This is our last look into the Gospel according to Matthew. And it ends so wonderfully with Jesus’ appearance, and His commission to the disciples.
Note first: The very first thing Jesus does, is fulfill a promise. On the night of His passion, after the “last supper”, He told the disciples that they would all fall away because of Him that night and that the “Shepherd” would be struck. “But after I am raised up, I will go before you into Galilee.” (26:32) They had no idea what that meant at the time, but now, after the women leaving Jesus’ tomb carried the same message to them – it made some sense.
Now this is the way it is with so much of the Lord’s dealings with us. He often uses promises as proof. It is a dynamic we see throughout the Old Testament and it remains to this day. Why? Because it is the foundation of faith – believing what He has said is true, and acting accordingly. We see this most pointedly in Gen. 15, containing that most famous phrase: “he believed the Lord, and he counted it to him as righteousness.”
When, in Gen. 15:8 Abraham asks how he is to know for sure that he will possess the land God had promised him – God has him offer a particular sacrifice and then presents him with – a promise: “Then the LORD said to Abram, “Know for certain that your offspring will be sojourners in a land that is not theirs and will be servants there, and they will be afflicted for four hundred years. But I will bring judgment on the nation that they serve, and afterward they shall come out with great possessions. As for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you shall be buried in a good old age. And they shall come back here in the fourth generation, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.”
That’s it! A solemn promise. No more “proof” is offered. Faith grasps the promise, trusting the promisor. And this is the very same basis upon which the Gospel rests. We believe the promise that those who trust the words and works of Christ and rest the whole of our confidence in Him and His saving work on Calvary. We trust His substitution. That His sacrifice for sin on our behalf is alone sufficient to reconcile us to the Father. That He would send the Holy Spirit after His ascension and that He will come again to take us to Himself. We believe Him – and we are saved from the wrath of God. And we live in such a way as to demonstrate these promises to be the truth.
Following that earliest of patterns, Jesus promised them He would meet them in Galilee after He had risen, and so He did.
We can trust Him to fulfill EVERY promise.
Note second: While some of the Disciples immediately worshiped Him, some also had some doubts.
Just what those doubts may have been, the text does not make clear, and speculation is fruitless. What is wonderfully clear is that in simple obedience to go out and meet Him according to His promise, irrespective of their doubts – He still met them there.
Genuine Believers are not without their doubts. Sometimes we are confused. Faith can be weak, and yet be genuine faith. Listen to the words of John Rogers penned in 1634 – “Weak faith is true faith,—as precious, though not so great as strong faith: the same Holy Ghost the Author, the same Gospel the instrument…“If it never proves great, yet weak faith shall save; for it interests us in Christ, and makes Him and all His benefits ours. For it is not the strength of our faith that saves, but truth of our faith,—nor weakness of our faith that condemns, but the [lack] of faith; for the least faith lay[s] hold on Christ, and so will save us. Neither are we saved by the worth or quantity of our faith, but by Christ, who is laid hold on by a weak faith as well as a strong. Just as a weak hand that can put meat into the mouth shall feed and nourish the body as well as if it were a strong hand; seeing the body is not nourished by the strength of the hand, but by the goodness of the meat.” Ryle, J. C. Holiness: Its Nature, Hindrances, Difficulties and Roots. William Hunt and Company, 1889, p. 182.
Don Carson supplies a most useful illustration regarding this principle.
“Supposing at the time of the first Passover, on Passover night, you have two Jews with the remarkable names Smith and Brown. Smith says to Brown, “Have you killed a Passover lamb yet and daubed your two doorposts and lintel with the blood of the Passover lamb?”
“Of course,” Brown says. “Moses has declared that the angel of death is going through the land tonight and anybody who doesn’t have the blood from the Passover lamb daubed on the doorposts and the lintel is going to lose their firstborn.” Smith says, “I know what Moses has said. I’ve daubed the blood as well, but you got to admit, there have been a lot of strange things that have gone on here the last little while.
Flies, frogs, water to blood, and all of that. I’ve only got one son. This is pretty shocking stuff. How is the angel going to tell that he shouldn’t take out my son?” Brown says, “Well, you have to trust what God has said through Moses. What God has said through Moses is if you kill a Passover lamb and put the blood on the doorposts and on the lintel then the angel will pass over. That’s why we call it a Passover lamb, for goodness’ sake. So don’t worry! If you’ve done what Moses said, don’t worry.”
Smith says, “That’s all right for you to say. You’ve got six kids already. You can afford to lose one. But in my case, it’s the only one. I’m really worried.” That night, the angel of the Lord passes through the land. Which one loses his son? The answer, of course, is neither. Because the condition is not made on the tenacity of the faith or the intensity of the faith or the sincerity of the faith or the maturity of the faith but on the object of the faith. Carson, D. A. 2016. “Revelation—Questions & Answers.” In D. A. Carson Sermon Library. Bellingham, WA: Faithlife.
Yes, the faith of some of those was weak at first – but they still came. And so they still saw the resurrected Christ and still received the same commission to carry His gospel to the nations.
Praise God for His mercy toward us even in our weaknesses!
Note third: The wonder, clarity, simplicity and specificity of the Gospel commission.
Rooted first and foremost in Jesus’ cosmic authority – all authority in Heaven and on Earth –
1 – Go! Do not keep this to yourselves. Call upon everyone everywhere to become my Disciples.
2 – Make Disciples. Do not just tell them the good news of salvation wrought at Calvary – call them to give themselves to Me, to bow to My authority, to bring their lives into line with My eternal plans and purposes – to serve Me as Lord and love me as Savior. To come to know Me. To listen to My teaching. To trust Me. Don’t make them your disciples. Don’t bring them into a movement. Make them MY disciples.
3 – Make disciples of ALL nations. This is a global Gospel. The Gospel call is as broad as the human race.
Alexander MacLaren preaching on Eph. 3 writes: “What, Then, Is The Breadth Of That Love It is as broad as humanity. As all the stars lie in the firmament, so all creatures rest in the heaven of Hi-love. Mankind has many common characteristics. We all suffer, we all sin, we all hunger, we all aspire, hope, and die; and, blessed be God! we all occupy precisely the same relation to the divine love which lies in Jesus Christ. There are no step-children in God’s great family, and none of them receives a more grudging or a less ample share of His love and goodness than every other. Far-stretching as the race, and curtaining it over as some great tent may enclose on a festal day a whole tribe, the breadth of Christ’s love is the breadth of humanity.
And it is universal because it is divine. No human mind can be stretched so as to comprehend the whole of the members of mankind, and no human heart can be so emptied of self as to be capable of this absolute universality and impartiality of affection. But the intellectual difficulties which stand in the way of the width of our affections, and the moral difficulties which stand still more frowningly and forbiddingly in the way, have no power over that love of Christ’s which is close and tender, and clinging with all the tenderness and closeness and clingingness of a human affection, and lofty and universal and passionless and perpetual, with all the height and breadth and calmness and eternity of a divine heart.
And this broad love, broad as humanity, is not shallow because it is broad. Our love is too often like the estuary of some great stream which runs deep and mighty as long as it is held within narrow banks, but as soon as it widens becomes slow and powerless and shallow. The intensity of human affection varies inversely as its extension. A universal philanthropy is a passionless sentiment. But Christ’s love is deep though it is wide, and suffers no diminution because it is shared amongst a multitude. It is like the great feast that He Himself spread for five thousand men, women, and children, all seated on the grass, ‘and they did all eat and were filled.’
The whole love is the property of each recipient of it. He does not love as we do, who give a part of our heart to this one and a part to that one, and share the treasure of our affections amongst a multitude. All this gift belongs to every one, just as all the sunshine comes to every eye, and as every beholder sees the moon’s path across the dark waters, stretching from the place where He stands to the centre of light.
This broad love, universal as humanity, and deep as it is broad, is universal because it is individual. You and I have to generalise, as we say, when we try to extend our affections beyond the limits of household and family and personal friends, and the generalising is a sign of weakness and limitation. Nobody can love an abstraction, but God’s love and Christ’s love do not proceed in that fashion. He individualises, loving each and therefore loving all. It is because every man has a space in His heart singly and separately and conspicuously, that all men have a place there. So our task is to individualise this broad, universal love, and to say, in the simplicity of a glad faith, ‘He loved me and gave Himself for me.’ The breadth is world-wide, and the whole breadth is condensed into, if I may so say, a shaft of light which may find its way through the narrowest chink of a single soul. There are two ways of arguing about the love of Christ, both of them valid, and both of them needing to be employed by us. We have a right to say, ‘He loves all, therefore He loves me.’ And we have a right to say, ‘He loves me, therefore He loves all.’ For surely the love that has stooped to me can never pass by any human soul.
What is the breadth of the love of Christ? It is broad as mankind, it is narrow as myself.” MacLaren, Alexander. 2009. Expositions of Holy Scripture: Ephesians. Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software.
4 – Baptizing them with the full authority of the triune Godhead. Baptizing for the purpose of identifying oneself as a disciple of Christ. And beware – using the Triune “Father, Son and Holy Spirit” is not some magic formula, as though the words somehow confer something. The idea is that the Triune God is giving His Church His own full authority to make disciples and baptize accordingly.
5 – Teaching them. Teaching them what? Not our opinions, ideas and pet concepts – teaching them to order their lives in accordance with all the JESUS has commanded. What He has spoken. And where do we find that? Only in His Word. Only in the Bible. Because He alone has all authority, it is His Word which conveys that authority, we do not. We have no authority but to call men to obey Christ’s Word. How this principle would protect the Church from abusers of all kinds. No man’s conscience is ever to be bound by us – only by Christ and His Word.
6 – Never forget, I am with you – as long as this time before my return lasts. Christ abides in and with His Church. In all places, at all times and in every generation. So we see Him in the Revelation, walking in the midst of His Churches, however flawed and in need of correction. We are not freelancers free-wheeling it. He is with us. Both to comfort, guide and discipline as needed.
All this being said – now go.
Holy Spirit, fill us and illumine us as we do. God your Gospel success in the hearts and minds of men everywhere. To God in Christ be all the glory, both now and forever more. Amen.
Is the picture above one of a white vase, or two silhouetted faces? It depends on your perspective.
The eye of faith grasps one thing. The eye of unbelief, another.
It would be hard to find a contrast more stark than that contain in verses 11-15, over and against 16-20.
The first is a commission to lie and obscure the truth of Jesus’ resurrection. It was designed to keep people in darkness and bondage.
Vs. 11 says that while the Marys were off telling the disciples the good news of Jesus resurrection, some of the guard went to the chief priests. Both told the very same story. But both came to very different responses. And herein is the work of Satan in the world writ large for us to see.
In Eden, Satan’s chief tool and tactic was to obscure the truth – especially the truth about God. Nothing has changed. This is why the Word of God is so central to the Believer, and the World as a whole. We must have some source of “true-truth” as Francis Schaeffer would phrase it. Personal perspectives, opinions and conjectures can bring eternal life to no one. We must know what THE truth really is if we are to know God and know ourselves.
We must know that God crested the heavens and the earth. That all that exists exists with a purpose and that by the omnipotent God who made it all for His own purposes.
We must know that humankind was made in the image of this God.
We must know that humankind – to a man – has rebelled against God’s right of supremacy over our lives, and that we are lost and condemned in our sin of rebellion.
We must know that God in His constitutional holiness and justice cannot simply dismiss sin, but must satisfy His own justice in judgment.
We must know that we have no means to be reconciled to our Creator by our own devices.
We must know God’s only provided means for that reconciliation, in having sent His Son – Jesus the Christ – to live in perfect holiness, and die a substitutionary death on a cross to satisfy His justice, and make a way for the unjust.
We must know that this salvation is held out to us, not because we deserve it, but because in His glorious, inscrutable love and grace – He delights to rescue His enemies and reconcile them to Himself, and at that, at the highest cost imaginable.
We must know that the only way we can have access to this salvation and reconciliation is by faith in the death, burial and resurrection of this Jesus.
Without knowledge of these basic realities, we live lost, aimless, purposeless, ultimately meaningless lives which end in judgement.
The second commission was by Jesus to the Marys to go and tell.
What the women told the disciples, motivated them to go to Galilee that they might see Jesus. What the guards told the priests, motivated them to do everything they could to keep people from seeing Jesus. And so it remains today.
The facts remained the same for both. Jesus rose from the dead. Angels attended His resurrection. He appeared to many. We will either embrace these truths so as to fall at the feet of the Savior, or respond by indifference and/or deliberate opposition. This is the difference that defines our eternity.
To you reader, if you do not yet know Him – know this: “But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.”
From Matthew 27:62-66 / Trying to do the Impossible
There are two passages in the Gospels that I find truly humorous. The first, is John 12:10 “So the chief priests made plans to put Lazarus to death as well.” It it weren’t so seriously tragic on the part of the priests, one would have to laugh hysterically. Like Lazarus could in any way possible be intimidated by the threat of death after having been raised after 4 days dead. The very thought of it is so ludicrous as to defy one’s imagination. “Ooooh” I can hear him saying when he heard it – “they’re going to kill me. I’m SO scared!” Pretty tough to worry a guy who spent 4 days in the grave, only to be resurrected by the mere word of his Savior.
The 2nd humorous passage, again for how utterly ludicrous it is – is this one before us.
Jesus is dead and buried. Ostensibly, the fear on the part of the chief priests (Sadduccees) and the Pharisees was that Jesus’ disciples would come and take His body out of the grave and then claim He had risen from the dead. Little did they know He would soon appear to more than 500 (1 Cor. 15:6) – and that, all at one time.
What made their fear and attempt to secure the tomb so foolish? The promises of Ps. 16:8-11, expounded by Peter on the Day of Pentecost. Acts 2:23-24 has Peter saying: “Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know— this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it.”
Did you catch that last sentence? It was not POSSIBLE for Jesus to remain bound by death. It was not possible. And why can Peter make that claim? “For” vs. 25 begins – because, David has prophesied of Jesus hundreds of years earlier that The Father would not suffer the Son to “see corruption;” to succumb to the inevitable decay which attaches itself to every lifeless corpse. No, as David would say: “I saw the Lord always before me.”
So it is Peter in his Pentecost sermon unpacks the following elements of this astounding and prophetic Psalm.
Why was it impossible for the grave to hold Jesus?
a. Because Jesus was God. “I saw the Lord” (Ps. 16:8) “before me.” The incarnate body of Jesus could die, but He could not utterly die – He was and is – The Lord!
b. Because He must fulfill the prophecy. vss. 26-28 of the Psalm declare that the Father would NOT abandon Him in the grave, and would not let His body rot.
c. Because He was sinless. Though he could be killed, He could not die. Death has no final claim over one who is perfectly righteous. So vs. 27 declares that Jesus is “Your Holy One”.
Lastly, d. Because God had promised. So Peter would say in Acts 2:30 – that David, speaking as a prophet, and knowing that God had “sworn with an oath” that one of his descendents would sit on Israel’s throne, “foresaw and spoke about the resurrection of the Christ.”
Now because of all this, can I cite one more impossibility? It is simply this – I will not elaborate but leave it with you to sink in – especially if you are one who has somehow imagined your sin to be so great as though Christ’s blood is not sufficient for you: Rom. 5:20 “where sin increased, grace abounded all the more.”
No one. No matter what they have done. And no matter how long they have done it, can make their sin greater than His grace.
If you would have salvation, come to Him today. He is the God of the impossible. As Jesus told the disciples upon their incredulity over the difficulty of a rich man inheriting heaven – “And they were exceedingly astonished, and said to him, “Then who can be saved?” Jesus looked at them and said, “With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God.” (Mark 10:27)
What an extraordinary scene this text contains. Jesus in glory is on full display. What specific aspects of His glory the Spirit has chosen to highlight here are most interesting and evocative.
Note first: The Savior’s humility. So little did Jesus stand out, it took Judas’ kiss to identify Him. How we flock to “stand outs”, and how He avoided standing out.
In a culture built upon celebrity today, celebrity which has spilled over into the Church – leaders are often trying to make their mark, stand out, do something to be seen apart. Not Jesus. He, in His humility is identifying with us: He comes in the likeness of fallen man. He cares nothing for recognition of self. He has no ego. He cares only that the Father be glorified, and that the Father’s will be done.
Heavenly Father, make this my own heart in all things.
Note second: The absolute wonder of grace.
He is every man’s friend, even when they are His worst enemies. He designs no harm, but reconciliation through the Cross. And yet, in due time, He will judge. Even His “friends”. “Today”, cries the writer to the Hebrews, “Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.” If you can read this, it is not too late to repent of your sin and flee to Christ. He remains “a friend of tax collectors and sinners.” (Luke 7:34)
Note third: How He remains utterly in control, when all appears to be cosmically out of control.
It is the feature of almost all anxiety, that we are faced with tings too big for us, and that we cannot change or impact.
News outlets spew hour upon hour of global crises we seem to have no power to effect in any way. Climate change. The economy. War in the Middle-east. Terrorism. The political landscape. Not to mention the demise of our own individual bodies and personal crises of all kinds. So we worry, fret and look for any person who appears to give us hope as a strong champion on our behalf; or for a movement, the unveiling of some gigantic conspiracy that once uncovered will restore all equilibrium, pundits and miracle cures.
All to no avail.
But not Jesus. He stands here, ready to face the horrors or unbridled human brutality and the full fury of The Father’s wrath against human sin – and He is perfectly in control. Not as though He is orchestrating the circumstances – but in perfect self-control. Nothing externally can rob Him of His reliance upon and trust in – the Father.
No wonder the fruit of the Spirit is self-control. God has not charges us with the duty to control the winds and the waves of human upheaval. He has gifted us to depend upon His indwelling Spirit for self-control. The Spirit never, never makes us out of control. He grants self-control while the world spins wildly.
Self-control, is the Spirit of Christ.
Note fourth: Jesus’ absolute confidence in the Father’s providence, in the fulfillment of The Scriptures.
He knows full well the Father’s love, and the Father’s power. And He is content then to commit Himself to the Father’s sovereign providence.
Oh how every Christian needs to see this in our Savior, and cry out to the Father for the same faith to fill our hearts each and every day.
We too, in the very worst of all circumstances, if, IF, we are His by the new birth, can rest in the same perfect love of the Father, knowing His power to keep, sustain and move where wisest and best, and trust His sovereign, providential care.
Heavenly Father – fill me with the Spirit of Christ.
vs. 17: “But the midwives feared God and did not do as the king of Egypt commanded them, but let the male children live.”
No, America’s abortion laws are not mandatory as that in our text today was. I do not want to make an unfair comparison. Yet, there is a fundamental, abiding principle undergirding what was happening in Egypt, and what is happening today in America. This cannot be overlooked.
Let us be absolutely clear here, abortion and infanticide can only exist where there is no fear of God.
Let that sink in.
This is not a legal issue.
It is not a personal issue.
It is not a women’s rights issue.
It is not a political issue.
It is not a medical issue.
It is not even a bare moral issue – thought is touches on all of these areas.
At the bottom, at the very root, it is a spiritual issue. One Scripture simply casts as – godlessness.
Godlessness.
Not that all who support these horrific practices deny God exists. But in the reality that in fact, they do what they do before the face of God, with no fear that they will be judged for it by Him in due time.
There is no true fear of God.
Where there is no fear of God, no regard for the truth revealed in His Word regarding the sanctity of human life – expedience and personal preference rule; even behind the curtain of the law.
Abortion and infanticide can only be curbed and stopped when men and women fear God as their Creator, Lord and Judge: Irrespective of fluctuating cultural movements for or against.
We work and cry out for laws to prevent these, in spite of whether or not others share that view, so as to save the lives of the murdered, and to spare the staining of the hands of their murders with blood. We care for both.
But make no mistake – no fear of God is the real issue. One solved only through the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and the transforming power of His Spirit.
From Matthew 26:30-35 Keeping the Main thing the Main thing.
Jesus, has just established the New Covenant, and instituted His supper. He has washed His Disciple’s feet. He has prophesied Judas’ betrayal and taken the final steps before Gethsemane. Now, He tells them that ALL of them will fall away from Him – at least in some way – before the night is over. One wonders what they were thinking.
In response, Peter, so much like me, jumps to his own defense, if not that of them all. “Even if I must die with you” he says, “I will not deny you!”. The text says they all said the same thing.
It is easy to be brave in theory. Several times in my life I’ve heard preachers press upon people something like: “If someone were to walk in here right now and under threat of death demand you renounce Christ – what would you do?” This is said as though 1-They know what they themselves would do (are they better than Peter and the rest?); and, 2-That Joe average Christian is to be shamed if they find any such weakness in themselves, as though it is somehow unthinkable.
In an effort to either stir up or display some sort of false bravado, emphasis is placed upon people rather than upon Christ. Upon our goodness, our bravery, our fortitude, rather than upon His. But not so Jesus. At this moment, He does not take the time to berate the men He knows far better than they know themselves. Larger things are at hand.
So it is I find it fascinating that Jesus did not argue with the Disciples at this point. He could have pressed the issue. He could have said “listen to me, I am the Lord and I am telling you…” But He left it. It makes me wonder how often I feel the need to press my understanding home when others are so obviously wrong – at least to me? Jesus knew there were larger issues to address at this moment than to correct their errant self-understanding. And it is the greater part of wisdom to know when and how to press certain points home, and when to leave them.
At this point, Jesus needed to go to The Garden to pray. He needed to pour out His own heart to the Father. He needed to face His own human reluctance to go to the Cross. He needed the angels to come and strengthen Him. These were all far more pressing than being “right.”
Heavenly Father – help me to have the wisdom of Christ in my own interactions with others. To able to see what is most necessary at the moment, and what is not. Especially in seeing what I need in my own soul at the moment of debate, over what I perceive is the other’s “need” – when winning that argument would mean nothing in the long run. When it would not end in the other actually growing in grace. Help me to fix my own eyes on the Cross. To seek the greater cause at hand. To submit myself to you, more than seeking that others submit to my opinions, views, understanding or knowledge. To not be distracted from my own obedience, by trying to press others to take up theirs. Let me be more like Jesus. To remember the Kingdom will not suffer if I don’t win my point. For the Kingdom rests in the Cross, and not in me. There is only one Hill to die on, and that one is Calvary. Christ, has already died there. For me, and for them.
Over-realized eschatology. Ever heard of it? Maybe not, but you’ve probably been exposed to it at one time or another. In fact, it is the opposite extreme of another issue – that of under-realized eschatology. Let me try to unpack some of this VERY briefly – though both deserve much fuller treatments.
We get a picture of over-realized eschatology from several places in Scripture, but 2 will suffice for a quick grasp.
1 Cor. 4:8 “Already you have all you want! Already you have become rich! Without us you have become kings! And would that you did reign, so that we might share the rule with you!”
2 Tim. 2:16-18 “But avoid irreverent babble, for it will lead people into more and more ungodliness, and their talk will spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus, who have swerved from the truth, saying that the resurrection has already happened. They are upsetting the faith of some.”
The problem in both is readily apparent. In Corinth, some Believers (incited by the “super-apostles) were looking down on Paul’s trials as an indication he was not walking in the fullness of what God has given us in Christ.
The thought was simple – we’re already redeemed, we’re children of the King, we’re adopted into the family of God, and therefore, we ought to be living in carefree abundance and ease now. If we are not, there is something wrong with our spirituality. We’re not taking full advantage of the privileges which belong to us in this present age. Pain and trial and loss and need are things of the past to those in the Kingdom now. So the thinking goes.
Without casting stones, that sort of theological bent is easy to adopt when – like so many in the Corinthian church at the time – one is living in an outwardly prosperous circumstance. Corinth was wealthy, cosmopolitan, urbane. Isn’t there a direct connection between being Christ’s and earthly success and ease? Paul’s detractors thought so. And in essence, they were trying to live like the Kingdom had already come in its fullness, and that that translated into luxury, ease and wealth as a sure sign of God’s blessing.
We have the analog of this today in the so-called prosperity Gospel. We’re Christ’s now and so we’ve already tapped into Kingdom blessings (read – material wealth and worldly success).
Of course, that kind of theology doesn’t play very well for Believers in North Korea, Iran and other places, now or historically. Yes, the Kingdom has emerged into the world, but no, it is not here in its fullness yet. That awaits Christ’s return. And even then, the glory of the Kingdom is not earthly riches and ease – it is the manifested presence of King Jesus. Yes, the Kingdom is ALREADY here, to a degree, but NOT YET in a very large degree.
The second way this manifests itself today is in – if I may use this language – an un-healthy obsession with intimacy with Christ.
Do not get me wrong, living in a real, vital experiential union with Christ is central to genuine Christianity. But the danger is that we can get overly familiar with Him, and seek an intimacy with Him that will not be ours until the consummation of the ages.
Paul speaks of how – through the Gospel – he “betrothed” his hearers to Christ, to present them as a pure virgin to Him. And there are liberties and joys the “betrothed”, the engaged, are not to try and indulge in until after the marriage. We have not yet reached the “marriage supper of the Lamb.” That day is yet to come. There are intimacies with Him which is it unseemly for us to try and pursue now. We must rest with the fact there are longings of closeness with Him which will not be met until then. And those who are of a more sensual nature will try to “experience” God in Christ in ways that quite simply do not belong to us yet.
Jesus is neither our Buddy, nor our husband. Not yet. Grow to know Him more, but beware the draw of the mystical beyond proper bounds of the betrothed.
Our second text above points to an issue in the early church, which, due to some claiming the resurrection was already past, led some to teach and practice that fleshly sins just don’t matter any more. We’ve entered into the next age. Sin is all done away with. So what we do in our bodies doesn’t matter. We’re past the pale of being judged any more in any way and so we’re for all intents and purposes, sinless, no matter what we do.
This has been labeled by some as “hyper-grace”. But in the final analysis, it is a n outgrowth of over-realized eschatology. Grasping after what is not yet, and then twisting it into license to sin.
And it is deeply disturbing to see such a mindset making a new showing in the Evangelical Church in America even today. I’ve interacted with some proponents of it in just the recent past. Ultimately, it is just one more deluded false teaching to find a way to indulge the flesh without guilt – justifying sin.
This too, is an over-realized eschatology. And it brings shame on the name of Christ and the cause of the Gospel.
Now, all that said, there can be the problem of an under-realized eschatology too. But that is the subject for another day. Just as some can try to over-reach in the privileges of the Christian today, many too live far below the true privileges which are indeed ours in Christ – even in this age.
In both cases Beloved, we need to take the whole teaching of the Bible regarding where we are in God’s redemptive timeline now, and what is yet to come. For this, we cannot cherry pick certain verses and passages and try to squeeze the rest of Scripture through them – but become a “whole-Bible” people.
Balance, requires hearing all God has to say, and not formulating broad constructs based upon a few select passages. As John stated it under the inspiration of the Spirit so perfectly: “Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure.” 1 John 3:2-3.
Nothing seems sadder to me, than that the simplicity, beauty and profundity of Jesus’ institution of communion, should be the source of endless debates and division. Transubstantiation, Con-substantiation, mere memorial or remembrance, means of grace, etc., etc., etc.
All other discussions aside, nothing should more stimulate and make real to the heart and the mind of the Believer what Christ has done for us in respect to our sins – than this act together with others bought be grace, regenerated and indwelt by His Spirit.
Let us then in simple humility and inexpressible gratitude, partake – if we believe. And rest our souls in the finished work of the Cross. For only faith in His finished work satisfies, nourishes, refreshes, sustains and cheers the soul. He “loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.” (Rev. 1:5-6) Need we say more?
From John 11:39-44 – “Then Jesus, deeply moved again, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay against it. Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, “Lord, by this time there will be an odor, for he has been dead four days.” Jesus said to her, “Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?” So they took away the stone. And Jesus lifted up his eyes and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I said this on account of the people standing around, that they may believe that you sent me.” When he had said these things, he cried out with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out.” The man who had died came out, his hands and feet bound with linen strips, and his face wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.”
Three things we are commanded to do for those Christ is to raise up:
a. Remove the stone(s).
First, even before the day of resurrection, take away the stone(s). Clear the way. Remove any obstacles that men may encounter unnecessarily.
This is a profound need for both apologetics – where there are legitimate questions which need answered, AND the crying need for the Church to avoid placing obstacles in the way of those the Spirit is quickening by the voice of Christ.
Do not require them to be clean first.
Do not make them fit into a preconceived cultural framework.
Several years ago I had a conversation with a friend who evangelizes in predominately Muslim countries. When I asked him about the key “stone” he needs to clear away for those hearing the Gospel, it he told me that they feared they had to become Americans in order to be Christians. His BIG work was to disabuse them of that concept.
We need to help take away the objections their own fallen minds, the world and the enemy have placed in front of them as best we can.
And arrest all of their doubts by pointing exclusively to the Cross, to Christ! To faith in Him and His atoning work, and to nothing else.
We must labor to take away the stones.
And, we need to be sure not to put stones in front of them ourselves.
Don’t make them victims of Christian-speak.
Don’t connect their coming to Christ with a political point of view.
Don’t require anything of them Christ does not require.
I fear that right now in American Evangelicalism, we are making it seem (if not actually saying it) that one must be a Republican or a Trump supporter – or at the very least, a Biden/Democratic hater – in order to be a Christian.
God forgive us for such a conflation and for placing this monumental stumbling stone in front of the graves Christ is calling them out of.
b. Unbind, unwrap them.
People come to Christ with their old grave clothes still clinging to them. Some former sins still drag on them, and they need help getting extricated from them. They have the smell of death still on them.
They are bound in hand – for they do not yet know how to praise, nor how to work for the Lord. They are bound in their feet: How to walk with Him is still beyond them, even though they’ve taken the few feeble steps to exit the tomb. And their faces are wrapped in a cloth: They cannot yet see very well. The truth of God’s Word must be taught to them that they might truly know this Christ and His wonders.
c. Release them. Let them go.
Do not make them bound now to you – but make them free to follow Christ wherever He goes.
You did not raise them – Jesus did.
They do not belong to you, they belong to Him.
As long as they follow Him and serve Him and love Him, no matter that they leave you. Let them go.
Last evening, I had the privilege of speaking to 13 participants in the Pastoral Residents program hosted by Emanuel Community Church in Elmira NY. This is under the leadership of Matt and Mitch Bedzyk and the other elders at ECC.
My assignment was to spend time unpacking 2 Timothy 3. Others had already addressed the earlier chapters.
Below are the contents of my notes. I pray they may be of some use to others.
By this time, you’ve already been steeped in the material of 2 Tim. And hopefully, you’ve seen how important and informative it is for those in ministry.
Over the years, this letter has been my most cherished go-to when challenges, discouragement and and other “fainting fits” as Spurgeon called them – troubled me.
I could come back here to resharpen my focus, and get back to the grounding in what pastoral ministry is all about from God’s perspective, rather than models imposed upon me by the outside – by the Church gurus, growth experts and current trends.
What does God want me to be about in seeking to minister to men’s souls in the context of the local assembly?
Then, no matter what else may be happening, growth, decline, overwhelming cultural moments, trends, etc., I can make sure I have solid footing for maintaining and moving forward.
So in turning your attention to Paul’s 2nd letter, and to this 3rd chapter particularly, I am well aware I’m covering well trodden – tho still hallowed ground.
At the same time, I am reminded that one of the severest of the noetic effects of the Fall is how leaky our memories are when it comes to Spiritual and Biblical truth.
I once penned in the flyleaf of my Bible, that “it is in the aftermath of God’s manifested grace in a trial, that I craft a more accurate theology, which I promptly forget the next time I’m in trouble.”
Someone may have mentioned it already in this study, I am aware that some today argue that Timothy was not actually a pastor, but instead, an apostolic representative when this was written to him.
So be it.
But if the key directions we see here cannot be absolutely applied to those in pastoral ministry, then I am at a loss as to what instruction in the Scripture would be more finely useful than these powerful chapters.
That is not to say they do not have broader application to all in Christ – but in my estimation, they have a unique force of argument on pastors as we function as sheep leading other sheep.
As your handout shows, I once arranged a study of the whole letter around 20 imperatives contained in the text. Obviously, the list is not exhaustive. It grew out of times when I was questioning how I was to frame all of my pastoral ministry, and served as a useful organizing principle.
Perhaps you’ll find it so as well.
I might recommend for your own study, John R. W. Stott’s arrangement in his commentary “The Message of 2nd Timothy” as exceedingly useful:
Chapter 1: The charge to guard the gospel.
Chapter 2: The charge to suffer for the gospel.
Chapter 3: The charge to continue in the gospel.
Chapter 4: The charge to proclaim the gospel.
Tonight, even though chapter 3 neatly divides itself into two sections – 1-9 and 10-17, I am going to add a 3rd subsection.
In the process, hoping to point out some things which have stood out to me, and refreshed, clarified and reinforced my own soul in times when my pastoral focus grew fuzzy, my heart grew faint, and when putting out fires claimed more of my attention than bringing the light of God’s glory to bear for those under my care.
Section 1: Recognize the Times –2 Timothy 3:1–9 – Recognize the Times / “understand this” so you don’t get disheartened or discouraged.
The simple truth is, that in ministry, difficult, or “dangerous” times will come. They are to be expected.
I would imagine that most of you here agree that the “end times” began with Jesus crucifixion and ascension, and stretch until His return. At least that is my understanding of Matt. 24 and other places. So we should neither be surprised, nor disheartened by what is cataloged here.
What is the chief characteristic of these difficult times of concern to Paul?
The Economy? The Culture? Ecology? Geo-political upheaval? Politics Pandemics?
None of the above. PEOPLE! Perhaps, all of the above can be rolled into that one word – people.
When men are lovers of self – and especially affluent so as to indulge self – they will be proud & self-congratulatory at every turn – just watch the preoccupation with selfies;
arrogant – If you are at all active on social media, you know in reading the comments, that no one can possibly be wrong about, anything – especially political pundits. We arrogantly imagine we can discern everyone else’s motives.
abusive – the same word as slanderous below – but more likely toward God here, blasphemous and arrogant toward God. Judging Him.
disobedient to their parents and all authorities;
ungrateful because spoiled;
unholy because self is god;
heartless, more literally unfeeling – toward all who are not them;
impossible to make happy – utterly unappeasable if offended in any way; Hence the rise of the ubiquitous Kevins and Karens –
quick on the draw to slander anyone and everyone – especially behind the anonymity of a keyboard;
slanderous of others. They cannot just disagree, they must paint all others as evil.
utterly given over to their lusts and desires;
utterly brutal to any who oppose them – savage. Look at the rise in blood-sports and the proliferation of even Christians joining venues like mixed martial arts competitions. And note how many women are now engaged in that as well.
Look at the riotous responses to real or imagined social injustices.
having no natural affection for good – probably the public good is meant here;
treacherous – devoid of genuine loyalty;
reckless – impetuous, thoughtless, rash;
swollen with conceit – distorted by their own self-image;
seeing pleasure apart from any reference to God as the chief good above all other things;
(v19) And all this – even in people who proclaim themselves to be spiritual or even Christians – but utterly without the Spirit of God within them.
The $64,000 question is – what are we to do with such people who will in time bring trouble upon the Church?
And in short, Paul’s answer is – AVOID THEM!
Avoid them.
This is a favorite admonition of Paul’s in no less than 6 places: Rom.; 1 & 2 Tim.; Titus.
Do not spend hours and hours engaging them, avoid them.
I really would have expected some tactic to combat them. But no.
The chief tactics if any are – prayer and the preaching of the Gospel and thereby demonstrating that we do not have truck with those attitudes and traits.
Look at what Paul says in 8 – in citing the account of Jannes and Jambres – 2 Timothy 3:8–9 / “Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so these men also oppose the truth, men corrupted in mind and disqualified regarding the faith. But they will not get very far, for their folly will be plain to all, as was that of those two men.”
We glean 3 things from this –
1 – This is nothing new. As long as people are people, we’ll be facing this.
2 – These are not the traits of Christians, so do not align yourself with them in the Church. They are disqualified regarding the Faith. Right now, the rise of the pugnacious preacher is much in vogue. Don’t get sucked in.
3 – They won’t get very far. They will be exposed in due time.
Summarizing this portion might look something like this in 5 statements regarding those he’s referring to –
1 – Note Their CHARACTER: (1-5) 19 Traits – culminating in: “having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power = Void of the Spirit’s influence. The Last one: They are even Religious! Or “Spiritual” as many have it today.
Verse 13: calls them “Imposters”
2 – Note Their TACTICS:(6) 2 Insidious methods.
a. “Creep” Slyly, not openly. b. “Capture” Take captive, not deliver.
3 – Note Their PREY: (6-7) 4 Descriptive terms.
a. “Weak women” – Weak WILLED. His point is not that they are weak willed BECAUSE they are women, but merely that women who are weak-willed are easy prey.
b. “Burdened with sins”.
Either: Loaded with them and wanting relief, but not content with the Gospel – or: Loaded with them and wanting an excuse not to abandon them.
Either way – Looking for something other or more than – the Gospel.
c. “Led astray by various passions” Making decisions by feeling rather than truth. “Sensual” in Peter and Jude as well.
d. “Ever learning – never arriving”. The pursuit is the constant titillation of one new thing after another. No satisfaction – No constancy / Just like the Athenians of Acts 17:21.
This COULD be the source of the worst kind of discouragement:
“HOWEVER” – Paul lays out a powerful and clarifying portrait doesn’t he?
Keep these focii in mind – you know:
1 – What I believed and taught (doctrine – Biblical truth)
2 – Was the basis for how I lived (conduct)
3 – It informed my goal(s) (aim)
4 – Fueled my faith (faith)
5 – Gives me (patience)
6 – Gives me (love)
7 – Gives me (steadfastness)
8 – Even in persecutions and sufferings.
And we’re right back to something Paul has raised several times already – you’ve seen how I suffered.
6 times Paul brings up suffering in this connection, and we need to learn it well. Back in Ch. 2 he admonished Timothy to “share in suffering”. To not become soft.
And if you are anything like me, sometimes, we grow weary in our work even if we are not weary of it.
Spurgeon remarks: “a minister, wherever he is, is a minister, and should recollect that he is on duty. A policeman or a soldier may be off duty, but a minister never is. Even in our recreations we should still pursue the great object of our lives; for we are called to be diligent “in season and out of season.” There is no position in which we may be placed but the Lord may come with the question, “What doest thou here, Elijah?” and we ought to be able at once to answer, “I have something to do for thee even here, and I am trying to do it.” The bow, of course, must be at times unstrung, or else it will lose its elasticity; but there is no need to cut the string. I am speaking at this time of the minister in times of relaxation; and I say that even then he should conduct himself as the ambassador of God, and seize opportunities of doing good: this will not mar his rest, but sanctify it.” Spurgeon, C. H. Lectures to My Students: A Selection from Addresses Delivered to the Students of the Pastors’ College, Metropolitan Tabernacle. Passmore and Alabaster, 1875, pp. 181–82.
And just as it pertains to spiritual growth for all God’s children, that there is no such thing as stagnancy – it is like climbing up the down escalator; the moment we stop, we actually go backward – so it is especially for we in ministry.
I know you’ve already covered it, but let me remind of that section in Ch. 2 again.
Paul draws on 3 similes there.
vs. 3: “Share in suffering”: a. As a good soldier.
No solider is in the army by him or herself, we serve together. Both with fellow ministers, AND with our people.
So the unique word he uses here emphasizes suffering WITH others, not just suffering generically.
Not only is suffering to be expected, we need to remember that we do not suffer alone, nor do those we minister to.
And part of our suffering, is entering into the suffering of others, the way Jesus entered into ours.
Additionally, it takes much to remain a single-minded soldier, set on serving the commander and prosecuting His battle amid all the distractions that come our way.
But that’s the point.
Our people are fighting those battles too and must strive against the World, the Flesh and the Devil the same as us. And we, the same as them.
Being in ministry offers no exemptions. Just the opposite, it opens us up to even more.
I have a dear pastor friend (who shall remain nameless) – who in a moment of passive-aggressive weakness, frustrated with some in his congregation who didn’t show up at services regularly because too much of life got in the way – did the following.
He stepped into the pulpit, dressed in greasy work clothes and announced: “There will be no sermon today. This week our washer broke down, and I’m still waiting on the part to fix it; I needed to put new brakes on my wife’s car; we needed to take one of the kids to emergency when he fell off his bike – so you’ll just have to do without.”
Maybe you’ll be tempted to do something similar too. I know I have. Obviously I recommend this to no one.
I wonder what would have happened if he had stepped in the pulpit and commiserated with his people in that moment – told them he knows how they struggle because he struggles too, and comforted them with the comfort the Lord comforted him with in those difficult times?
Could he instead have pointed to the exhausted Jesus in Mark 4? That our great Redeemer knows just how whipped we can be at times?
And then turned their attention to the God of Ps. 121 who never sleeps nor slumbers and who will not break the bruised reed nor snuff out the faintly burning wick?
Are there times for rebuke? Sure.
But it is helpful to remember that we are ALL serving our commander, from the greatest to the least of us – and to suffer WITH one another – even as Christ in His incarnation suffered with us.
Of course, Paul’s solider metaphor is aimed at this ultimate point: If we are going to really serve well, we will have to willingly give up those extraneous things which might hinder us from single-mindedness.
The Enemy deploys one of his most potent weapons by means of simple distraction. Distraction especially from remembering that we are in a perpetual war.
Battle, nearly constant battle, is to be expected.
b. As an athlete.
The self-disciplined athlete Doesn’t just want to participate or run, he looks to win. He sets his mind wholly on it. Frames his entire life, including his personal habits around being ready to compete. He has a goal.
And here, the lack of ministerial metrics rises to the surface once more – We suffer with some ambiguity in measuring our ministries.
So our goals have to be clear. Goals I would advance as chiefly 2: Personal growth in the character and image of Christ and assisting others in the same.
It’s what I hear Paul alluding to when he says self-referentially later: He has kept the faith. Faithful to follow, faithful to press on.
c. As a hard working farmer.
The picture is of one who is hands-on in the dirt (if I can say it that way) but who also looks for a reward based upon what he grows – i.e. spiritual rewards for spiritual labors.
In all three there are these things:
Give up thoughts of “career” – Even in ministry
Give up thoughts of “civilian life” where you don’t have to be on the forefront of defending Scripture truth, being an apologist for Christ, pouring over Scripture, not worrying about having a great private life filled with recreations and lots of pass-times and fringes. Give yourself to this work.
This triad emerges:
The soldier battles the enemy – The Devil and his minions.
The athlete battles himself – The flesh.
The farmer battles the environment which threatens the crop. And he does so rigorously on every front.
Ministry is WAR!
And might I add one side note here in terms of a debate about whether or not as preachers, we should ever be self-referential in our sermons.
Without wading into those waters too deeply – I think one application of suffering together with our people is to let them know from time to time how it is we suffer too – not for sympathy’s sake – but so that we can more directly comfort them with the comfort wherewith we have been comforted. To let them know how He has met us in our sorrows and trials.
I am reminded of how Spurgeon closed one of his sermons: “I wish I could have spoken worthily on such a topic as this, but a dull, heavy headache sits upon me, and I feel that a thick gloom overshadows my words, out of which I look with longing, but cannot rise. For this I may well grieve, but nevertheless God the Holy Ghost can work the better through our weakness, and if you will try and preach the sermon to yourselves, my brethren, you will do it vastly better than I can; if you will meditate upon this text this afternoon, “Of him, through him, and to him are all things,” I am sure you will be led to fall on your knees with the apostle, and say, “To him be glory for ever;” and then you will rise up, and practically in your life, give him honour, putting the “Amen” to this doxology by your own individual service of your great and gracious Lord.” Spurgeon, C. H. “Laus Deo.” The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit Sermons, vol. 10, Passmore & Alabaster, 1864, p. 312.
Personally, I am stunned every time I read the account of Jesus in Gethsemane in Matt. 26:37-38 “And taking with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, he began to be sorrowful and troubled. Then he said to them, “My soul is very sorrowful, even to death; remain here, and watch with me.””
What self-disclosure! And from the very Son of God!
And yet we sometimes feel the need to put on a front that makes people think we are impervious to the same things they face. No, we do not want to set ourselves forward as shining examples as though we never flag or have some sort of spiritual superiority. Nor do we want to give the impression that we have become hopeless.
But rather, let them see how we personally and truly depend upon grace in our own lives, the way we ask them to.
Think of 2 Corinthians 1:8-11 “we do not want you to be unaware, brothers, of the affliction we experienced in Asia. For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead. He delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will deliver us again. You also must help us by prayer, so that many will give thanks on our behalf for the blessing granted us through the prayers of many.”
Paul personally wants them to be very aware of what he had faced. He did not fain invincibility.
Stott also advances that in today’s parlance, Timothy might well have been classified as an introvert.
Sharing that trait with Timothy, I also know how that leads me to flee confrontation, and at times even to cave into cowardice.
“Preachers are tempted to moral cowardice more almost than to any sin. Too many ministers, says Bernard, are “men pleasers, not the servants of Christ…he that fears his people’s faces is the man that is most likely to murder their souls.” Cook, Paul. “The Life and Work of a Minister according to the Puritans.” Puritan Papers: 1956–1959, edited by J. I. Packer, vol. 1, P&R Publishing, 2000, p. 185.
So I feel the prick of this particular admonition quite keenly, and have had to revisit this place at times when I have been quite tempted to shrink back from necessary confrontation.
All this given, it’s no wonder then that Paul immediately moves to calling us to really think these things over – AND, so quickly injects the next section:
You’ve known my –
a. Teaching / It was consistent, plain and always in accord w/extant Biblical truth.
b. Conduct / Public, not sneaking into houses – Synagogues, Mars Hill, Market Place, Public Prayer (Lydia)
c. Aim / Announced, never covert – anchored in The Great Commission – Remember him before Agrippa? Acts 26:29 “And Paul said, “Whether short or long, I would to God that not only you but also all who hear me this day might become such as I am—except for these chains.””
Even there he was clear about his aim.
d. Faith / Whom I believe – WHO it is I’ve trusted all along.
e. Patience / Forbearance w/others.
f. Love / How I consider my ministry to have been betrothing other to Christ and not myself – 2 Cor. 11:2.
g. Steadfastness / No deviation. I’ve stuck to the main things.
h. Persecutions / No compromise.
Remember how in Antioch – I was driven out by the Jews?
Then in Iconium – how I was driven out by the Jews & Gentiles together?
And then in Lystra – How I refused to be worshiped AND as a result was stoned?
i. Remember the example of my own endurance / How? No sinful response to any who mistreated me.
Paul has certainly served up a full plate of counsel thus far, but he’s not quite done yet.
The Holy Spirit does not just spin out maxims, platitudes and raw data. Our Great Shepherd Jesus, through His Spirit in Paul is ever about supporting us to the full.
So we move to our last 5 considerations in this text.
To me they are so encouraging and refreshing because they are so focused and concise.
These are the true metrics by which we can measure ourselves in ministry.
Are we faithful to our Master in these? Then we will be fulfilling our call no matter what anyone else may think.
And rightly we can look at this last portion as some keys to remaining faithful in the face of all.
1. Teaches us what we OUGHT to believe and live out.
2. It offers Reproof – telling us what we ought NOT to believe and not to live out.
3. It corrects us – Fixing what we believe WRONGLY and live out wrongly.
4. And all this so that we might live RIGHTEOUSLY. How it prepares us to meet our God.
SO:
1 – DON’T GET DISCOURAGED / Leadership needs to be aware that there will ALWAYS (until Christ comes) be such dangerous seasons.
They may come and go – but they will not cease to come and go.
2 – DON’T BE DECEIVED / Profession & Character must always go hand in hand.
No matter how righteous some may appear, if they do not teach rightly – do not regard them.
Isa. 8:20 “To the teaching and to the testimony! If they will not speak according to this word, it is because they have no dawn.”
And no matter how orthodox they may appear, if they do not walk in holiness, they have disqualified themselves from the faith. 2:8.
Christ came to save us FROM our sins, not to leave us IN them.
Where Christian character does not accompany a profession of faith – something is wrong: 2 Cor. 11:4 provides a wonderful 3 fold test of who we receive as teachers, leaders, etc.
A – Do they bring us the Jesus of Scripture? Son of David? Born of a Virgin Sinless? Crucified – Dead – Risen? Coming again? God in human flesh?
B – Do they come in the Spirit of Christ? Is the pursuit of the character of Christ evident both in how they live, and what they teach? He is not called the HOLY Spirit for nothing. It is His chief characteristic, and it is the chief characteristic of those under His influence.
C – Do they bring the Gospel of Christ? Grace alone, through faith alone, because of Christ alone?
3 – SO – DON’T GET DISTRACTED
Fighting and correcting these types will be a never ending temptation.
Stick to the Word.
Aim at betrothing men to Christ.
Help the Saints grow in grace – in Christ’s character.
Help men become Heavenly minded.
These are the AIMS of Scripture
DON’T GET DISCOURAGED
DON’T BE DECEIVED
DON’T GET DISTRACTED
This is what RETAINING THE ESSENTIALS does – They will keep us on solid ground
We might take a page from The history of the English Reformation in regard to Retaining the Essentials, while also maintaining a goodly breadth of fellowship with other men of God. From D. Martin Lloyd-Jones’ 1969 Lecture on the Puritans – The Puritans, Their Origins and Successors, pages 234-235.
“In 1654 Oliver Cromwell – with his idea of Toleration – and the Parliament called upon the divines to define what should be tolerated or indulged among those who profess the fundamentals of Christianity. If effect they said, we have all these division and sects and groups; what are the fundamental of Christianity on which we can have fellowship together? So a committee was set up and the members of the committee were these: Mr. Richard Baxter, Dr. John Owen, Dr. Thomas Goodwin, Dr. Cheynel, Mr. Marshall, Mr. Reyner, Mr. Nye, Mr. Sydrach Simpson, Mr. Vines, Mr. Manton, Mr. Jacomb. As I said earlier, Baxter tried to short-circuit the whole proposal at the beginning by saying that nothing was necessary but the Apostles’ Creed, the Lord’s Prayer, and the Commandments. But that was rejected. Then they proceeded to work, and they produced 16 Articles which they felt stated the fundamentals on which, and on which alone, true fellowship is possible between Protestant Evangelical people. Here they are –
1 – That the Holy Scripture is that rule of knowing God and living unto Him which whoso does not believe cannot be saved.
2 – That there is a God who is the Creator, Governor and Judge of the world, which is to be received by faith, and every other way of knowledge of Him is insufficient.
3 – That this God who is the blessed Creator is eternally distinct from all creatures in His Being and Blessedness.
4 – That this God is One in Three Persons or subsistences.
5 – That Jesus Christ is the only Mediator between God and Man without the knowledge of whom there is no salvation.
6 – That this Jesus Christ is the true God.
7 – That this Jesus Christ is also true man.
8 – That this Jesus Christ is God and Man in one Person.
9 – That this Jesus Christ is our Redeemer, who by paying a ransom and bearing our sins has made satisfaction for them.
10 – That this same Lord Jesus Christ is He that was Crucified at Jerusalem, and rose again and ascended into Heaven.
11 – That this same Jesus Christ being the only God and Man in One Person remains forever a distinct Person from all saints and angels notwithstanding their union and communion with Him.
12 – That all men by nature were dead in sins and trespasses, and no man can be saved unless he be born again, repent and believe.
13 – That we are justified and saved by grace and faith in Jesus Christ and not by works.
14 – That to continue in any known sin upon what pretence or principle soever is damnable.
15 – That God is to be worshipped according to His own will, and whosoever shall forsake and despise all the duties of His worship cannot be saved.
16 – That the dead shall rise, and that there is a day of judgement wherein all shall appear, some to go into everlasting life and some into everlasting condemnation.
”They were the 16 points. We have the authority of Richard Baxter for saying that it was Dr. John Owen who worded those Articles, that Dr. Reynolds was the scribe and that Mr. Marshall, a sober, worthy man did something, but the rest were little better than passive.”
”Now these Articles were designed and intended to exclude not only Deists, Socinians and Papists, but also Arians, Antinomians, Quakers and others. What I am asking is this: Cannot we accept those as fundamentals? Are those not sufficient? We remember, of course, that bishops, deans, etc., etc., had been abolished at hat time, and therefore did not need to be mentioned; and also that they did not have to contend with a ‘higher critical’ attitude to the Scriptures. They were agreed also in their attitude toward ‘tradition’, Their object was to define the irreducible minimum on which evangelical people could work together. We, today, need to elaborate some of these statements in view of our peculiar circumstances; but, still, I suggest, we should seek the minimum definition and not the maximum. Then, united on that basis, we can as brethren work together, and meet together for discussion of the matters on which we differ, and for our mutual edification.”
Section 1: Recognize the Times
Section 2: Remember My Example
Section 3: Retain the Essentials / “continue in what you have heard” – Don’t move from the Scriptures!
(Out of Spurgeon’s Devotional Bible, Based upon Deut. 33:25)
Afflicted saint, to Christ draw near Thy Savior’s gracious promise hear, His faithful Word declares to thee, That as thy days thy strength shall be.
Let not thy heart despond and say “How shall I stand the trying day?” He has engaged by firm decree, That as thy days thy strength shall be.
Thy faith is weak, thy foes are strong, And if the conflict should be long, The Lord will make the tempter flee, For as thy days thy strength shall be.
Should persecution rage and flame, Still trust in thy Redeemer’s Name; In fiery trials thou shalt see, That as thy days thy strength shall be.
When called to bear thy weighty cross, Or sore affliction, pain, or loss, Or deep distress or poverty, Still as thy days thy strength shall be.
ResponsiveReiding 