Harold? Our mission's focus for this past month of September 2022 has been my good friend Harold Smith’s ministry to pastorless churches and church less pastors. But if you look back at the title of this post the subject matter is not going to be men named Harold, but rather the task of proclaiming the gospel message. Now Harold is quite the preacher, but I want to focus this discussion on what preaching is and who should do it and where it should be done. What is Preaching? The Greek word that is translated as preach in the New Testament is ‘kerysso’ meaning to herald, proclaim, or publish. The idea is to make a message public. This does not mean that the proclamation must be a monologue, only that the publishing and proclamation of the message is disseminated to the public. This is interesting in light of our modern connection of preaching with the gospel ministry of those placed in the pastoral role. It would seem that in the Scripture the pastors were given the work of teaching the saints the doctrines of the Christian faith in the gathering of the church. IF (and this is probably an arguable ‘if’) the early church meetings were just for the believers and possibly some guests then those meetings would be best described as semi private. In this case the task of gospel proclamation would not be the Lord’s day work of the elders in the church meeting, but actually the task of the believers going out into the world to share the gospel with the lost people in the public places. This kind of proclamation was done with large groups such as when Peter and the Apostles proclaimed the gospel on the day of Pentecost in Acts 2 and as Paul does in the Areopagus in Athens in Acts 17. These are examples of the public proclamation of the Gospel by called and equipped men for the spreading of the message of Jesus Christ. However, gospel proclamation is also done in small groups and even with individuals. Take for example the case of Philip and the Ethiopian Eunuch in Acts 8 where Philip comes near to this individual in his chariot and shares the good news of the gospel with him from the Scriptures. This is an example of heralding the gospel, even though it was with an individual and conversational, not with a group and monological. Who should be preaching? I want to be clear that what I am arguing in this post is that the way the New Testament uses the word preaching is not the same as the teaching role taking place in the believers gatherings of the New Testament. However, since most of us have public meetings, then what we are doing in those meetings is rightly called preaching or proclamation because of the public nature of the meeting. However in the church meeting only Biblically qualified men should be allowed to proclaim the message because that is the clear instruction of Scripture in 1 Timothy 2:11-12 and 1 Corinthians 14:33-35. Clearly God has ordained distinctions in the roles of men and women in the church gathering. But what about beyond the church gathering? First, the example of the New Testament is for the men to do a kind of public proclamation that would bring about the physical persecution such as we saw with the Apostles. But it is not only the Apostles who preached the gospel openly but the other Christians did as well. Consider Stephen the deacon who was speaking the gospel message in Acts 6 and 7. Stephen is not an Apostle or a pastor and he is not standing behind a pulpit or in a Lord’s day gathering but is proclaiming the gospel to the lost in his context. However we do see women included in helping especially their husband in sharing the gospel with those as they have opportunity. Consider Priscilla and Aquila teaching Apollos a fuller understanding of the gospel in Acts 18. Also we know that women are uniquely equipped and gifted to nurture the hearts of children and share with other women the gracious good news of Jesus Christ! Ultimately, it is the task of all Christians having been equipped (Ephesians 4:11-14) through the ministry of the word in the church to take this message out into the world and to the lost and needy sinners. Where should the gospel be preached? I'm going to keep the answer to this last question short and simple. The gospel must be proclaimed anywhere and everywhere to anyone and everyone!
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Media So last week I mentioned I might go ahead and deal with the show The Chosen in this week’s blog. I want to say up front that I have not watched very much of the show. Most of my points will be about broader aspects of our media consumption than just this one show. But I did watch a few episodes of the first season when it came out and I will be responding to that portion. My final caveat will be that I watched those episodes about two years ago and so I could be fuzzy on some details. I also want to point out that believers ought to be producing the best art, music, and stories. This is because we know the creator and author of everything good, true and beautiful. The assumption that Christian content must be cheesy and pedantic should not be the reality especially in a free for all to play content culture like we have today. The Second Commandment The first issue I must take with this show is simply that there is a depiction of Jesus. Of course this depends on your view of what constitutes breaking the second commandment. In Exodus 20:4-6, God commands His people not to make any image to be worshiped. Of course no one is claiming that the show is supposed to be worshiped, but Jesus should be worshiped and He is the one being portrayed in the show. I don’t want to bind anyone else’s conscience if you are not compelled by this point, however, I want to make clear that we should consider the fact that the Bible seems to work hard to not tell us anything about what Jesus looked like. I think if God had wanted us to depict Jesus in any form of art it is reasonable to think that we would have been given some instruction as to what He looked like. This point goes far beyond just The Chosen, because many movies, films, and other artistic portrayals have been made even with the best of evangelistic intentions. This seems at best an area where we should be careful to not flaunt Christian freedom to the point of rebellious antinomianism. Artistic License The second and for me far more concerning issue that I have with this show is the use of artistic license. We should never put words in the mouth of God that He has not said. Scripture is the only place that we have the revelation of God. To claim any kind of extra biblical revelation is to claim the very authority of God on those words and so if they are not from God those words are false prophecy and desire execution. I’m sure that the writers and producers of the show would point out that they are not claiming their artistic dialogue or scenes are revelation. However, they are still proposing these scenes and words as if they are a part of the revelation of God. I have heard many people say that the show helps the Bible come alive or that it makes it more real. But what is being made more real for you? The truth in Scripture or the made up musings of the creators and writers? Another problem is that this is not good for the non bible reader because they are not going to know where the truth ends and the artistic license begins. What I am saying is that if you are a well versed enough student of the Scriptures to dissect the truth from the additions then you probably don’t need this media. On the other hand, if someone needs this show to get them into the Bible then they are probably in great danger of being misled by the additional content not found in the Bible. The Scripture doesn’t deal kindly with additions or subtractions. (Deuteronomy 12:32; Revelation 22:18) The Creators Finally, while the audience for the Chosen is probably the widest part of evangelicalism the creators are a mixture of evangelicals, Orthodocs Jews, and Mormons. This is far beyond the kind of denominational partnerships that we might have to share the gospel with our Bible believing Christians. This is partnering with those who believe in a different God, a different gospel and a different Jesus to supposedly tell the story of Jesus! This kind of ecumenism seems neither safe nor wise in regards to Biblical fidelity or gospel clarity. Before you watch another episode of the Chosen, hear what the creators themselves have said here and here. In this post it is not my desire to make law or bind the conscience of other Christians, only to think faithfully and Biblically about these important issues. Soli Deo Gloria! Not that Chosen You may have seen the title of this blog and thought I was going to write about the show “The Chosen” but that is not the focus of this post. (Maybe next week!) Rather I am going to talk about what can be an even more controversial issue: the doctrine of election! I believe that this doctrine is only controversial because it is so offensive to human pride. It is also because, as fallen creatures, we often have a view of God and His character that is formed more by our own finite basis than by fidelity to the revelation of God in the Scriptures! Chosen in the Old Testament God’s people have always been a chosen people. In the Old Covenant, God’s chosen people were the physical descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob even though God did graciously save gentiles who were saved in the covenant chosen people. People such as Rahab and Ruth are examples of gentiles who were chosen by God and providentially brought into God’s covenant people. These women were chosen individually out of all the other Gentiles, but they were also corporately included in the covenant people of Israel. It is important that we realize that from Adam forward the only true people of God have been believers. No one, whether of Hebrew or Gentile descent, has been saved apart from the sacrifice of Christ on the cross. Even under the Old Covenant, the redeemed people were the believers. Chosen in Christ In the New Covenant, God’s people are also chosen but no longer is the identification made with Israel, but with Christ. Not all those of Hebrew descent are the true Israel (Romans 9:6-7). The true Israel is the true Son, Jesus. Most people want to place God’s election in a passive state and man’s free will in the active state as definitive in the individual's conversion and regeneration. However, passive election would not be election at all. God is the active elector. Men are bound in sin and are thus free only to do what is dictated by our own sinful state until we are rescued and set free by God’s grace. The argument that I want to make today is that election is the only way for anyone to be saved. Sovereign election is the only way for the new covenant to actually work and genuinely save anyone. This is because the new covenant is not a simple offer of salvation, but rather the accomplishment of salvation for all the elect. The New Covenant has already been established and is in effect. For a covenant to be entered synergistically that covenant must be ratified and placed in effect after the mutually sovereign parties have both agreed and consented to the arrangement. But the covenant whereby fallen sinners are regenerated and redeemed by grace alone through faith alone was conceived before the foundation of the world (Ephesians 1:4) and promised immediately after the fallen in the judgment upon the serpent (Genesis 3:15) and again to Abraham when he was called to follow God’s promise away from his family and homeland (Genesis 12:1-3). Oftentimes people will argue that the use of election in the Scripture is referring to corporate election. This means that the election was of Israel in the Old Testament and Christ in the New Testament so anyone who does what is necessary to belong to those groups is included because God chose the group, not the individuals making up the group. But corporate election depends on the election of individuals, because God is not only sovereign over the ends and results, but also He providentially reigns over the means by which all things happen. Of course, God chose Israel in the Old Covenant and Christ in the New Covenant but in choosing them He sovereignly also chose those who make up those groups. In the passage already referred to above in Ephesians 1, Paul states that God chose us in Christ! Meaning that God chose us as the individual believers who would be in Christ and therefore receive the benefits of union with Christ. This election is consistent with the command upon all men to repent and believe this good news that God saves everyone who calls on the name of the Lord (Romans 10:13). Enjoy The catechism question states that the chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. Enjoy! We are designed to enjoy God. We are by nature pleasure seekers and by sinful nature, sinful in the seeking of pleasure. Our souls are never satisfied with just existing we must be enjoying. All around us we see the effects of this dissatisfaction in the pain and problems found in many of our most pressing social ills. Why is there a drug problem, a divorce problem, a gender confusion problem or almost any other problem you can imagine? It is because we must be satisfied! Worship In Psalm 103, David begins by calling us to worship God. He says “Bless the LORD, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless His holy name!” Now I am sure that we have all read and sung these words many times but David is going somewhere with this call to worship. We are told that we should, while worshiping, not forget all His benefits. Among these benefits are forgiveness of sins, healing of diseases, redemption from the pit, crowns of steadfast love and mercy, AND satisfaction with good so that your youth is renewed. This last point is the one I would like to focus on. As we battle against sin and the devastating effects of sin in the world it is easy to begin to get discouraged. Sometimes it is possible while trying to practice both practically and spiritually the ‘right’ things but still not be able to experience the growth and victory over sin that we would like. At the risk of sounding “Piper-esc,” David tells us that we are to remember that Yahweh satisfies us. In our struggle against sin it is satisfaction that is what we are seeking. We are seeking to satisfy our design to enjoy something, and David is saying enjoy God. Remember He satisfies! The Fountain of Youth What is also remarkable is that this satisfaction brings renewal and even youth. For ages people have been seeking the fountain of youth and our culture seeks every way possible to monetize this pursuit. We can probably all think of examples of people, probably middle aged men (and some women), doing absolutely ridiculous things to try to recapture their youth but here David has the answer! Worship! That’s it, worship God! Bless the LORD, O my soul! This actually does two things for us. First worship gives a weapon with which to fight sin. In Ephesians 6, Paul tells us that we have the sword of the Spirit which is the word of truth. This offensive weapon can be and should be used to kill sin. But how? How do we wield this mighty weapon? Is there a class somewhere on Bible fencing? One way to use the sword is to take the word of God and direct it to Him in praise and adoration. Use the very words of this Psalm and begin even now to praise His name. With all that is in you bless His holy name! Just as David does in this psalm remember the great things that God has done and preach the gospel to yourself from all of scripture as you glorify God. This leads into the second thing that this worship does for us. It gives us a final and sufficient end to our quest for satisfaction. God is perfect and everything He does is perfect and so this is the way to perfect satisfaction. The problem with all the imitation ways of satisfying our souls is that they do not work. They may appear to work for a little while, but they do not keep working. But when we begin to find our satisfaction in the One whom we were designed to be satisfied with then we are finally and fully satisfied with enjoying Him forever. David goes on in the Psalm to lay out the bigness of God, the lowliness of man, the greatness of divine love and the precious hope for God’s people. In verse 20, he writes “Bless the LORD, O you his angels, you mighty ones who do His word, obeying the voice of His word!” Defeating sin is hard and the fight for joy is a real fight but the way to fight is to worship. Pitying yourself over your deplorable condition and wallowing in your sins will never give you success in destroying the sin in your own self or the temptations of your great enemy. Rather turn from your sin and worship the true King who loves you! Seeking What do you want? That is a pretty simple question but it is also an extremely profound one. Often we are convinced that there must be divergence between what we want and what we need or should want. Of course, that could be the case, but maybe the issue is that we are looking for the right thing in the wrong way or place. Kind of like the old country song, we are looking for love in all the wrong places. My point is that our problem might not be in our appetite, but in the food we are using to satisfy it. As a matter of fact, food is probably a good analogy for this because often when we are craving unhealthy foods it is actually something in those foods that we truly do need that is amplifying that craving. So we need to pay close attention to what we are after. The problem with many pursuits is that we might succeed. Like a dog chasing a car the real trouble starts when we catch it. Desire Desire is at the heart of what drives us in life. In many ways discipline and maturity are simply about using our desires to serve us rather than us serving them. When we are ignorant or immature we will be driven around by our desires and tossed around by every new idea (Ephesians 4:14). In this state, our desires may not even be wrong but they are in the wrong place. Desire is a motivator not a director and when we get the fire of desire in the wrong seat we have trouble. However, desire can also be a blessing when it is in the proper role of motivation. Paul speaks of his desire for the salvation of Israel as not only motivating his evangelisitc efforts toward them (Romans 10:1) but also his apostolic enterprise among the gentiles (Romans 11:13-14). Also, remember that Paul refers to the desire or aspiration to become an overseer (pastor) as a good thing (1 Timothy 3:1). Even more powerful is that God desires the salvation of sinners (1 Timothy 2:3-4). Clearly the distinction between righteous desires and sinful ones is two fold. First, is the thing desired good or evil and second, are we seeking the good thing in a godly manner? Contentment Ultimately, we all want to be content. Contentment does not mean complacent or without goals, hopes or dreams but it does mean satisfied. This satisfaction is grounded in our trust in God’s sovereign will. If we genuinely trust God’s purpose is right then we can be satisfied with where we are and where we are going even without the full itinerary. Also at the root of this contentment is our grateful reception of God’s good gifts. If we are constantly comparing what God has given others to what we have or experience then we will be overcome by greed and envy. Instead, believers should always trust that God’s gifts are ideal for us as we are where we are (James 1:17). As we trust in both God’s purpose and gifts we can know as believers that His providential provision is not only enough but far more than just enough in Christ Jesus our Lord (Philippians 4:10-13)! |
AuthorEddie Ragsdale Archives
May 2024
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