gospel that needs to be individually appropriated. The old saying that God has no grandchildren is true in this regard. We see this individual aspect in today’s reading in Luke 18:9-17 where Jesus tells the parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector. Each had to stand on their own before God – just like you and I will. And by what means we’ll be justified before Him is of cosmic and eternal importance.

Then we encounter passages like Hebrews 9 where ramifications of Christ’s High Priestly work are teased out in larger proportions. Christ has been offered but once to bear the sins of many – and will return to save all those who are eagerly waiting for Him.

Proverbs 22 brings us back to individual applications of wisdom. And then Isaiah 12-14 opens up the door to understanding that God deals with nations too – and not just individuals. And it is this global reality I’d like to spend a minute on today on Through the Word in 2020. I’m Reid Ferguson.

From the time of the Reformation until today, there has been a great recovery of understanding how personal faith in the atoning work of Christ is essential. No one else’s faith saves me. Some years ago I heard a young woman state at her mother’s funeral that she knew she would be OK with God, because her Mom walked with the Lord and prayed for her. Another time I conversed with someone who was sure that because she had several immediate family members who were priests and nuns that she too would find special favor with God. Both were bereft of a Biblical understanding of salvation and what it entails. It is a superstitious understanding and sort of the inverse of guilt by association – righteousness by association. We forget that even Jesus’ own brothers were lost until they finally came to believe in Him.

But back to Isaiah. For one of the prominent features of that amazing book is how it addresses any number of nations AS as nations, and depicts God dealing with them for national and collective sins.

Today’s section mentions the Babylonian empire and how God intended to punish it by bringing another empire on the scene to conquer it. And backing up to chapter 9 we see God stirring up Assyria to punish Israel for its sin, and then how God will decimate that empire because it acted against Israel out of its own viciousness.

Now the point I want to get to is simply this: For Christians, as we look at the World today and the nearly 250 countries which exist on our planet, none of them are operating apart from the sovereign oversight and plan of God. Global geo-political activities are not somehow conducted out of God’s sight or void of His superintendence. From the technically smallest nation – Vatican City at 0.2 square miles to the 6.6 million square miles of Russia. The declaration of Rev. 1:5 that Jesus is the ruler of kings on earth is not hyperbole. No nation makes its laws, carries out its policies, governs its people, or interacts with other nations minus God’s awareness and acting hand.

For blessing or for cursing.

This is true for our nation as well.

No more, and no less than any other.

Something to be well considered in the upcoming election. Whether we receive leadership for blessing or for judgment – God is at work.

But make no mistake, our nation is being judged as are all others. And God is at work, as in all others.

How given to prayer then ought we to be, that we might be a nation which serves and does not spurn our God.

Consider that today Christian.

God willing, we’ll be back Monday.
Through the Word in 2020 #119 – Sep. 17 / Exploding Heads

September 17th, 2020

For the audio Podcast of this and every episode, find us on Breaker, Google Podcasts, Overcast, Pocket Casts, RadioPublic, Spotify or HERE

If you’d like to join us in our journey reading all the way through the Bible this year, drop me a line at reid.ferguson@gmail.com, and I’ll be glad to email back a copy of the reading plan we are using.

If your head didn’t explode today after reading Proverbs 21, Luke 18:1-8, Psalm 119:121-128, Hebrews 8 and Isaiah 9-11, then I don’t know what to say. In these portions of God’s Word we were met with such high, lofty, holy, transcendent and glorious realities that we could spend a lifetime trying to digest just what’s there.

Jesus’ exhortation to prayer and how the Father is so willing to hear us and answer. David’s example of loving God’s commandments above fine gold. The wonders of the New Covenant in Hebrews 8. The assurance that all of the plans and promises of God will come to pass because there is NO wisdom, understanding or counsel that can avail against the Lord. And then the revelations of the coming Christ in Isaiah 9-11 – with that oh so familiar and amazing announcement: “For unto us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”

Join me for a few thoughts on Isaiah 9:6 today on Through the Word in 2020. I’m Reid Ferguson.

You may never have heard the name Lancelot Andrews before, but more than any other individual, he was responsible for the unparalleled English and its cadence as we have it in the King James version of the Bible.

Andrews not only loved the music of English, he was a master of Latin, Greek, Hebrew and most of the languages of Europe in his day.

In a sermon of his on Isaiah 9:6 he summarized the importance of it this way: “So Christ loved us, that He was given;” “so God loved us, that He gave His Son.”

We are met with this divine conspiracy of love to save the lost. The Son wholly willing to come and die. The Father wholly willing to send Him to that end. What a glorious thing this salvation is. Unfathomable love.

So allow me to set our hearts on this portion in verse today.

For unto us, a child is born

In love, from Heaven’s throne was torn

From angel’s praise to earthly scorn

This child, ‘Tis Christ our Savior

Yes unto us, God’s Son is giv’n

Feet, hands and side be one day riv’n

The piercing nails by hate be driv’nGod’s Son,

‘Tis Christ our Savior

The government shall rest on Him

But first, the weight of human sin

He’ll feel the Father’s gaze grow dim

This King, ‘Tis Christ our Savior

First Wonderful, shall be His name

Eternal God, for e’re the same

And yet as God in flesh He came

See now, ‘Tis Christ our Savior

And Counselor His name is too

He is the way, the life, the truth

God’s highest wisdom, Love’s great proof

Oh look!, ‘Tis Christ our Savior

His name shall be The Mighty God

The Worthy of all praise and laud

He rules with God’s own iron rod

Behold!, ‘Tis Christ our Savior

The Everlasting Father’s name

He’ll wear as His, tho man became

To die, and then His throne reclaim

This Jesus, ‘Tis Christ our Savior

And Prince of Peace His name shall be

In reconciling Adam’s seed

His blood, it pleads for you and me

All praise! ‘Tis Christ our Savior

With divine zeal He’ll finish sin

And bring God’s Kingdom fully in

Redeeming all who trust in Him

This Babe, ‘Tis Christ our Savior

So low the angels’ bent to see

The awe of His nativity

He stooping low where we would be

For us, ‘Tis Christ our Savior

Think on that today Christian.

God willing, we’ll be back tomorrow.
Through the Word in 2020 #117 – Sep. 15 / What does God want from me?

September 15th, 2020

For the audio Podcast of this and every episode, find us on Breaker, Google Podcasts, Overcast, Pocket Casts, RadioPublic, Spotify or HERE

If you’d like to join us in our journey reading all the way through the Bible this year, drop me a line at reid.ferguson@gmail.com, and I’ll be glad to email back a copy of the reading plan we are using.

What does God want from me? Have you ever asked that question yourself? Or heard someone else ask it? It’s a most important question. A right question. And the answer holds the difference between Heaven and Hell. Between mere religion and true salvation. And the answer not only demonstrates the amazing condescension of God to fallen human-kind, but holds the key to the very reversal of the Fall itself.

I’m Reid Ferguson – and faith is our topic today out of Hebrews 6:13–20; Psalm 119:113–120; Isaiah 2:6–5:30; Luke 17:5–10 and Proverbs 19. Thanks for joining us on Through the Word in 2020.

The word faith in our day, has become something of a wax nose. People use it in a variety of ways: to refer to some sort of amorphous spirituality, as referring merely to a positive outlook, for belonging to some religion or religious group – as being part of a faith community and even just as a vague belief in God or the Bible.

Interestingly and most importantly, the Bible never once uses faith in such ill-defined ways.

Faith in the Bible always, without exception refers to acknowledging that God has spoken, that what He has said is true, and ordering one’s life in concert with what He has said. This is why Scripture can tell us that apart from faith, it is impossible to please God. Or if I could put it in a nutshell, what does God want from you and me? To be believed. And not believed vaguely – but so as to trust His promises, listen to His warnings, grasp His character, fear His judgments, and seek His blessing and rewards. To understand who and what He is and why He does all He does by virtue of what He has said and revealed about Himself in His Word. To be – believed. And to act as though what we’ve heard must be acted upon appropriately.

Why is this kind of faith so essential? Because failure in it is what led to the Fall in the Garden.

Adam and Eve disbelieved God and His warnings, and believed the Enemy and their own reasoning above what He had said. And from that day to this – that inherent distrust of God, and disregard for His revelation is at the core of all human sin. And all that sin brings with it. Had our first parents believed Him, and ordered their lives in accordance with what He said – the Fall would never have happened.

So it is in salvation, we’re brought back to this most crucial place. Will we believe what He has said about our guilt, our sin, our impending judgment and the Gospel of the cross – of believing the revelation of Jesus’ substitutionary atonement and be reconciled to God by believing and obeying it? Or not?

This, is saving faith.

But note this from our Hebrews portion today. How God’s promissory covenants are for our sake, not His.

He, who cannot lie, who is infinitely holy, in order to cement His promises in our minds – makes overt covenants or promises. He swears to us. He doesn’t do this as a necessary part of His nature. His intention is sufficient. But because we are fallen, unbelieving and faithless, He confirms such promises with signs and seals, and makes covenants for us to bolster our faith. They are a concession, not a necessary mode of acting on His part.

He does more than just wait for us to believe as we ought – He steps forward, makes His promises and then swears an oath before us so that we might know that His promises are sure, and cannot be broken.

What does God want from you? To be believed. Nothing delights Him more.

This is why faith obtains all that God promises.

How amazing.

God willing, we’ll be back tomorrow.
Through the Word in 2020 #114 – Sep. 10 / All Things Considered

September 10th, 2020

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If you’d like to join us in our journey reading all the way through the Bible this year, drop me a line at reid.ferguson@gmail.com, and I’ll be glad to email back a copy of the reading plan we are using.

Anytime I leave on a trip, even a short one, there are always a few things I stop to consider. My precise destination – do I have the address? What route am I going to take? How much gas I’ll need. How much travel time I expect. How long I’ll stay at my destination. Accommodations. The usual stuff.

But what if your destination is Heaven? What things do you need to consider then?

Today’s text in Hebrews 3:1–6 addresses that very point. And so will we today on Through the Word in 2020.

I’m your host, Reid Ferguson.

Along with Hebrews we are also reading Song of Solomon 2:8–5:1; Proverbs 16 and Luke 16:1–17. And once again there is just so much to look at. Restricting ourselves to those 6 verses in Hebrews is hard – but are they ever rich.

The “therefore” in 3:1 is referring back to the previous 2 chapters, and amplifying some statements in 2:8 & 10. God doesn’t save us from our sins just to save us. He has an end in mind. One day, those redeemed by the blood of Christ will share in ruling over all creation with Him. He is in the process of “bringing many sons to glory.” The end of what 3:1 calls our “heavenly calling.” Our salvation isn’t just something which originates in Heaven, it is something which ends there. And not a Heaven like some imagine as a weird disembodied state floating around on clouds. Heaven as in the unveiling of God’s own presence and throne somehow also joined to a new earth – where we live with Him in a glorified and yet very real and material world.

Now if that’s where we are headed – and every Believer IS headed there- what are the things we should be considering for that journey?

Our text gives us 4, all centering around the person and work of Jesus.

“Consider” the verse says: Think about, mull over, meditate on, let your mind explore – Jesus. This is our great preparation.

1. Think about how He is the apostle of our faith. How He is the Word made flesh. The sum of God’s wisdom revealed. The truth of all things wrapped up in Him – who came to announce the great reconciliation. To declare to us with the very voice of God the forgiveness of sins and how we could be made right with God for eternity.

2. Consider Him as our Great High Priest. Keep mindful of His intercession for us. Of His sacrifice for us on the Cross. How His blood paid the price for our guilt and shame. How He has gone before us into the Heavens to prepare this place for us, and continues to pray for us, watch over us and bring us to Himself.

3. Consider how He was faithful in everything. How He carried out the Father’s will on our behalf to the tiniest degree, so that nothing is left over for us to do. How in His faithfulness to all of God’s commands, we have a full and free salvation.

4. Consider Him as having done all this not just as some servant or prophet – but as the very Son of God Himself. That the One who died for our sins is none other than God in human flesh. How more secure could our salvation be than to have been accomplished by God the Son Himself?

Keep considering Him.

The truth in Him so that you are not taken off course. Consider Him as seeing your salvation through to the end.

Consider Him as faithful, lest you think at any time this salvation wrought in His blood might fail to be sufficient for all your sins.

Consider how it is the 2nd member of the eternal, triune Godhead is the one who has purchased your salvation.

What great, eternal, divine love it is you are loved with.

Therefore holy brothers, you who share in a heavenly calling – consider Jesus.

And worship in joy.

God willing, we’ll be back tomorrow.
Through the Word in 2020 #97 – Aug. 17 / Light from the Shadows

August 17th, 2020

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You’re listening to Through the Word in 2020 – and I’m your host Reid Ferguson.

Some days – like today, our readings are so full and rich, choosing which to meditate on seems impossible.

Key instructions on how the Church and ministers are to be ordered in 1 Timothy 4:6–6:2. A plea for inward transformation so as to live pleasing to God in Psalm 119:33–40. Jesus’ exposing the hypocrisy of the Jewish leaders of His day while manifesting His kingdom in Luke 11:14–26, And then this exciting account of the Jews in captivity in Esther 6:14–9:32. Each deserves so much attention.

But I’d like to suggest to you that what we have in Esther is one of the most sweeping overviews of the story of salvation – why we need it and how it was accomplished – to be found anywhere in the Bible. It is an amazing picture painted for us in the real life events of that small but powerful book. You could almost see it as a play in 6 acts.

Consider these amazing parallels to redemptive history in terms of some types and shadows. Indulge my imagination a bit. Remember, these are just shadows. Hints at the realities.

Think of King Ahasuerus as the God type figure.

Queen Vashti as representing humanity back in the Garden, before the Fall.

The Banquet as the scene in Eden – Man created to reflect the glory of God. A rightful display of created beauty.

Then Vashti’s refusal as mankind refusing to remain in our created glory.

Council = The Human response to sin. We make laws and commands to reign in all. An attempt to produce righteousness by mere rote obedience.

Mordecai enters as a Christ figure. In the likeness of fallen man, as a Jew in captivity because of our collective sin.

Esther then takes on the cast of the New man / The Bride and Queen in Christ. The redeemed.

Haman is easily the Satan figure

And Haman’s plot is what Satan’s has always been, an attempt to destroy God’s “Queen” for personal vanity.

Haman’s “decree.” Satan uses God’s own law to condemns us. Even though we are now married to the King.

In Esther’s time of prayer and fasting we see how we are to seek the Lord’s judgment on the enemy. We cannot do it ourselves.

Then the King makes a decree which unfolds how grace overrides the Law without repealing it. The heart of the book and redemption is found here. It is the most profound, graphic illustration of
Romans 8:2 – “For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.”

Haman’s death portends Satan’s defeat.

The Jew’s response to the new law shows our part in the destruction of the enemy and his machinations. That not only is Satan defeated, all that he has set in motion is also reversed.

And as the Jews gain victory but take none of the spoils, so in Christ, we gain the victory over Satan and sin, but not to obtain any of this World’s goods – but to have an eternal inheritance in the heavenlies.

So here’s a summary:

Act 1 – Ch. 1-2 / The Fall. Adam in rebellion, and a new “bride” sought. The Church secured.

Act 2 – Ch. 3-5 / The jealousy and evil opposition of Satan. And Christ’s interposition in and through His saints.

Act 3 – Ch. 6 / The exaltation of Christ and the humiliation of Satan.

Act 4 – Ch. 7 / Satan trampled underneath the feet of the Church.

Act 5 – Ch. 8-9 / The triumph of grace over the Law.

Act 6 – Ch. 10 / The glory of Christ in the history of man, and His love and intercession for His people.

Muse on that all a bit today.

God willing, we’ll be back tomorrow.
Through the Word in 2020 #77 – July 20 / Social Justice

July 20th, 2020

For the audio Podcast of this and every episode, find us on Breaker, Google Podcasts, Overcast, Pocket Casts, RadioPublic, Spotify or HERE

If you’d like to join us in our journey reading all the way through the Bible this year, drop me a line at reid.ferguson@gmail.com, and I’ll be glad to email back a copy of the reading plan we are using.

Social justice. We hear the term all the time these days. Most often in the context of some strata or people groups in our society not receiving the same treatment as others under the law. A skewed system oppressing some, and elevating others. And to any reader of the Bible, God’s interest in justice can’t be escaped. Christians ought to be vitally interested in justice, and look to right wrongs when and where we can.

At the same time, a different sort of “injustice” can raise its head, and it too needs to be addressed. This is rooted in a misunderstanding about some passages of Scripture like vss. 7-8 in Psalm 113. We’ll look at that briefly today on Through the Word in 2020.

Along with Psalm 113 we have Colossians 4:2–18; 2 Chronicles 11:18–15:19 and Luke 6:46–7:10 to consider. But as I already mentioned, it is vss. 7-8 of Psalm 113 which catches my eye today.

“He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap, to make them sit with princes, with the princes of His people.”

Verses like these, and dozens of others throughout the Bible, are sometimes cited as proof that God has a special regard for the poor, the oppressed and the disenfranchised. And it is true. With, some necessary qualifications. Sometimes, what is true, is not the whole truth. And failing to get at the whole truth, can make a lie out of something true. So let’s note 3 things here.

In this passage, the poor being referred to are God’s people looking to God for the fulfillment of His promises to them. It is not a general statement about all the poor in every place and at all times.

2nd, some infer that simply being poor, disadvantaged or oppressed, somehow confers some sort of spiritual status upon them before God. Our relationship to Him is rooted only in Jesus Christ and the Gospel. We are not nearer and dearer to Him in terms of salvation on the basis of our life circumstances. Yes, He loves to be merciful to those suffering – but that kind of common grace must not be confused with saving grace. The rich oppressing unbeliever and the poor oppressed unbeliever are equally distant from God and both equally in need of the the saving grace of Jesus Christ through repentance from sin and faith in Jesus’s atoning work on Calvary to reconcile them to the Father.

3rd. The fact that God will pour out judgment on any and all who oppress others in this life, does not somehow mean that that the oppressed are not themselves still responsible for their own sins before God.

Being sinned against does not somehow mitigate my sin, any more than drinking a diet Coke cancels out the calories in the Snickers bar I have with it.

Yes, any and all who oppress others, take advantage of the disadvantaged and deny them justice, will answer for their sins. No doubt about it. But make no mistake, those who may find themselves among the poor and disadvantaged, will still stand before the judgment seat of God to answer for their own sins. No amount of being sinned against, erases my sin. Only the blood of Christ can cleanse us from sin. Nothing else. Nothing less.

Now we do not want to miss the fact that one day, at the return of Christ, justice, true justice, for all will in fact be finally meted out. We long for that day. And no one will be able to point to any advantage or disadvantage in this life as some means to escape that judgment. Which calls us all to flee from our sin and to Christ today – no matter where we find ourselves in our society. That we might be made the righteousness of God in Jesus.

I’m Reid Ferguson, and God willing, we’ll be back tomorrow.
Through the Word in 2020 #76 – July 17 / The Sacredness of Work

July 17th, 2020

For the audio Podcast of this and every episode, find us on Breaker, Google Podcasts, Overcast, Pocket Casts, RadioPublic, Spotify or HERE

If you’d like to join us in our journey reading all the way through the Bible this year, drop me a line at reid.ferguson@gmail.com, and I’ll be glad to email back a copy of the reading plan we are using.

One of the misnomers that has made its way into the minds of many Christians, is that work is a kind of necessary evil, unless of course you are in some sort of “ministry.” Our reading in Colossians 3 today should divest us of both errors. Sadly for some, that error leads them to very frustrating lives. We’ll talk about that today on Through the Word in 2020. I’m Reid Ferguson.

Colossians 3:18-4:1, Luke 6:43-45 and 2 Chronicles 9:13-11:17 finish up our reading for this week. And once again, we could say so much about each portion. But I’d like us to consider the idea in Colossians 3 of the sacredness of work.

Pastors, preachers and teachers are often heard telling people about the nature of their high calling, and how there is nothing higher in life. There’s some truth in that. It is a high calling. But the way that is often heard, is that if you are not engaged in some sort of teaching or preaching ministry, that somehow, you are doing what is less than best. That teachers and preachers are some separate sacred class. It isn’t so.

And I’ve personally known an almost endless parade of good men who would settle for nothing less than a “ministry” role in order to feel good about themselves. That any kind of secular work was somehow a step down. And many of these have grown bitter, frustrated and angry because they’ve not been used by God that way.

It is a very sad thing to see. And in truth, they end up ruining what usefulness to Christ they might have had.

As The Holy Spirit speaks in this passage, He says something to wives, husbands, children, parents, employers and employees – about their individual roles. As a side note here, I’ll mention that nowhere are the instructions to one group ever nullified because another group fails at their role. Each of us is responsible for our sphere, irrespective of how others fare in theirs.

That said, it is vs. 23 which deserves some special focus. “Whatever you do” – note the “WHATEVER”. Whatever place of work or employment you might find yourself in – do THAT work heartily – as unto the Lord. Serve Him there. Serve Him in it. Knowing this: “That from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.”

Here is the amazing sacredness of work – all work, when engaged in by a Believer. Doing a “secular” job as unto Christ, while the world pays you for it, and the Father prepares to reward you for it. The World paying us to earn Heavenly rewards. Imagine. And we, whether we are butchers, bakers or candlestick makers, we are His workers in that place with those people. It is as important and sacred to our God to have us there, as it is to have the most gifted preacher in the pulpit.

Mechanics, engineers, doctors, cable installers, lawyers, coders, undertakers, housewives, writers, clothes designers, musicians, honey-dippers, soldiers and even politicians. No matter what field we might find ourselves in – our call is to work there, heartily – as unto the Lord! Because then, we are serving the Lord Christ as His agents in that place. And we can have no more sacred occupation than to serve Him. The theater of service is wholly irrelevant.

Be about your next shift at work – whatever work that may be, and know that if it is done as unto Him, that it is every bit as sacred as any so-called ministry role in the Church.

And then, you’ll find a satisfaction there you never knew could be. For you are serving the Lord Christ. The truth is, if you cannot serve God with contentment in secular work, then you won’t if you find yourself in “ministry” either.

God bless. And God willing, we’ll be back Monday.
Through the Word in 2020 #75 – July 16 / Eye Surgery

July 16th, 2020

For the audio Podcast of this and every episode, find us on Breaker, Google Podcasts, Overcast, Pocket Casts, RadioPublic, Spotify or HERE

If you’d like to join us in our journey reading all the way through the Bible this year, drop me a line at reid.ferguson@gmail.com, and I’ll be glad to email back a copy of the reading plan we are using.

Out of the 4 passages before us today: Psalm 112, 2 Chronicles 7:1-9:12, Colossians 3:1-17 and Luke 6:37-42, I’ve little doubt the latter is the one most familiar to most of us. Taking the log out of our own eye before trying to take a speck out of someone else’s has become proverbial. I’m Reid Ferguson, and I’d like (no pun intended) to take another look at that passage today on Through the Word in 2020.

As Christians, we spend a lot of time thinking and talking about sin. One can’t read the Bible without that theme being found everywhere. The entire plan of redemption and Jesus’ death on the cross is in reference to sin. To deliver us from sin’s penalty, power and eventually, its very presence. But when our interest in sin is more about other’s sins than our own, bad things can happen. Hence Jesus’ reference in Luke 6.

He asks a very pointed question: “Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?” We tend to fix on the comparison here between a speck and a log, and we are meant to notice that feature.

What we tend to overlook is answering Jesus’ question – why is it we do this? And the answer is clear, we are most often blind to our own sins because they are so large – they prevent us from seeing clearly. And that then makes us pretty poor candidates for addressing other’s sins. But that doesn’t stop us much does it? Attacking other’s sins seems to be a national pass-time right now – both inside and outside of the Church.

That aside, let’s note a few other things of importance here.

First, this portion is not talking about mere public rebuke of public wrongs. It is about personal investment in helping one another grow in Christ.

Those not well accustomed to dealing with their own sin, are never qualified to deal with someone else’s. Those that are like a bull in a China shop with other’s sins, are those who have little experience dealing with their own. Their aggressiveness and vitriol is a dead give away.

Second, Jesus’ reference to taking something out of one’s eye is wonderfully informative. For the eye is tender, and dealing with something in the eye takes:

a. Carefulness. Other damage is easily done. Such surgery can cause permanent blindness if not handled well. The old Chinese proverb: “Never remove a fly from a friend’s face with an axe” comes to mind. We must be very clear what “speck” we are after, and judge it a speck. We are to see their sins as less than our own. And remember that a speck needs tweezers, not a crowbar.

b. Gentleness. Eyes are sensitive and tender. Sins are often very dear to our hearts. Our object is to be curative, not retributive. Think of how painful it has been when facing your own sins. And if you do not have that experience, hand this off to someone else. The Church Father Origin who emasculated himself trying to deal with lust, is not the guy to go to if you have a problem with lust. Until, maybe, long after he had found his methods severely wanting.

c. Relationally. Dealing with people’s individual sins is not something you do walking down the street with strangers. Do I have the person’s trust such that they will trust me with a sensitive area? Have I earned that? Do they know I have only their best interest at heart, and have some skill in what I am approaching, and some experience of how delicate a thing it is?

We need to be about helping one another with our sins. But we are not prosecuting attorneys. We are fellow convicts, leading each other to grace.

God willing, we’ll be back tomorrow.
Through the Word in 2020 #65 – July 1 / The Power of The Gospel

July 1st, 2020

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If you’d like to join us in our journey reading all the way through the Bible this year, drop me a line at reid.ferguson@gmail.com, and I’ll be glad to email back a copy of the reading plan we are using.

How powerful is the Gospel? The short, often misunderstood passage of Philippians 1:12-18 gives us a real glimpse. Never underestimate the simple proclamation that Christ has been crucified for sinners. Even in the hands of the enemies of the Cross, the Gospel cannot be de-fanged.

More on that today on Through the Word in 2020. I’m your host, Reid Ferguson.

Along with the passage already noted, our reading today includes 1 Chronicles 5:23–7:13 and Luke 3:23–4:13. But as already noted I want us to think a bit on Paul’s statement in vs. 18: “What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in that I rejoice.”

Note first that the power of the Gospel is not dependent upon the character of the one who delivers it – but upon the God whose unfailing promise is bound up in it. It is true – Jesus saves sinners, whether a righteous man gives the Gospel, or a most far-gone profligate does. The power rests in the Gospel itself.

But note, this passage is not condoning those who preach the Gospel falsely or out of evil motives. That is sometimes the way this passage is read. But that isn’t really Paul’s point.

Yes, Paul can delight that the Gospel gets preached regardless, but this is in no way an endorsement of such misuse. Nor that we should ignore those who claim to be servants of Christ who nevertheless preach the Gospel, but whose lives openly contradict it. So we read in Titus 1:16 –

They profess to know God, but they deny him by their works. They are detestable, disobedient, unfit for any good work.

Such are to be exposed and soundly rebuked.

Because God CAN use cancer to bring one to himself, is not a tacit endorsement that therefore all cancer is good and is to be celebrated. Such confusion leads to all manner of falsehoods and poor judgments. This passage does not teach that we should simply ignore wicked men in their wickedness because the Gospel somehow still gets preached.

If that’s so, then what IS this passage about?

Those “preaching” the Gospel out of envy and rivalry here are not pretend gospelers, not charlatans, but those who in the process of persecuting Paul must articulate what it is in his message they object to. They are either Jewish persecutors trying to divert people away from the Gospel, or Gentile persecutors, trying to bring people back to their false gods. In the process, they must declare that Paul preaches a salvation by Christ alone through faith alone. They must point out he preaches a Christ crucified for sins – and these things in opposition to their own views. These are not pretenders, they are persecutors.

And so great is our God, He can use both the persecutors and the pretenders in getting the message of this glorious Gospel preached.

Take heart Christian – one way or another – the Gospel WILL prevail.

It isn’t the message bearer, nor the intent of the messenger’s heart and mind that give the Gospel its power. Its power is its own.

Romans 1:16

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.

What a comfort then to us in our sometimes very feeble attempts at sharing the Gospel of the saving grace of Jesus Christ. The effectiveness of the message is not dependent upon us – the message itself – by the agency of the Holy Spirit – is sufficient to save the lost.

Sow the Word. And let the Lord bring forth the harvest.

God bless. And God willing, we’ll be back tomorrow.