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?”

The late theologian John Broadus described opportunity in the following manner,

“Opportunity is like a fleet horse that pauses for a moment at one’s side. If you fail to mount him in that moment, you can hear the clatter of his hoofs down the corridors of time. That opportunity is gone forever.”

This pandemic has, unquestionably, taken much, but it has also provided a unique opportunity for believers to “redeem the time” (Eph. 5:15-16), in order that we might be rooted and strengthened in our faith (Col. 2:6-7).

With that in mind, I offer the following three recommendations to “mount the horse opportunity” in this moment, in order that, in the future, we can look back down the corridor time, and be able to say that we redeemed this occasion, to “grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ.” (2 Pet. 3:18)

Bible Reading Plan – This link contains plans as short as two weeks, and a variety of ways to immerse yourself in Scripture. Here is a free audible bible resource, and this is a great short commentary to accompany your reading.

Scripture Memorization – Download the Topical Memory System app and, before you know it, you will have hidden 60 verses of God’s Word in your heart.

Theological Training – take advantage of Ligonier Connect, now offering free video courses for individual or group study on topics related to the Bible, theology, Christian living, church history, and more. (Right now our family is working through The Basics of the Christian Life with Dr. Sinclair Ferguson)

Praying for this historical event, yet confident in God’s sovereignty and committed to His glory.

Even as we find ourselves in the midst of this crisis, people have begun to speculate about what impact this pandemic will have on our daily lives moving forward. What will be the new normal, in light of what we’ve experienced and learned? Many believe that much will change as a result of COVID-19. However, one thing is guaranteed to remain the same: the Word of God.

Laws may change. Technological advances may emerge. Social mores may be altered. Economic empires may rise and fall.  However, amidst shifting tides, God’s Word stands firm.

Puritan Thomas Watson said,

“The Devil is always trying to blow out the light of Scripture one way or another.”

Psalm 110:160 declares,

“The sum of your word is truth, and every one of your righteous rules endures forever.”

Peter quoting Isaiah affirms,

“All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls, but the word of the Lord remains forever.” (1 Peter 1:24)

The character and capacity of Scripture will remain unaltered. We can take comfort, amidst uncertainty, that, per Psalm 19:7-9, the Bible will remain perfect, sure, right, clear, clean, and true. And it will continue to restore the soul, make wise the simple, rejoice the heart, enlighten the eyes, endure forever, and produce righteousness.

The law of the Lord is perfect, restoring the soul;
The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple.
The precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart;
The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes.
The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever;
The judgments of the Lord are true; they are righteous altogether.

As Richard Mayhue and John MacArthur explain in their tome, Biblical Doctrine, the kingdom of God is the overarching theme in Scripture.

“The kingdom of God can be explained in this manner: the divine, eternal triune God literally created a kingdom and two kingdom citizens who were to have dominion over it. But an enemy usurped their rightful allegiance to the King and captured the original kingdom citizens. God intervened with consequential curses that exist to this day. Ever since, God has been redeeming sinful, rebellious people to be restored as qualified kingdom citizens, both now in a spiritual sense and later in a kingdom-on-earth sense. Finally, the enemy will be vanquished forever, as will sin. Thus, Revelation 21-22 describes the final and eternal expression of the kingdom of God, in which the eternal triune God will restore the kingdom to its original purity, removing the curse and establishing the new heaven and the new earth as the everlasting abode of God and his people.”

As difficult as it may be for us to comprehend, the Corona virus is part of God’s sovereign kingdom plan. It is one of the consequential curses resulting from the fall. And He is, and will, use it to redeem sinful, rebellious people to be restored as qualified kingdom citizens.

Moving forward, COVID-19 may alter much around us socially, physically, economically and emotionally, but it changes nothing spiritually. God’s Word, His sovereign plan and requirements for kingdom citizenship remain unaltered.

As I’ve watched the hostility and resentment play out over Samaritan’s Purse emergency hospital erected in Central park, I can’t help but reflect on the sweeping cultural shift in America and resulting animosity towards followers of Christ.  John Adam’s recognized that “Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.” 

Fast forward to today, and we have secular leadership actively seeking to marginalize, ostracize, and persecute Christians, not primarily for their behaviors…but their beliefs.  [In this case adherence of Samaritan’s Purse to the biblical beliefs on marriage and sexuality.] Some clearly believe that America would be better off if we could rid the country of followers of Christ.

I was struck by the following section in Stephen Nichols’ A Time for Confidence, regards Rome’s similar view of the early Christians.

Rome had two designations for the religions it encountered across its spreading empire. One of those designations was religio licita, which means “legal religion.” The other was superstitio illicita, which means “illegal superstition.” The word superstition reveals how contemptuous Rome found these practices to be. As Rome overtook other peoples, for the most part those people groups were polytheists. This presented no problems to Rome. This simply meant more gods to add to the Roman pantheon. Most of the religions that came into the empire were dubbed religio licita. They had the stamp of approval of Rome and could be practiced freely. Judaism was granted religio licita status primarily because Jews didn’t tend to proselytize a great deal. But from its beginnings, Christianity was designated a superstitio illicita.

As a consequence, Christians were literally enemies of the state—marginalized, ostracized, and persecuted. They could be killed with impunity. To be a Christian was to identify with a group of people who were worthy of nothing but shame and scorn. To the best Romans, Christians were seen as worthy of sympathy for their primitive ways. To the worst Romans, the death of Christians could provide entertainment. Ridding Christians from the empire would be the best possible outcome.

Tacitus refers to Christianity with the designation superstitio illicita and testifies to the hatred the Roman populace had for Christians. This despite the fact that Christians in these early centuries lived exemplary lives. Early apologists such as Athenagoras and Justin Martyr testify to the lives Christians lived. They promoted virtue. They honored the emperor. They had a work ethic that set them apart. Paul admonished servants to work “as for the Lord” (Col. 3:23). Christians had loving families that showed genuine concern for each other. Yet, they were seen to be a criminal element and enemies of the state. They were hated—not because of their behavior, for their behavior was laudatory. If only all Romans lived like the Christians. They were hated for their beliefs. They were hated for their belief in Christ and in the gospel. Ultimately, Christians were hated because their beliefs were different, and their beliefs challenged the status quo.

So, we, as Christians, should heed Peter’s admonition to,

“Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.” (1 Peter 1:21)

But, be prepared, even when our behavior is clearly beneficial to society, as in the case of Samaritan’s Purse service to New York, we should still be expected to be hated for our beliefs, because they challenge the status quo and are in keeping with Paul’s encouragement to Timothy,

Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. (2 Tim. 3:12)

“We’re going to give the best health care we can to all New Yorkers, it doesn’t matter who they are or what they are. We’re going to give them the best medical care that we possibly can in Jesus’ name.” – Franklin Graham

Contrary to what false teachers, peddling the prosperity gospel, would have you to believe, suffering is part of the Christian walk.

And yet, as the puritan Octavius Winslow wisely notes below, a calm amidst life’s storms should characterize the believer. (And, yes, this includes COVID-19)

“The Christian is far from being entirely exempt from those chafings and disquietudes which seem inseparable from human life…But through all this there flows a river, the streams whereof make glad the city of God. It is the peace of the heavenly mind, the peace which Jesus procured, which God imparts, and which the Holy Spirit seals.”

The apostle Paul wrote,

We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. (2 Cor. 4:8–10).

Paul lists mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual suffering, and, yet, most scholars consider Paul to be the greatest Christian to have ever live! So much the notion that sacrifice, Christian sincerity and “sowing a seed” financially will result in living your best life now!

As John Piper’s desiringgod.org notes,

“All Christians suffer. Either you have, you are, or you will — “through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God” (Acts 14:22).

This reality is a stark reminder that we have not reached the new heavens and new earth. The New Jerusalem of no tears and no pain, of no mourning and no death, hasn’t arrived yet (Revelation 21:1, 4).

But just because we experience suffering as we await the redemption of our bodies, it doesn’t mean that our suffering is random or without purpose. And neither does it mean that Scripture doesn’t tell us how to think about our suffering now.”

So…what was Paul’s secret? One key, I believe, is perspective. Paul continues in 2 Corinthians 4,

16 So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. 17 For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, 18 as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.

As I was reminded recently, amidst my quarantine reading, we must remember that there is something worse than death, and something better than human flourishing.

Read that again:

Worse than death

Meaning worse than physical death, which we will all experience, is spiritual death, the second death of hell described in Rev. 20:14 for those who are not reconciled to God through Christ’s death and resurrection

At this moment, March 31 2:04pm COVID-19 has killed 40,708 individuals. Sadly many of those persons were already dead…spiritually.  Unless they were born again, as Paul says,

And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with [Christ], having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. (Col. 2:13-14)

Better than human flourishing

Paul told the Corinthians,

“Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord.” (2 Cor. 5:8)

Paul considered physical death, departure from the body, to be preferable, as he would be with Jesus. So, even amidst the best that life has to offer: the most beautiful sunrise, the birth of a beautiful newborn baby, the joy of a wedding or the warm embrace of a loved one, none of this will compare to the new heaven and earth that John Piper referred to earlier.

That fact, along with trust in a sovereign, all-wise Lord, who promises to work everything together for our ultimate good, is what can and should give us the peace of heavenly mind Octavius described earlier.