“Go to your corners!”

It seems daily, amidst this pandemic, those words are increasingly applicable to social media fisticuffs, as tensions run high about how and when to return to work.

As believers we look to Scripture and the Lord for guidance. Today, as I was reading, I ran across two separate articles, that, together, provide a good perspective on what we CAN and CAN NOT know.

First, what we cannot know.  Below is a portion of a great article by Bryan Schneider on Covid 19 & Biblical Balance:

We cannot pit life against livelihood. We cannot say, “If you care about life you don’t care about livelihood.” Nor can one say, “If you care about livelihood you must not care about life.”

Christians must hold both of these together in Biblical balance. Without livelihood one cannot live life. Without preserving life one robs another of their livelihood. We must hold these two in balance.

There is most likely no cut-and-dry answer. It is unwise for us to demand a cookie-cutter solution to our present situation. We need to ask God for wisdom.

We need to plead with God to show us how to live in a way that prioritizes both life and livelihood. It is imperative that we keep these two Biblical principles in balance.

Now, for what we can know. J.C. Ryle reminds us in The Duties of Parents that we were made for work.

No created being was ever meant to be idle. Service and work is the appointed portion of every creature of God. The angels in heaven work,—they are the Lord’s ministering servants, ever doing His will. Adam, in Paradise, had work,—he was appointed to dress the garden of Eden, and to keep it. The redeemed saints in glory will have work, “They rest not day and night singing praise and glory to Him who bought them.” And man, weak, sinful man, must have something to do, or else his soul will soon get into an unhealthy state. We must have our hands filled, and our minds occupied with something, or else our imaginations will soon ferment and breed mischief.

So…even as we pray and debate about the practical when to return to work, we know the biblical why we must. 

It’s graduation season, albeit a vastly different mood and medium this year, due to Coronavirus requiring the cessation of in-person education and celebrations.

Recently, I had contemplated, knowing what I know now, what would I want to communicate to my previous self at each of my graduations:

– 1988 – High School
– 1992 – Undergraduate
– 1996 – Graduate School

Psalm 111:10 states,

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all those who practice it have a good understanding. His praise endures forever!”

So I believe I would want to ensure that, amidst the growth in knowledge, I could celebrate having grown in the fear of the Lord during each of those 4-year spans.

The following quote by puritan Richard Baxter resonates with the verse above regarding the pre-eminence of heavenly wisdom. If I ever have the opportunity to speak at a baccalaureate service or graduation ceremony, I am certain I would challenge the graduates with these truths. 

“Knowledge is to be valued according to its usefulness. If it be a matter of as great concernment to know how to do your worldly business, and to trade and gather worldly wealth, and to understand the laws, and to maintain your honor, as it is to know how to be reconciled unto God, to be pardoned and justified, to please your Creator, to prepare in time for death and judgment, and an endless life, then let worldly wisdom have the pre-eminence.

But if all earthly things be dreams and shadows, and valuable only as they serve us in the way to heaven, then surely the heavenly wisdom is the best. Alas, how far is that man from being wise, that is acquainted with all the punctilios of the law, that is excellent in the knowledge of all the languages, sciences, and arts, and yet knoweth not how to live to God, to mortify the flesh, to conquer sin, to deny himself, nor to answer in judgment for his fleshly life, nor to escape damnation! As far is such a learned man from being wise, as he is from being happy.

I admit it. I love a good, inspirational, sports movie.

Baseball…The Natural
Football…Invincible
Basketball…Hoosiers
Hockey…Miracle
Track…Chariots of Fire

And boxing…well, I’ll take Cinderella Man over Rocky in an upset.

Recently, I found myself watching, once again, the rags to riches true story of boxer James J. Braddock, set in the Great Depression.

Braddock was an underdog, battling, against all odds, versus a seemingly invincible opponent. 

“The skinny from the reporters at ringside is that Braddock won’t last two rounds.”

“Braddock has the look of a man trying to hold back an avalanche.”

Do you ever feel that way in your battle against sin in our lives?

We’re told to abstain from fleshly lusts (1 Peter 2:11), mortify the deeds of the body (Rom. 8:13), flee immorality (1 Cor. 6:18), put off the old man (Eph. 4:22), to buffet our bodies to bring them into subjection (1 Cor. 9:27), to cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh (2 Cor. 7:1) and lay aside all bitterness, anger, and malice (Eph. 4:31). 

While most Christians know and believe these commands, if we are honest, at times, it feels like an unwinnable bout against the flesh. 

So what are we to do?

The words below from 17^th century Puritan Richard Alleine scream to us, like a boxing trainer in our corner, “Get up off the canvas, keep your gloves up and fight on!”

Lord, you know. I cannot rid myself of the iniquity in my heart, I cannot do the things that I would, I cannot pray as I would. I cannot listen as I would—nor think, nor speak, nor live as I would.

Wherever I go, sin goes with me. Where I stay, it stays. If I sit still, there it is with me. If I run from it, it follows me. I cannot rest, I cannot work, I cannot do anything—sin is always hounding me.

And yet, blessed be your name, this I do: I fight against it. I wrestle with it, though it so often takes me down. I do not trust it, though it flatters me. I do not love it, though it feeds me.

My heart is with you, Lord. I am following after you. I groan and I struggle in pain, waiting for your redemption. Until I die, I will not give up.

I will die fighting. I will die hoping. I will die praying.

Save me, Lord. Do not delay, my God. Amen.

Amidst this new pandemic-induced physical distancing, church leaders have been thrust into a foreign, unsettling paradigm of ministry: from afar, while longing to interact in person.

Does anyone in Scripture come to mind that frequently found themselves in such a situation: physically isolated from a group of people that they longed to again enjoy their presence?

It’s the Apostle Paul, who can serve as a great model of ministry for us, in both this age and environment.

In this current age of Redemption, where believers are not united at last, as we will experience in the age of Restoration in the new heaven and earth.  [Four Acts in Biblical History: Creation, Fall, Redemption, Restoration]

And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. (Rev. 21:3)

And in this current environment of pandemic sheltering in place.  For the Paul did most of his enduring and recognized ministry from afar.  His epistles include names of both people he knew and those he hadn’t yet met. And he also speaks often of longing to be physically present.

Take a look at her letter to the church in Thessalonica, as an example.

Paul’s Longing to See the Thessalonians

1 Thess. 2:17-20 – 17 But, brothers and sisters, when we were orphaned by being separated from you for a short time (in person, not in thought), out of our intense longing we made every effort to see you. 18 For we wanted to come to you—certainly I, Paul, did, again and again—but Satan blocked our way. 19 For what is our hope, our joy, or the crown in which we will glory in the presence of our Lord Jesus when he comes? Is it not you? 20 Indeed, you are our glory and joy.

So, how did Paul continue to do ministry, from a distance?

Answer: He was a good steward of the tools at this disposal.

– Leveraged Correspondence – hand-written/hand-delivered letters

I’m writing to you because I can’t come…

– Activated Community – enlisted others to provide care

I’m sending…

– Utilized Prayer – motivated for their growth

Night and day I pray for you…

Timothy’s Encouraging Report

1 Thess. 3:6-13 – 6 But Timothy has just now come to us from you and has brought good news about your faith and love. He has told us that you always have pleasant memories of us and that you long to see us, just as we also long to see you. 7 Therefore, brothers and sisters, in all our distress and persecution we were encouraged about you because of your faith. 8 For now we really live, since you are standing firm in the Lord. 9 How can we thank God enough for you in return for all the joy we have in the presence of our God because of you? 10 Night and day we pray most earnestly that we may see you again and supply what is lacking in your faith. 11 Now may our God and Father himself and our Lord Jesus clear the way for us to come to you. 12 May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else, just as ours does for you. 13 May he strengthen your hearts so that you will be blameless and holy in the presence of our God and Father when our Lord Jesus comes with all his holy ones.

KEY POINTS:

Follow the example of Paul by:

– Leveraging technology for correspondence/conference calls etc.
– Activating community to ensure people are cared for
– Praying for the day we will be together, but in the meantime praying for continued growth

And perhaps our Sovereign Lord will use this current predicament, to “make our love increase and overflow for each other and strengthen our hearts so that we will be blameless and holy in the presence of our God and Father when our Lord Jesus comes with all his holy ones.”

This morning, as I prayed to begin my time with the Lord, my heart was heavy for friends and family members, suffering in the midst of our fallen world:

-Struggling financially under the weight of the Coronavirus;
-Enduring the loss of a spouse from cancer at an extremely young age;
-Fighting emotional depression, induced by our current pandemic isolation;

And battling to come to grips with a medical diagnosis.

I asked the Lord to encourage me with His Word, as I began. He did so by reminding me of His character, which we can trust.

Psalm 20:7 states, “Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.”

In biblical times a person’s name was synonymous with their character, so to boast in God’s name is to trust in who He is.

You might be wondering, “What is a catechism?”

I’ve been reading a book by Kevin DeYoung on the Heidelberg Catechism, entitled The Good News We Almost Forgot: Rediscovering the Gospel in a 16th Century Catechism.

Simply put, it’s a method to teach individuals basic principles of Christianity through question and answer format. In fact, historically, on Sunday afternoon pastors would visit homes to catechize the members of their church.

“When puritan Richard Baxter became pastor of a nominally Christian congregation, his strategy to win converts was to implement catechism classes. Baxter traveled from farmhouse to farmhouse Sunday afternoons teaching plain folk the doctrine of the faith. After a year, revival broke out in his church. He observed nominal Christians became true converts…parishioners for the first time were becoming fluent in the Christian language.”*

Here is question 26 of the catechism, which I read this morning,

Question:
What do you believe when you say, “I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Creator of Heaven and Earth?”

Answer:
That the eternal Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who out of nothing created heaven and earth and everything in them, who still upholds and rules them by His eternal counsel and providence, is my God and Father because of Christ His Son. I trust Him so much that I do not doubt He will provide whatever I need for body and soul, and He will turn to my good whatever adversity He sends me in this sad world. He is able to do this because He is almighty God; He desires to do this because He is a faithful Father.

As DeYoung points out,

The Bible is not naïve about suffering. Trusting in God’s provision does not mean we expect to float to heaven on flowery beds of ease. This is a “sad world” we live in, one in which God not only allows trouble but at times sends adversity to us. Trust, therefore, does not mean hoping for the absence of pain but believing in the purpose of pain. After all, if my almighty God is really almighty and my heavenly Father is really fatherly, then I should trust that He can and will do what is good for me in this sad world.

It was those truths, regarding the character of God, that were of encouragement to me:

– My God is almighty.
– My heavenly Father is faithful.
– Therefore, I can trust that He can and will do what is good for me in this sad world.

* Live to Tell: Evangelism in a Postmodern Age, Brad J. Kallenberg

During seminary I gained a great appreciation for Paul Benware’s Survey of the New Testament in providing high-level overviews of Scripture.

His outline of Matthew is a good example:

The Presentation of Jesus the King – 1:1-4:11
The Teachings of the King – 4:12-7:29
The Power of Jesus the King – 8:1-11:1
The Opposition to Jesus the King – 11:2-16:12
The Parables of the Kingdom – 13:1-52
The Preparation of the Disciples in View of the Rejection – 16:13-20:34
The Final Presentation of the King and the Final Rejection – 21:1-27:66
The Great Proof of Jesus the King’s Right to be King – 28:1-20

Matthew 18 provides a good example of how, when teaching Scripture, the contextual explanation and faithful interpretation should remain constant from preacher to preacher; however, the implication can vary.  

As Rick Holland explains in his chapter on How to Craft a Life-Changing Sermon from MacArthur’s Handbook on Effective Biblical Leadership,

“If you explain with clarity the original contextual meaning of a biblical text, it will implicate your people in such a way that they say, ‘I see where the Lord would have me apply that principle.’”

A great example in this passage is how two faithful preachers, John MacArthur and J.C. Ryle, focus differently, yet faithfully, on the implication of Matthew 18:7. 

MacArthur provides a solid overview:

“Matthew 18, which is a crucial sermon on God’s love for His people and the priority He places on their purity. It’s a portrait of the sanctifying love that should be evident among God’s people—love that builds up, that takes sin seriously, that loves and protects the body of Christ, and that, when necessary, confronts the sin in its midst.”

MacArthur highlights awareness of sin on a societal level, while Ryle emphasizes confronting sin on a personal level.

John MacArthur, Stand Firm: Living in a Post-Christian Culture

We need to avoid the world’s attempts to inhibit our growth in godliness. In verse 7, Jesus says, “Woe to the world because of its stumbling blocks!” God’s children need to be aware of the stumbling blocks the world will hurl into our paths. We need to watch out for the world’s attempts to seduce us with what 1 John 2:16 describes as “the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life.” We expect the world to be a solicitor for wickedness and to do anything and everything to seduce believers away from obedience to God. As Christ says, “For it is inevitable that stumbling blocks come; but woe to that man through whom the stumbling block comes!” (Matt. 18:7). God keeps detailed accounts, even with the world, and judgment will fall on those who seduce His children and stifle their spiritual growth.

J.C. Ryle

We put offences or stumbling blocks in the way of men’s souls, whenever we do anything to keep them back from Christ–or to turn them out of the way of salvation–or to disgust them with true religion. We may do it directly by persecuting, ridiculing, opposing, or dissuading them from decided service of Christ. We may do it indirectly by living a life inconsistent with our religious profession, and by making Christianity loathsome and distasteful by our own conduct. Whenever we do anything of the kind, it is clear, from our Lord’s words, that we commit a great sin.

There is something very fearful in the doctrine here laid down. It ought to stir up within us great searchings of heart. It is not enough that we wish to do good in this world. Are we quite sure that we are not doing harm? We may not openly persecute Christ’s servants. But are there none that we are injuring by our ways and our example? It is dreadful to think of the amount of harm that can be done by one inconsistent professor of religion. He gives a handle to the infidel. He supplies the worldly man with an excuse for remaining undecided. He checks the inquirer after salvation. He discourages the saints. He is, in short, a living sermon on behalf of the devil. The last day alone will reveal the wholesale ruin of souls, that “offences” have occasioned in the Church of Christ. One of Nathan’s charges against David was, “you have given great occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme.” (2 Sam. 12:14.) – J.C. Ryle

Like bifocal lenses, the combination of those two faithful bible applications provides clear vision of the verse.

Exercise bands.  When it became apparent that we might be sheltering in place, we searched and finally acquired, what I believe to be, the last ones in our zip code!

The family is using them now, out of necessity; however, in all likelihood, once this crisis is over, those bands will be placed in a drawer and go unused thereafter.

I read a statistic recently that Bible sales are up 60% from this time last year. People are desperate for comfort and answers amidst uncertainty, anxiety, sickness and death.

The following lyrics, from theologians Big Head Todd and the Monsters (insert sarcastic grin here) reminded me of how, in desperation, people are now searching for comfort.

Oh I want to believe in you now that I’m suffering
Oh lord, I need to receive your hand in my heart

I fear unbelievers amidst this pandemic are like children: too often what they want and what they need are two different things.

Most unbelievers simply want a Jesus to help them endure this crisis, when what they ultimately need is a Jesus to address their sin-induced alienation from their Creator and ultimate Judge.   

Remember the words of Jesus in John 16:8,

“When He [the Holy Spirit] has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment.”

Let’s not give them a man-centered Gospel, which, like my exercise bands, will be tossed aside in the aftermath of COVID-19.  

It was JC Ryle who said, “Without a thorough conviction of sin, men may seem to come to Jesus and follow him for a season, but they will soon fall away and return to the world.”

And Paul Washer, not one to mince words, emphatically adds,

I submit to you that this country is not Gospel hardened; it is Gospel ignorant, because most of its preachers are. Let me repeat this. The malady in this country is not liberal politicians, the root of socialism, Hollywood, or anything else. It is the so-called evangelical pastor, preacher, or evangelist of our day; that is where the malady is to be found. We do not know the Gospel. We have taken the glorious Gospel of our blessed God and reduced it down to four spiritual laws, and five things God wants you to know, with a little superstitious prayer at the end. And if someone repeats it after us with enough sincerity, we popishly declare them to be born again! We have traded regeneration for decisionism…

When the Gospel is preached today and shared in personal evangelism, do you ever hear of God’s justice and wrath? Almost never. It is seldom made clear that Christ was able to redeem because He was crushed under the justice of God—and having satisfied divine justice with His death, God is now just and the justifier of the wicked. It is Gospel reductionism! We wonder why it has no power. What happened? I’ll tell you: When you leave the Gospel behind and there is no longer any power in your supposed gospel message, then you have to do all the little tricks of the trade that are so prominently used today to convert men—and we all know most of them. But none of them work!

“Evangelism begins with the nature of God. Who is God? Can a man recognize anything about his sin if he has no standard by which to compare himself? If we tell him nothing but trivial things about God that tickle the carnal mind, will he ever be brought to genuine repentance and faith?”