 1776-2025
Wow! Today we celebrate the 249th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. I have heard that it was actually signed on July 2nd, but what’s a couple of days over two and a half centuries? The fathers of our country were not grieved because the crown was not providing for the privileges they felt that they deserved as loyal subjects but rather they were seeking liberty from the yoke of taxation prohibiting them from striving to build their own prosperity. I am afraid that today we have confused these categories of rights and privileges. The consequences of this kind of amnesia are that we think that we have a right to have things that in reality we only have the right to pursue those things. But I am getting away from the point I want to make in this post. In a similar way, we as believers can misunderstand the freedom we have in Christ because we have forgotten the purpose of God to make us holy like Jesus. Anarchy Today, we exist in an increasingly individualistic and selfish society. This reality means that we tend to understand freedom as being able to do whatever we want. However as we consider the ways that Jesus and the apostles taught about growth in Christ, two things seem clear. One is that in Christ we should advance in maturity (Colossians 1:24-29). Anarchy is not a mark of maturity, but rather a mark of reckless and childish behavior. Secondly, as our lives exhibit more and more of the fruit of the Holy Spirit, we should produce an increasing sense of self control. But, again self control is not in effect when we are simply following our simplest desires (Galatians 5:22-23). So freedom is not simply being unrestrained as we fulfill all our own lusts and appetites. Rather, through Christ we are free to live for Jesus! Freedom From In Paul’s letter to the Galatian churches, he uses the two sons of Abraham, Ishmael with his mother Hagar, and Isaac with his mother Sarah, to show that the believer in Christ is free of the slavery to law which could only bring condemnation on those under that arrangement (Galatians 4:18-31). We must remember that the law was good because it precisely revealed God’s righteousness to His people (Romans 3:19-31). Yet, as a means to restore humanity to the right relationship with God, the law fails because even under that old covenant the blood of bulls and goats did not actually cleanse from sin but actually only stood as a sign pointing to the true sacrificial lamb who would take away the sin of the world (Hebrews 10:1-22). Paul states that believers are not children of the slave woman destined to be cast out and alienated from God but rather we are children of the free woman and receive the blessing of the promised child. The true promised child prefigured by Isaac was Jesus who fulfilled the law and received the promises so that if we are in Him we are no longer under that burden of slavery. Freedom To But Paul tells us that it is for freedom that Christ has set us free! What does that mean? I think Paul means that we are set free from the law as a means of justification and righteousness so that we can walk by the Spirit as a means to holiness. Jesus has set us free from the penalties and requirements that we could not meet but He has also given us His Spirit so that we can obey Him through the work of the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5). The way of Christ is not a list of commands or rituals to be checked off a list but rather a way of being and living which is in accord with His Spirit and His will. This kind of fruitful holiness is not a burden but a blessing which abounds not only for us but for everyone around us. Have a blessed and happy 4th of July and especially rejoice in your freedom in Christ!
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 CCM
Parables are stories meant to teach a specific moral point. Jesus often utilized parables to teach by sharing stories that did not really happen but made the point. However, sometimes real stories and events can also be used to convey a moral message, just like a fictitious story. Over the last 60 years with the Christian culture of the western world and especially America, Contemporary Christian music has become a source for many believers of positivity, encouragement, and entertainment. But along with those good things have also come scandals, crises, and apostasies. My point in this post is not to throw the baby out with the bathwater but rather to think through how to guard our own hearts from the dangers of celebrity/ influencer culture. The music is not really the point. This post probably could be about the Christian film industry or celebrity pastor culture. But we must be on guard against being swept up in a fad, trend, or movement instead of following Christ our faithful shepherd! Down with the DC Talk In 1990, DC Talk released their second album “Nu Thang” which included the track “Down with the DC Talk”. The song was referencing that the group was breaking with the secular cultures rude and vulgar language in favor of decent christian talk. Many of the songs that the group released over the years dealt with the themes about being on guard against the temptations of fame and wealth as well as the need to strive for holiness through Christ. Some of their songs seemed to almost be a plea to their fellow musicians to flee the temptations to sell out to the mainstream but softening their boldness for Christ. Alas, over the thirty years since DC Talk’s most famous album “Jesus Freak” was released this band themselves have become a parable about everything that they had decried and warned against during those early years of zeal and faithfulness. In this post I want to just take note of where the three members of the group are today and the warning that this should be for all of us to flee presumptuous sins (Psalm 19:12-14) and heed the instruction of Scripture about our own susceptibility to slip and fall (1 Corinthians 10:12-13). Kevin Max Anyone who has listened to much of the DC Talk collection of material will easily remember the unique and powerful voice of Kevin Max Smith. After DC Talk, Kevin went on to have a successful solo career and was lead singer for Audio Adrenaline for a few years (2012-2014). However, according to his own confession his faith has evolved even to the point that he considers himself “exvangelical” and affirms a concept of a “Universal Christ.” My point is not to throw stones at Kevin Max or claim that I have the information or understanding of his life to assess the validity of his relationship to Christ, but his trajectory has not been one of biblical or theological faithfulness. Michael Tait Michael Tait has been the longtime lead singer of the decades old band the “Newsboys”. Most younger listeners probably associate him more with the Newsboys than DC Talk if they even know about DC Talk. Until recently most fans and average listeners would have probably considered him to be the model of a person who has remained relevant and in the spotlight of the CCM culture for decades with any scandal or controversy. However, in the last several weeks startling and sinful reports have come out against him leading to major distribution companies deplatforming his music. Of course, what is true or what is alleged may be difficult to discern but evidence seems to show that Tait was leading a long term double life. To my knowledge Michael Tait did confess and repent on instagram of these sins and so we should all hope for the fruit of true repentance and the transforming power of the gospel. But the lessons about the dangers of fame and fortune are still clear for the wise to heed. Toby Mac I chose to consider TobyMac at the end because thanks be to God, he has largely remained faithful amidst an exceptionally successful career. But his life has not been without its great struggles either. In 2019 he lost his 21 year old son. This kind of hardship and tragedy is not unique to fame and fortune and does not itself carry the same kind of warning as the early accounts about Tait and Max. Yet this does remind us that fame and fortune do not protect us against the struggles and hardships that are common to the human condition. Jesus Freaks The point I am calling us to understand is that it is fine for us to have singers or bands or podcasts or speakers or blogs or influencers or actors, that we prefer but we must remember that as Christians we must evaluate everything according to the standard of the Scripture and remember that our full allegiance must be given to Jesus Christ alone. Those who follow Jesus unashamed and unreserved are the true Jesus Freaks!  VBS!
This has been VBS week at MFBC! All week long, we have been considering the implication of David’s prayer in the 23rd Psalm. The King cries out that the Sovereign LORD is his shepherd. David then extols the many ways that God leads, protects, provides, encourages, and comforts those who are His sheep! David is the ultimate authority in Israel but he knows that he is still under the powerful, merciful, and gracious hand of God. The New Testament teachers including the Lord Jesus Himself also take up this analogy of the sheep and the shepherd to help us in the new covenant understand the relationship of guidance, care, and compassion that we have with our King Jesus Christ! MY Shepherd First, let’s remember that David understood that his relationship to God was essentially a personal relationship. Of course covenant relationship to God in both the old and new testaments does deal with the corporate body, but we are in that body by virtue of the individual, personal relationship we have to God. In the Old covenant the corporate body was the ethnic, political, ceremonial kingdom of Israel. However, only those who genuinely believed God’s words and trusted His promises were surely His people. In the new covenant, the corporate body is the church and only those who have personal faith in Jesus as the promised king, Lord, and Messiah are included in that church. David uses the possessive pronoun my to convey his connection to Yahweh as his shepherd. However, when David uses the possessive in relationship to God as shepherd the nature of this analogy is that David is the one who is owned by God (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). David is clearly showing that the Lord is the superior in the relationship and he is one needing the privileges and protections of his shepherd. Even this first verse of the Psalm, ends with David’s assurance that his relationship to God is perfect and complete because of the confidence he has in the Lord. He states that he shall not want. David’s point is that God will provide everything he needs so that he may have peace with God forever! Good Shepherd In the New Testament, Jesus also explains the relationship between Yahweh and His people with the language of sheep and shepherd (John 10). But it is clear that Jesus is putting Himself in the place of the shepherd which is a clear claim to be Yahweh in the flesh. It is so clear that the Jews pick up rocks to stone Him for what they perceive to be blasphemy. In this place, Jesus uses the analogy in at least two ways. First, Jesus expresses the intimacy of the relationship that God has with His people. Sheep, Jesus says, know the voice of their shepherd and they will not follow the voice of a stranger. In fact, the sheep will actually flee from the stranger's voice. One of the ways that we can evaluate our relationship with God is by considering the voice that we follow. If we are continually turning aside after the siren call of the lost world that would be in direct contradiction of what Jesus is teaching us in John 10. On the other hand, if we are growing not only in our understanding and knowledge of the words of Jesus but also in obedience to those words this would be strong evidence that our faith is profitable and active (James 2:14-26). We also must remember that through the Apostles we are instructed that we are to flee from our adversary and his wicked lies, just like the sheep flee from the stranger’s voice (James 4:7-10). The second way that Jesus points out that He is the good Shepherd is through the example of His sacrifice. A hireling, one who doesn’t care personally about the sheep, will abandon them when it becomes difficult or dangerous but the true shepherd will lay down His life for the sheep. In Jesus' sacrifice on the cross He was being the great shepherd of the sheep and the perfect lamb that takes away the sin of the world (John 1:28-31). Chief Shepherd Finally, when the Apostle Peter is giving instructions in his first letter to pastors about how to lead well the people of God and to the church also how to submit and follow godly leadership, he acknowledges that Jesus will appear and uses the title chief shepherd (1 Peter 5:1-7). As pastors we cannot have the mindset of a hireling because the flock of God that is among us are our brothers and sisters. If a man is not willing to suffer hardship, pain, and loss he should not become a pastor or teacher of God’s people. But none of us will ever be able to love and sacrifice to the level of our Chief shepherd who by His own blood has purchased us and given us eternal life (Hebrews 9:11-14). Jesus is my shepherd. Jesus is the Good shepherd. Jesus is the Chief shepherd. The question for you is: Are you a sheep? And will you follow Jesus?  Influence
The true currency of our day is not information but rather influence. We have all heard over the last twenty years the label “information revolution” to refer to this era when digital technologies have advanced our scientific understanding, technological capabilities, and complex communications. But I think the real advancement is less about real or sure information and more about connection and influence. Today, “influencer” is a legitimate career aspiration. But as these technologies have made it possible for more people to be known and impacted by more people, many of us have become captivated by a sense that we must grow our audience or our platform. For some, it is simply to reap the financial benefit of a large following. For others, it is to feel the psychological and emotional encouragement found in this kind of fame and glory. Still for others, this stems from a desire to maximize all efforts to accomplish their personal mission. Even as believers it can be tempting to think that to promote the growth of the kingdom or the advancement of the gospel we must expand our personal impact for the purpose of bringing more people to Jesus, which we should all agree is a laudable goal. But the Lord is able to manage both the breadth and depth of the impact of our lives when we focus simply on remaining faithful to His will. In this post, I want to consider the advantages of not having a large platform or audience, and how in God’s economy faithfulness is greater than fame. Wilderness Are you at a point in your life where you do not believe that you are impacting many people or experiencing great adventures or even advancing in your life goals? Now, that sentence may sound like the beginning of a slick or sleazy sales pitch on a late night infomercial but the point is that we may not know what the purpose of God is for the current season of life which we are in. Moses spent forty years in the wilderness; this was a necessary time in at least two ways (Exodus 2:11-25). First, Moses was maturing and learning to be a leader while tending his father in law’s herds and flocks. This experience was surely useful for him when he was later leading the sheep of Israel through 40 more years in the wilderness. Second, the Lord was also preparing Egypt for the exodus. The Pharaoh that Moses had fled from was now dead. This, of course, did not mean that now Pharaoh would be willing to release the people of Israel, but rather that God had prepared the political state to show His great power and glory. Finally, the people of Israel were being made ready through their suffering under the harsh slavery of Egypt. They were now crying out to God for the salvation only He could give. Ultimately, this was all happening by the Lord’s providence to perfectly fulfill His promise to Abraham (Genesis 15:13-15). The Lord Jesus also spent His time of forty days in the obscurity of the wilderness undergoing the temptation of Satan before He began His public ministry. Again, those were important days to the plan of God and the fulfillment of Jesus' purpose to do the will of the Father and save believers from their sins (Luke 4:1-14). Even the Apostle Paul was relegated to obscurity for a time in Arabia before His mission to bring the gospel to the gentiles was inaugurated. In Paul’s letter to the Galatian churches he notes this time in Arabia. It is not clear from the text but duration seems to have been between one to three years. My point is that we see a pattern in God using what could be considered times of obscurity for the benefit of His great purpose and plan. Small Things The other encouragement that I would like to leave with you is that we must not be negligent in the small things. In Jesus’ famous parable about the good and faithful servants each one is commended for being faithful in the small things (Matthew 25:14-30). This commendation came in the form of great blessing in the consummated kingdom. Likewise, even if we spend our lives in relative obscurity managing a small investment we should also know that the Lord weighs out not the result of the obedient faithfulness that we exhibit so that we may receive His blessing on the last days. I must also include that the outcome was very bad for the servant who neglected out of fear and laziness to engage in the business commanded by his master. He seems to have perceived the small investment as too insignificant to be worth the danger of investment but that safety first strategy received the just reward of his failure and incompetence. Again, the point was never about the gain or loss but the faithful obedience. So let us seek to honor the Lord even in obscurity because faithfulness is greater than fame and godliness greater than worldly glory!  Church Clothes
What is your look? By look, I mean what is the style of appearance that you present to the world around you. I suppose this could be broken down in a couple of ways. First, this could refer to the look that we desire to have. For example, someone may want to be skinnier or more muscular or appear older or younger. People in our culture go to great expense and effort to cultivate their desired look. Another way to consider the original question is to think about how we actually look. This refers to the things that are not under our control but do show in our appearance. I think that most of us have a desired look and we use various external factors: diet, exercise, clothing, and even more to make our real look conform to our desired look. My point is that we are trying to cover up some things about ourselves and present only what we want others to see. Just like we do with our outward appearance, we often do this with other parts of our lives. We may attempt to hide our failures and sins so that we will not carry the shame of those moments. The problem with this is that shame and guilt will only intensify as we struggle to maintain the facade of propriety and perfection instead of receiving the relief that comes through confession, repentance, and obedience (Numbers 32:20-23). Love Covers a Multitude of Sins But what if instead of trying to hide the less presentable aspects of our own lives we used our ability to present the best possible version of reality to cover the failures of other people. What if instead of giving ourselves the assumption of innocence and good intention we assumed until proven otherwise that other people, especially our brothers and sisters in Christ, have the best of intentions in their actions and the purest motivations. I believe that if we desire to enjoy the peace, unity, and harmony that is available for us in Christ it must come from the fruit of the Spirit displayed in our lives through this kind of humble preference given to our fellow believers who we know are of the same Spirit that we are (Galatians 5:22-26). The Apostle Peter tells us that “above all” we should prioritize loving one another because “love covers a multitude of sins”(1 Peter 4:7-9). But how does love cover sins? In the rest of this post, I would like to consider three ways that the love that we have received from God can help us to cover the sins of others, especially our beloved brethren. The first way that love covers sin and sins is that this kind of love proceeds from the humility given to us by Christ. This humility that was modeled for us by Christ causes us “to count others more significant than” ourselves. When we do this the normal priority that we would give to our own preferences and opinions is dissipated and our consideration for the interests of others is increased. This is not a tactic to manipulate the situation to fulfill our own interests but a true desire to seek the good of one another. The second biblical way that love covers sin is through something that love does not do. The Apostle Paul tells us that love “does not insist on its own way” and “does not rejoice in wrongdoing” (1 Corinthians 13:4-7). Paul’s point is that love does not cause us to track the sins of other believers so as to punish them for those failures. The New International Version translates it as “keeps no record of wrongs.” Of course there is a proper place for us to call brothers and sisters to repentance of willful and unrepentant sin but if possible we ought to extend grace promiscuously (Matthew 18:15-22). We also must remember that this is exactly how God has dealt with our sin. King David proclaimed that because of God’s love for those who fear Him, He has removed our sin as far as the east is from the west (Psalm 103:10-14). We must understand that this is not some unattainable level of Christian maturity but rather the normal process of spiritual maturity among those who are growing in grace together in Christ Jesus. Finally, love for Jesus causes us to seek the blessing and beautification of His body and bride over our own personal motivations. This means that it is not only the love that we do surely have for one another individually but also the love that we have for the corporate body. Jesus is the perfect husband and He loves His bride some much that He died to save her. Jesus loves me, this I know, is true because the Bible tells me that Jesus loves His church of which I am apart (Ephesians 5:25-32).  Current Events
Our modern information age is marked by the 24 hour news cycle and the seemingly infinite barrage of hot takes uploaded and posted to the proliferating plethora of social media platforms. It is difficult to keep up with all the messages, and it is hard to distinguish which things are most important. This matters because so much of our time, energy, and emotional investment can become wasted on those things that do not affect us, can’t be affected by us, or are none of our business anyway. One of the ways that we can be influenced is by the particular information that we do or do not see come across our feeds. The algorithm is of course trying to keep us engaged and to that end is curating the messages, posts, and videos that we see. This means that we are getting a skewed perception of reality. In truth our perception is always limited to the information and understanding that we have and is subject to inaccuracy and manipulation. We must be humble and vigilant against assuming our own conclusion or falsely attributing malicious motives to others. I like to call this having a healthy self suspension which does not forget my own frailty and flaws. I mention these things because in this post I want to examine a couple of trends that I think I am seeing in the larger church culture, at least the American church culture. However, I want to stress that these trends are more drawn for my anecdotal perspective than from any specific scientific or demographic data. Homeostasis One definition of this term is that “Homeostasis is the process by which a living organism maintains a stable internal environment despite external changes.” This basically can be simplified and applied by saying that not only living organisms but organizations, government and other social structures tend to have at least a phase of their existence when the goal is to maintain stability. When this is applied to social or cultural structures this is the phase when one would expect traditions and practices to be developed and solidified into the culture for the maintenance or governance of the group or organization. This phase in most organizations or organisms is the middle life of the entity. In the beginning time span the focus is on growth and development. There is a great need for change and flexibility as obedience, conformity, and maturity are learned and applied. Later toward the end of the existence of the entity there will be decline that cannot be avoided by focusing on either growth or stability. But I would like to point two trends in the American church and culture today that are not a part of maintaining the homeostasis and ask you to determine for yourself if these trends are accurate and whether they point to growth or decline. High Church The first trend is that there seems to be a growing interest in what has historically been called “high church” groups. By high church I simply mean those groups who, regardless of their theological positions, are marked by more formality and have a more rigid structure to their services and governing systems. Some examples would be the Roman Catholic church, Eastern/ Greek Orthodox, Anglican/ Episcopalian, as well as most Lutherians and Presbyterians. Lately there seem to be many who are expressing interest in these forms of religious observance especially in Catholicism and Orthodoxy. From the sources I have heard and seen, the magnetism toward these traditions is because these people have accepted the claim that these churches and their current practices and beliefs are the same as the ancient first century church in the New Testament. Both of these groups would appeal to Scripture and tradition for the apostolic authority that they claim to have. However, I must admit that neither history nor Scripture affirm these practices even though that is the claim of these groups. Low Church The other trend is that many people are now adopting a far less formal and traditional type of Christian meeting. What I find interesting is that it would seem that this group also desires to return to the practices of the early church. The difference is the accepted authority. These believers view the Bible to be the sole authority containing the apostles' teaching (Acts 2:42-47), apostolic tradition (2 Thessalonians 2:13-17), and the practices of the early church along with corrections by the Apostles. This effort is to understand the precepts and principles in the New Testament and then to apply those to the practices in our modern context. The assumption is that the principles of Scripture will ultimately produce better spiritual fruit than any tradition employing rules or requirements not found in the Scripture. One Church I would like to close this blog with a plea for humble unity. Even if we may think that a church or our church is not living up to the pattern of the New Testament whether that be because it is too high church or too low church, division is not the design of the church (Ephesians 4:1-14). We must strive to remain in genuine relational unity and love even if that means we believe that some things could be improved. I also think that we must remain hopeful for the future of the church even if convinced that some things will not change so that we may promote peace, unity, and love (1 Peter 4:8-11).  In the Bible
As I was reading Acts 13:1 where Luke records a list of prophets and teachers in the Antioch church, I noticed the phrase “in the church.” In the context of this specific passage the point is that these servants of the Lord are included among the saints “in the church.” This exact phrase is only in the ESV version of the New Testament five times total. But I think that the concept is prevalent in our own day in both good and bad ways. In this post, I would like to explore many different ways that we as believers could understand our relationship with the church and maybe some ways that we shouldn’t. For example, if we speak about being in the church as a reference to our bodies being in the building where our church meets that would easily be understood today, but it would be foreign to the first century because they did not have special meeting places that were designated for the Christian meeting. In the Old Covenant, the Temple, and before that the Tabernacle, was the special place of meeting, but in the New Covenant we are the temple. Also, many people might use the phrase “in the church” to refer to their formal membership. This is important because it is based on the covenantal promise of the person and the church, However, if someone is not faithful to some of these other ways of being in relationship with the church it probably means that their membership is invalid. In Attendance One more wrong way to account for the phrase is to consider one “in the church” based on mere attendance. The most common text referred to often by christians and even pastors to urge attendance comes from Hebrews 10:24-25, here the writer is encouraging the believers not to stop meeting together. But I think it is very important for us to notice that this is not referring to a passive attendance but active forms of mutual edification. The believers are to consider how to stir each other up, not put each other to sleep. The goal is to help one another to excel in love and good works. In Fellowship Fellowship may be a misunderstood term in our modern context, especially in the Bible belt. We often simply equate it with having a meal together. We should understand that a meal or a cup of coffee or work day are contexts in which fellowship can happen but they are not Christian fellowship itself. Christian fellowship itself is when we share with one another and listen to one another as we discuss God and the things of God especially as they apply to our lives. I think this also includes using our individual spiritual gifts to assist each other in seeking to strive toward the holiness that we have in Christ (Hebrews 12:12-14). In Participation Participation goes along with the idea of fellowship. As a matter of fact, the Greek is often translated as fellowship or participation depending on the context. The point is that the Christian meeting was never meant in the Bible to be a performance or a place for anyone to need to be a spectator. The congregation is not an audience! Instead we should all be contributing participants in the life and activity of the meeting (1 Corinthians 14:26-33a). In Agreement It is a shame that so often in our day Christians are known for strife and contention. This is especially problematic when the ones we are struggling against are our brothers and sisters in Christ. I certainly don’t have all the answers, but if we are in Christ we are also indwelt by the same Holy Spirit (Ephesians 4:1-6). If we are believers in Christ we have the same kind of faith. If we are co-heirs with Christ we have the same hope and promises. If we are in Christ then we have the mind of Christ and so we should and must agree by submitting to the teaching of the scriptures (1 Corinthians 2:16). In Love The greatest proof of a genuine relationship with God is not theological acumen or spiritual power or emotional expressions but genuine love for the brethren. Those who love God also love God’s people. There are no exceptions. If we have come to know the God who is love then we must also love one another. Jesus even teaches us to love our enemies (1 John 4:11-21). In Christ Ultimately, to be in the church is the blessing and consequence of being in Christ. Some believe that to be in Christ one must be in the church. These groups usually mean in their church. But it's actually the other way around. To be in the church you must be in Christ because the church is His body (Romans 12:4-5). There simply is no way to truly be in the church without faith in Christ for His the door and the only way (John 10:7-9, 14:1-6)!  Who’s the Boss?
So much of our lives seem to be spent trying to achieve some level of control. We want stability and assurance that everything is going to be ok and leads us to look for ways to seize control. Even many of our dangers and debilitating problems stem from us over emphasizing control in one area because so much of our lives seems out of control. Addictions, compulsive behaviors, even many behavioral disorders are a response to a fear of being vulnerable or abused. The irony is that the only way to truly gain freedom over this kind of devastating anxiety and cultivate true self control is through surrendering to the Lord. There are two sides to this coin. First, each of us must surrender our goals, dreams, plans, and hopes to the sovereign, providential plan of God. He knows our hearts and His own purposes and He will bring about His desired ends. This means that we must trust even when we cannot see or understand the point or advantage in our present circumstances. Faith is defined by God as surety in our hope and certainty without sight (Hebrews 11:1-6). The second point is that this faith is active. We are not supposed to sit by in idleness, awaiting a lightning bolt of holiness. Instead, we should shoot for thriving in active obedience to our king Jesus and in pursuit of holiness provided by Him for us. Our goal is not to possess but to experience (Hebrews 12:12-14). Because of this, we must recognize the Lordship of Jesus and seek to submit ourselves to Him joyfully. The fruit of this glad surrender is received from the Holy Spirit, and one aspect of this fruit is the very self control we need and want (Galatians 5:22-25). Sabaoth Just before Israel was about to go out and defeat Jericho through the miraculous victory provided by the Lord, Joshua had an encounter with an armed man near the doomed city (Joshua 5:13-15). Joshua inquired as to the allegiance of this mighty warrior, whether He was on the side of Israel or their enemies. He answered that He was the commander of the army of the LORD. As I read this passage, I have a couple of questions. First, isn’t Joshua the commander of the LORD’s army? I mean the army of humans known as the Israelites or the Hebrews. But that, of course, would lead us to quickly conclude that this man must be speaking of a greater and higher army. This army is the host of heaven. As this realization comes upon Joshua he falls to the earth and “worships” the man. Both the Hebrew word and the Greek word used in the LXX mean to prostrate oneself or to bow down. The picture here is one of submission, reverence, and humility. The most interesting point though is that at other times when angelic beings show up and the prophets or apostles try to “worship” them, they will immediately tell prophets to get up for only God is worthy of that reverential treatment (Revelation 22:8-9). However, this Man does not reject this humble submission. Instead He tells Joshua to remove his sandals because this is a holy place, which is reminiscent of Yahweh’s personal interaction with Moses through the burning bush (Exodus 3:4-6). All of this leads me to one conclusion, and if you have read this blog carefully you may have noticed that I have been capitalizing the references to this Man, because it seems to me that this commander of the LORD’s army is none other than Jesus Himself. The true deliverer and Savior is here to again win the battle for His people. But notice, Israel still had to go up in active victory over Jericho even though the battle clearly belongs to the LORD. My point is simply this, just as the LORD gave Israel the victory over Jericho they still had an active role to play in obedience as they took the city. For us, even though Jesus gave us victory over sin, self and satan, we must still pursue this holiness not to possess it but to experience it with our whole being. Since Christ is King, let us surely and certainly obey Him!  Old MacDonald
We all know the very famous nursery rhyme recounting the many animals on Old MacDonald’s farm. To our sophisticated, twenty-first century ears the scene probably sounds quite quaint. However, just the other day, my father was reminiscing about how in our small town in the days of his childhood most people had some chickens, a couple of hogs and even a milk cow in their backyard right there in town. Even today, downtown Shirley, Arkansas is about as rural as anywhere that you would consider country or backwoods. But the point is that people once commonly kept a few animals to provide for their own family and maybe share or trade with a few neighbors. Today, a resurgence has risen trying to recapture something of this kind of self reliance. The modern homesteading movement is an example of people wanting both the challenge and the benefits of this way of life that was actually rather common just a few generations ago. Also, remember that before the industrial revolution this lifestyle was almost universal throughout human history and habitation. Because these animals were always so common throughout most people's experience they provide the context for many of the teachings of the Lord Jesus and His apostles. In this post I would like to consider some of the different analogies the Bible uses of animals. Dogs & Hogs First, swine are considered unclean according to the old covenant law (Deuteronomy 14:7-8) and they are mentioned also in the New Testament. One new testament account is of Jesus allowing the demons inhabiting the demoniac to go into the herd of pigs which subsequently ran into the lake and drowned (Matthew 8:28-34). While this is a real story, the point does include the separation under the Old Covenant between the “clean” Jews and the “unclean” gentiles. The Bible also pairs dogs and hogs together in a couple of illustrative examples. In Jesus’ commonly referred to Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 7:6, He teaches that no one would cast that which is sacred and precious on the ground for dogs and hogs to trample and then turn to attack the person. The context shows that righteous judgment is necessary when dealing with people concerning sacred and precious things of God. The other place is in 2 Peter 2:22. In this example, Peter uses a proverb about pups and pigs to illustrate that what a person truly is will eventually become evident. Sheep & Goats The use of these two animals in just the New Testament is far too vast a survey for this simple post, but Jesus does use these to animals to show the division and distinction between the believers and the unbelievers who are in the world (Matthew 25:31-46). Jesus will sort the people of this world as a master herdsman sorts the sheep and the goats into their proper places and for their proper purposes. Sheep are also one of Jesus’ favorite ways of referring to His followers. Jesus is Himself the good Shepherd and His sheep will hear Him and will follow Him (John 10). Sheep were probably the most important animal of all in the Old Covenant context and so Jesus' emphasis on the sheep is essential to help us understand nature and the extent of Jesus' relationship to us as His people. Lion & Lamb But it is not only Jesus’ followers that are metaphorically referred to as sheep. Jesus Himself is called the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29). In this context it is important that it is a lamb and not just any sheep because the picture is of the pure and spotless lamb which is innocent and precious but becomes the necessary sacrifice to cover the sins of the family. Jesus is the perfect sacrifice who cleanses by His blood the sins of all the household of God. But Jesus is also pictured as a lion, one who rules with regal authority. In Jesus’ revelation to the Apostle John, He is called “the lion of the tribe of Judah” who is the only one worthy to break the seals on the scroll. What is even more interesting is that while He is called a lion, what John sees in the vision is a lamb that looks like it has already been slain and sacrificed (Revelation 5). Jesus is our King who has purchased by His own sacrificial offering and has secured us through His sovereign authority!  Sharing
What does it mean to “preach” the gospel? This is probably a bigger, more detailed question than I want to tackle in today’s post. Sharing the gospel, or engaging in evangelism, is not simply about communicating facts. Sometimes, we can believe that merely disseminating the contents of the gospel message is the point of evangelism. The content of the message is essential to the work of evangelism. Certainly any gospel message must involve the communication that Jesus Christ, the son of God, who is God in the flesh, came to earth, born of a virgin, to live a sinless and virtuous life on behalf of sinners, and that He died a vicarious death on the cross for our sins, that He was buried in a borrowed tomb, and that He rose by the power of God victorious from the grave to give life to everyone who repents of their sin and trusts in Him (1 Corinthians 15:3-8). Without the content of the gospel, it is not evangelism. However, along with the content is the goal and that is what I want to consider today. Convinced The first point that I want us to consider is that the distinction between saved and unsaved people is what they do or do not believe. But believing is not so much about a choice to believe but being convinced of the reality and rightness of a claim. This means that as Christians we should be engaging with people, not simply to give them the content of the gospel message, but to convince them that it is true (2 Corinthians 5:11-20). We must seek to persuade people to believe this good news. I must admit that I believe that I have at times failed to seek to be persuasive because I didn’t want to manipulate. Manipulation will not bring about true salvation, but rather a false sense of having received the fire insurance policy for the lake of fire. But people are going to be judged with Christ and so we must warn them and seek to convince them of the truth so that they can come to genuine faith and freedom through Jesus Christ. Compelled In Jesus’ famous parable about the wedding banquet where those who had first been invited had failed to come to the feast, He then tells His disciples to go to the streets and lanes and bring in the infirmed and the outcast. However, after this there was still room so the Master of the house commanded them to go and compel people to come in so that the house would be full (Luke 14:15-24). In this parable, Jesus is pronouncing judgement on old covenant Israel and specifically those first century leaders who had rejected Him. They are the ones in the parable that refused the first invitation. Then the “poor and crippled and blind and lame” are the believing Jews who were oppressed by their leaders who had rejected Jesus. Then, when the servants are sent out the second time to the highways and hedges, this is talking about the proclamation going to the nations. Now, the gospel is meant not only for the Jews but for everyone who believes in Jesus as Lord and Savior! Notice, Jesus tells them to compel them to come in. This word means to place on them a necessity. We must show people that they must believe in Jesus because everything depends on it. Converted One definition of "converted” provided by the AI Grok says: The term "converted" in the context of religious conversion refers to a person who has undergone a change in their religious beliefs, affiliations, or practices, adopting a new religion or a different form of spirituality. It implies a deliberate shift from one faith (or none) to another, often involving a personal transformation, commitment, or formal acceptance of the new religion’s doctrines, rituals, or community. Isn’t this what we are after when we proclaim Christ’s gospel to people? We don’t just want them to know what the gospel is or to be able to recount the facts, but rather we want them to change their beliefs, affiliations, and their practices. Salvation always brings about transformation in the life of any genuine believer (Romans 12:1-2). This also means the acceptance of new doctrines, rituals, and community. This is also what we want when we tell people about Jesus, because we want them to believe and obey the teachings (doctrines) of King Jesus. We also want them to begin experiencing the practices (rituals) of prayer, study and fellowship. Finally we want them to love and be committed to the community of people who also obey Jesus called the local church (Acts 2:40-44). So as we engage people with the greatest news ever, let’s do so with a commitment to passionately persuade them to believe and know the truth! |