Grace and Peace

This past week I read the following quote on Jonathan Edwards, about how he handled being voted out of his church at the end of his ministry, for taking the biblical stand that communion should be only for believers:

“That faithful witness received the shock, unshaken. I never saw the least symptoms of displeasure in his countenance the whole week but he appeared like a man of God, whose happiness was out of the reach of his enemies.”

It is impossible to not contrast his behavior with the current political climate in the United States.

One must ask, “What enabled Edwards to handle such a difficult situation with such apparent grace and peace?”

Interestingly enough, I ran across the following insights from H.A. Ironside in my study of 1 Corinthians:

In the third verse we have the apostolic salutation, “Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.” We are saved by grace, but of course this is not the grace to which he here refers. He knows that is settled, these people who are sanctified in Christ Jesus are already justified by faith, saved by grace. It is not that which he is thinking of when he says, “Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.” And then again all Christians have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. We read in Romans 5:1, “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God”—it is a settled thing—“through our Lord Jesus Christ.” He is not praying that these Christians may obtain that grace of which he speaks here.

First of all, it is grace to sustain in all the trials of the way, grace to enable us to overcome in every hour of temptation. In Hebrews we are bidden to “come boldly unto the throne of grace”—upon which our great High Priest sits—“that we may obtain mercy, and find grace for seasonable help” (Heb. 4:16). We need grace every day of our lives. The grace of yesterday will not suffice for today. We need to go to God morning by morning, to draw down from above by meditation and prayer supplies of grace to start the day aright. But throughout the day we need to learn to “Pray without ceasing” that our hearts may continually be reaching out to Him that new supplies of grace may come down to us constantly. We cannot keep ourselves, not for one moment, therefore the need of the grace that is in Christ Jesus.

And the peace, I repeat, is not peace with God, but that peace of God of which we read in Philippians 4:6, 7: “Be careful for nothing; but in everything, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”

You see this has nothing to do with the sin question. That is settled. We have peace with God because our sins have been forever put away, but this has to do with the question of things that would keep us anxious, the trials of life that press upon our hearts…

My brother, my sister, not a trial ever comes to you, there is not a perplexity you are called upon to face, there is not a need you will have to meet, but God invites you to come to Him about it, and you have the promise, “My God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus” (Phi. 4:19).

(Excerpt from Addresses on the First Epistle to the Corinthians)

Pick 4

The Bible states clearly that,

“All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.” (2 Tim. 3:16-17)

And Paul declares his innocence because he “did not shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God.” (Acts 20:27)

So, while we should be exceedingly grateful for our possession of the whole cannon of Scripture, this is a powerful and enlightening statement below from H.A. Ironside, regarding if we had to choose only 4 of the 21 epistles in the New Testament, the choice should be clear!

“In Romans we have set forth the great fundamental doctrine of justification by faith alone. In Galatians that doctrine is defended after having been called in question by legal teachers. These two epistles, Romans and Galatians, form therefore the very foundation of Christian teaching. Then in the two letters to the Corinthians we have instruction as to the Church.

– In the first epistle we have the ordering, the calling, and the discipline of the Church.

– In the second we have the ministry of the Church.

If we should lose all the rest of the New Testament—which God forbid we should—and have only these four letters preserved, they would be sufficient to show us the way of salvation and how to conduct ourselves as Christian people coming together in church relationship.”

(Excerpt from Addresses on the First Epistle to the Corinthians)

The Offense of Sin

Recently, I had the opportunity to teach a class on The Offense of Sin.

Below are a few of the key concepts.

Weight of sin

Question: Of the Bible’s 66 books and 1,189 chapters, only two books and four chapters do not mention sin or sinner.

Answer: Genesis 1-2 describes creation before sin and Revelation 21-22 depicts the new heaven and earth that will never be infected by sin.

Genesis 4 to the end of Revelation deals with God’s response to and remedy for the events of the Fall in Genesis 3

Why is an understanding of sin important?

Believer

He who wishes to attain right views about Christian holiness must begin by examining the vast and solemn subject of sin. He must dig down very low if he would build high. A mistake here is most mischievous. Wrong views about holiness are generally traceable to wrong views about human corruption. – JC Ryle

Unbeliever

The plain truth is that a right understanding of sin lies at the root of all saving Christianity…The first thing, therefore, that God does when He makes anyone a new creature in Christ is to send light into his heart and show him that he is a guilty sinner. The material creation in Genesis began with “light,” and so also does the spiritual creation. Dim or indistinct views of sin are the origin of most of the errors, heresies and false doctrines of the present day…I believe that one of the chief wants of the contemporary church has been, and is, clearer, fuller teaching about sin. – JC Ryle

Sin: A definition

“Sin is the transgression of the law.” (1 John 3:4 KJV).

– Sin must be understood from a God-centered standpoint: it is a violation of the Creator-creature relationship.
– Every sin: acting autonomously, usurping God’s authority and saying, “My will be done…not God’s Will be done.” (Luke 22:42)
– There are sins of Omission as well as Commission (James 4:17

God judges sin based on two criteria:

1. Outward acts/Inward thoughts (horizontal relationships) – to see if they conform to His law (Matt. 5:21-28)

2. Inward motivation (vertical relationship) – a desire to please God (the heart)

Only the Holy Spirit can change our natural disposition and inclination and create in our souls a genuine love for God.

Unless He moves to change us, the only good we will ever do is on the horizontal plane, and that will not satisfy the law of God.

Abundant Life Graduation

Recently, I had the opportunity to address graduates of our most recent Abundant Life Program class.  Below are my notes:

2 short thoughts:

-What do CHURCHES need, as transformational agents in their communities?
-What do YOU need, as you continue to seek what are the good works God ordained you walk in?

What do the churches need?

1. Commitment to the Gospel

Acts 13 – First Missionaries: Paul and Barnabas give the 1st missionary sermon

15 After the reading from the Law and the Prophets, the leaders of the synagogue sent word to them, saying, “Brothers, if you have a word of exhortation for the people, please speak.”

23 “From this man’s descendants (David) God has brought to Israel the Savior Jesus, as he promised.

38 “Therefore, my friends, I want you to know that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you. 39 Through him everyone who believes is set free from every sin, a justification you were not able to obtain under the law of Moses.

More than any program, communities need the person of Jesus Christ

2. Leaders equipped to serve

Titus 1:9 – Regarding Elders

9He must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it.

What do You need?

There are two commitments you must carry with you wherever you go:

1. To be persistent and teachable students of God’s Word.

-We must submit to the wisdom of the Word (I delight to do your will. Ps. 40:8)
-We must crave the nutrition of the Word  (Like newborns crave milk. 1 Pet. 2:2)
-We must be equipped by the Word (2 Tim. 3:16-17)

 

 

 

2. To a habit of ongoing self-examination.

You and I need to get used to standing before the mirror of the Word of God, so that we can see ourselves as we really are.

Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. (Psalm 139:23-24)

Healthy Christianity is found at the intersection of accurate self-knowledge and the true knowledge of God.

Colossians 2:6-7 reads, Just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to walk in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.

Just as you have faithfully completed Abundant Life, continue to grow in Christ-likeness and serve your community for His glory.

Serving Churches

The Apostle Paul wrote to the church in Galatia,

“Each new generation must learn what God has done for His people so that “My children, with whom I am again in labor until Christ is formed in you” (Galatians 4:19)

Recently, I was reading John MacArthur’s new book, Final Word: Why We Need the Bible, and reminded of what a privilege and pleasure it is to serve Christ’s Church, “helping to supplement the spiritual sustenance the local church requires from God’s Word.”

“My heart goes out to those true believers who can’t find a reliable church that provides real spiritual food. I hear from people in that situation all the time. They’re committed to their local church, but they’re not being faithfully fed. They have to survive with weak teaching, scrounging for morsels instead of feasting on the riches of God’s Word. And in that malnourished state, they develop deficient immune systems, succumbing to heresies and errors they would otherwise know to avoid. That’s the cost of weak preaching and weak pastors—they leave the people under them exposed and vulnerable to lies that would not confuse or corrupt stronger believers. Today, too many pulpits are occupied by hirelings who don’t know the first thing about how to feed their flocks—they’re either incapable of feeding God’s sheep or unwilling to do so. My prayer is that believers caught in such situations would find faithful ministries to help supplement the spiritual sustenance they require from God’s Word.“

God’s Ordained Institution

Pastor Warren Wiersbe writes,

“Each new generation must learn what God has done for His people so that they will obey His Word and trust Him for the future.  When you have a living faith in a living God, the past is not ‘dead history.’ It throbs with living reality.”

This is the heart of the Genesis Family Ministry Program: strengthening church leaders, in order that they might encourage and equip parents as the primary disciplers of their children, remembering that the family is God’s ordained institution for passing faith from one generation to the next.

We find inspiration and instruction in passages such as the one below from Psalm 78:1-8:

Listen, O my people, to my instruction;
Incline your ears to the words of my mouth.
I will open my mouth in a parable;
I will utter dark sayings of old,
Which we have heard and known,
And our fathers have told us.
We will not conceal them from their children,
But tell to the generation to come the praises of the Lord,
And His strength and His wondrous works that He has done.
For He established a testimony in Jacob
And appointed a law in Israel,
Which He commanded our fathers
That they should teach them to their children,
That the generation to come might know, even the children yet to be born,
That they may arise and tell them to their children,
That they should put their confidence in God
And not forget the works of God,
But keep His commandments,
And not be like their fathers,
A stubborn and rebellious generation,
A generation that did not prepare its heart
And whose spirit was not faithful to God. 

Albert Barnes

It has been said,

“There are no great men of God, only men of a great God.”

In that case, one of my favorite “men of a great God” is 19th century American theologian Albert Barnes, who provided gems like this below in his commentary of both the Old and New Testaments.

Psalm 55:22 – Cast your burden upon the LORD and He will sustain you; He will never allow the righteous to be shaken.

    “All that is to be ‘borne’ or to be ‘done’ in this world he has ‘divided up’ among people, giving or assigning to each one what He thought best suited to his ability, his circumstances, his position in life – what ‘he’ could do or bear best – and what, therefore, would most conduce to the great end in view. That portion thus assigned to ‘us,’ we are directed to ‘cast upon the Lord;’ that is, we are to look to him to enable us to do or to bear it. As it is ‘his’ appointment, we should receive it, and submit to it, without complaining; as it is ‘his’ appointment, we may feel assured that no more has been laid upon us than is commensurate with our ability, our condition, our usefulness, our salvation. We have not to rearrange what has been thus appointed, or to adjust it anew, but to do all, and endure all that he has ordained, leaning on his arm.”

Kingdom Co-Laborers

Next month we will have the privilege of hosting visiting pastors from the following countries for encouragement in Scripture and equipping in EA’s strategies:

– Cuba
– Haiti
– Puerto Rico
– Panama
– Mexico

This morning I came across the following passage in 1 Peter 1:1-2,

“Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To God’s elect, exiles scattered throughout the provinces of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia, who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to be obedient to Jesus Christ and sprinkled with his blood: Grace and peace be yours in abundance.”

Such a great reminder that ALL Scripture is given for our instruction and edification, even this portion where the Apostle Peter is addressing a letter almost 2,000 years ago!

As Jim George notes in his outstanding resource Bare Bones Bible Handbook,

“First Peter was written around the time Rome was burned by the emperor, Nero. The persecution of Christians had been steadily increasing, and its intensity will only accelerate as Nero spreads the false rumor that the fires were started by Christians. Peter writes this letter to Christians throughout the Roman Empire to show them how to live victoriously in the midst of the coming hostility without losing hope, without becoming resentful, and by trusting the Lord and looking for His second coming. Peter believes that if his readers will live obediently in the midst of a hostile society, they can be evangelistic tools in the hand of God.”

As I read the passage I thought of the visiting pastors coming to the Dominican Republic, who likewise are:

-Scattered throughout the provinces,
-Chosen by the Father,
-Set apart by the Spirit,
-For obedience to Jesus Christ.

What a privilege it will be fellowship and learn alongside these Kingdom Co-laborers!

Sexual Revolution

Last week, as I worshipped in Santo Domingo at Iglesia Bautista Internacional, I was reminded that the assault on morality, marriage and family is not limited to the borders of the United States.  Church leadership at LaIBI described recent efforts, initiated by the government, at indoctrination of children through the educational system in regards to sexuality, which stand in opposition to the Word of God.

While certainly disappointing, these developments should not be confusing for believers, particularly for Americans, as we consider both Scripture and recent developments.

First, when we look at Romans 1 we can clearly see the progression of immorality from fornication (heterosexual promiscuity) to sexual perversion (homosexuality/gender confusion):

ROMANS CHAPTER 1-5 OUTLINE:

Chapters 1–3:20 – The Problem of Righteousness

– The Guilt of the Gentiles (Romans 1:18-32)
– The Guilt of the Jews (Romans 2-3:8)
– The Guilt of all men (Romans 3:9-20)

Chapters 3:21–5:21 – The Provision of Righteousness

If we look closely at Romans 1:18-32 we see:

Reasons for Condemnation (v18-23)

– For suppressing God’s truth (v18)
– For ignoring God’s revelation (v19-20)
– For perverting God’s glory (v21-23)

Results of Condemnation (v24-32) – “God gave them over…”

– Abandoned to fornication (v24-25)
– Abandoned to sexual perversion (v26-27)
– Abandoned to depraved lifestyle (v28-32)

Additionally, Denny Burke in the article below, explains the Domino Effect that has taken place, specifically within the United States in recent years, beginning with the Sexual Revolution and culminating in our current moral free fall.

“As I’ve said in this space many times, the gay marriage campaign succeeded so thoroughly and so rapidly in large part because it built on what heterosexuals had already come to believe was true about sex and marriage. Gay marriage was inevitable, because straights had already queered sex and marriage via the Sexual Revolution. Yet gay marriage was a Rubicon for our society because it took those radical shifts past the breaking point, and locked them in to law and culture. All that followed was predictable, and it was in fact predicted, not because anybody had a crystal ball, but because it made logical sense.”

So what should our response be, as followers of Christ?

I think the following article from Ligonier Ministries by Al Mohler can be of great assistance.

In less than a generation, homosexuality has gone from being almost universally condemned to being almost fully normalized in the larger society.

We are facing a true moral inversion — a system of moral understandings turned upside down. Where homosexuality was even recently condemned by the society, now it is considered a sin to believe that homosexuality is wrong in any way. A new sexual morality has replaced the old, and those who hold to the old morality are considered morally deficient. The new moral authorities have one central demand for the church: get with the new program.

This puts the true church, committed to the authority of God’s Word, in a very difficult cultural position. Put simply, we cannot join the larger culture in normalizing homosexuality and restructuring society to match this new morality. Recognizing same-sex unions and legalizing same-sex marriage is central to this project.

Liberal churches and denominations are joining the project, some more quickly and eagerly than others. The cultural pressure is formidable, and only churches that are truly committed to Scripture will withstand the pressure to accommodate themselves and their message to the new morality.

What, then, is the true church to do?

First, we must stand without compromise on the authority of the Bible and the principles of sexual conduct and morality that God has revealed so clearly in His Word. The Bible’s sexual morality is grounded in the creation of humanity in God’s image; we are created as male and female and given the gift of sex within the marriage covenant — and only within the marriage covenant between one man and one woman for as long they both shall live.

The easiest way to summarize the Bible’s teaching on sexuality is to begin with God’s blessing of sex only within the marriage covenant between a man and a woman. Then, just remember that sex outside of that covenant relationship, whatever its form or expression, is explicitly forbidden. Christians know that these prohibitions are for our good and that rejecting them is tantamount to a moral rebellion against God Himself. We also know that the Bible forbids all same-sex sexual acts and behaviors. Thus, we know that homosexuality is a sin, that blessing it in any way is also sin, and that normalizing sin cannot lead to human happiness.

Second, we must realize what is at stake. Marriage is first and foremost a public institution. It has always been so. Throughout history, societies have granted special recognition and privileges to marriage because it is the central organizing institution of human culture. Marriage regulates relationships, sexuality, human reproduction, lineage, kinship, and family structure. But marriage has also performed another crucial function — it has regulated morality.

This is why the challenge of samesex unions is so urgent and important. Redefining marriage is never simply about marriage. It leads to the redefinition of reproduction and parenthood, produces a legal revolution with vast consequences, replaces an old social order with something completely new, and forces the adoption of a new morality. This last point is especially important. Marriage teaches morality by its very centrality to the culture. With a new concept of marriage comes a new morality, enforced by incredible social pressure and, eventually, legal threats.

Third, we must act quickly to teach Christians the truth about marriage and God’s plan for sexuality in all its fullness and beauty. We must develop pastoral approaches that are faithful to Scripture and arm this generation of believers to withstand the cultural pressure and respond in ways that are truly Christian.

Fourth, and most important, this challenge must drive us to the gospel of Jesus Christ. Christians must be the first to understand this challenge in light of the gospel. After all, we know spiritual rebellion when we see it, for we ourselves were rebels before God’s grace conquered us. We know what moral confusion means because without the light of God’s Word, we are just as confused.

There is no rescue from the self-deception of sin except for the salvation that is ours in Jesus Christ. While doing everything else required of us in this challenge, the faithful church must center its energies on the one thing that we know we must do above all else — preach, teach, and live the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Watchman on the Wall

In a recent episode of 5 Minutes in Church History Pastor Steve Lawson explained,

“Charles Spurgeon started a publication called The Sword and Trowel, which was his magazine. It’s drawn from Nehemiah 4. When Nehemiah was on the wall, he had a sword in one hand and a trowel in the other. With the trowel, he was building up the work of God, but with the sword he was fending off the enemies of God. Spurgeon saw himself as a Nehemiah on the wall.”

In a similar fashion, EA works to build up the Church of Christ with a trowel in one hand and a sword in another. Several current events within the evangelical community serve as a reminder of the need to be steadfast and identify potential threats, and heed 1 Corinthians 10:12 – “Let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.”

Case Study One: Bethany Christian Services bowing to pressure to place children with same-sex couples

Ministry Implication:

-“There are hours when the Church must say NO to those who should ask communion with her, in the doing of her work, upon the basis of compromise.” – G. Campbell Morgan
– This is danger of relying upon secular sources (governmental agencies etc.) for financial support, which do not embrace your core value
– Uncompromising evangelical nonprofits, such as EA, could be stripped of their nonprofit status, as a result of not adhering to equal opportunity government standards.

Biblical Principle:

-Matthew 6 – Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

Case Study Two:  Moral Failures of Bill Hybels at Willow Creek Church and James MacDonald at Harvest Bible Church

Ministry Implication:

-“The immorality of leaders has been a reality among God’s people for as long as God has had a people. The temptations for leaders are as real as they are for the rest of us, but the consequences are more severe. When a leader falls, all are punished.  Not punished FOR the leader’s sin, but BY his sin.” – John MacArthur
-Board strength and oversight

Biblical Principle:

-Proverbs 27:6 – Faithful are the wounds of a friend, But deceitful are the kisses of an enemy.
-2 Samuel 12:7 – Nathan then said to David, “You are the man!”

Case Study Three:  Francis Chan speaking alongside False Teachers & The Gospel Coalition’s Sam Allberry Issue

Ministry Implication:

-the necessity of ongoing partnership evaluation

Biblical Principle:

Spurgeon’s The Sword and the Trowel – “Doddridge sometimes mingled in a fraternal manner, even exchanging pulpits, with men whose orthodoxy was called in question. It had its effect on many of the younger men, and served to lessen in the estimate of the people generally the growing divergence of sentiment. In other words, Shindler felt that Doddridge’s tolerance of unorthodox teachers obscured from his ministerial students the awful reality that these men were guilty of serious error, and left the students exposed to the deadly effects of their heresy.”

-2 Thessalonians 3:6 – Now we command you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you keep away from any brother who is walking in idleness and not in accord with the tradition that you received from us.

Prayer for EA: Clean Hands, Pure, No Falsehood or Deceit

Psalm 24:4-5

He who has clean hands and a pure heart,
Who has not lifted up his soul to falsehood
And has not sworn deceitfully.
He shall receive a blessing from the Lord
And righteousness from the God of his salvation.