“When people have affection for God, they talk about him; when they do not, they talk about themselves.”
Taste & See the Lord is Good
If the Lord-God raised our Lord Jesus Christ -imputed, the sins of the world; would the Lord-God fail to raise you -imputed, the righteousness of Christ? If God is for us, who can be against us?
Christ Matures Humility in His Children
“The gospel leads us to love Christ, as an humble person. Christ is one who is God-man, and so has not only condescension which is a divine perfection, but also humility which is a creature excellence. The gospel holds forth Christ to us as one meek and lowly of heart, as the most perfect and excellent instance of humility that ever was, and one in whom were the greatest testimonies and expressions of humility in his abasement of himself; for he humbled himself and became obedient unto death [Phil. 2:8]. Now the gospel leads us to love Christ as such an humble person, and therefore to love him with such a love as is proper to be exercised towards such an one, which is an humble love. And that the more, because the gospel leads us to love Christ not only as an humble person but a humble Savior, Lord and Head. If our Lord and Head be humble, and we love him as such, certainly it becomes us who are his disciples and servants to be so; for surely it does not become the servant to be prouder or less abased than his Master. Matt. 10:24–25, “The disciple is not above his master, nor the servant above his lord. It is enough for the disciple that he be as his master, and the servant as his lord.” John 13:13–16, “Ye call me Master and Lord: and ye say well; for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you. Verily, verily, I say unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord; neither he that is sent greater than he that sent him.” Matt. 20:25–27, “Ye know that the princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them, and they that are great exercise authority upon them. But it shall not be so among you: but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister; and whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant.”” (Jonathan Edwards (WJE 8:247-248))
Divine Love & Humility
“Seeing therefore it is so, that it is a sense of God’s loveliness which is the thing that works humility, hence we may learn that divine love implies humility. For love is the disposition of the heart, or it is respect towards God as lovely. If the knowledge of God as lovely causes humility, then a respect to God as lovely implies humility. And from this love to God arises a Christian love to men. And it therefore follows that a true love both to God and men implies humility.”
Writing His Word
“Writing makes the spoken message permanent”
Making Disciples by Preaching
“Finally, brethren, pray for us that the word of the Lord will spread rapidly and be glorified, just as it did also with you.”
“2 Thessalonians 3: 1 is an often-quoted missionary text, and rightly so. This verse provides powerful hope of a dynamic work of God through the ministry of the Word. The phrase “the word of the Lord” is probably best viewed as the Gospel primarily, but it cannot be separated from the rest of God's revealed truth (cf. Acts 20: 27). This is language that reflects the summary statements in Acts of the church’s advance (4: 29, 31; 6: 7; 12: 24; 19: 20). The spread of the gospel is the spread of the Word, whether called “the word of Christ” (Rom. 10: 17), “the word of reconciliation” (2 Cor. 5: 19), or “the word of God” (1 Thess. 2: 13).
This verse serves as a good reminder that the front line of God's work in this dispensation is the preaching of God's Word. Other activities have their place, but they cannot have first place. God has chosen the “foolishness” of preaching to save the lost. Much of contemporary ministry philosophy seems to have lost its confidence in the effectiveness of God's Word to convert the lost and to conform the saved into the image of Jesus Christ. Any lack of powerful effectiveness is not due to a shortage of power on God’s part or any weakness of the Word. It may, however, be evidence of our lack of faith and our lack of prayer.” (Doran, David M. For the Sake of His Name. Detroit Baptist Theological Seminary, 2018, 108-109)
Church Planting & the Great Commission
“Church planting is the necessary context for the two central components of disciple-making—baptizing and teaching. These components communicate a responsibility that clearly goes beyond bringing a person to faith in Christ: publicly identifying with Christ and learning the teachings of Christ. As we noted in examining the task of missions, a person who has not been baptized and who does not hold fast to the apostolic teaching may not be a genuine believer.
So how do I come to the conclusion that these activities must happen in the context of the local church? Consider Acts 2: 41-42:
So then, those who had received his word were baptized; and that day there were added about three thousand souls. They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.
The threefold pattern of Matthew 28 is here in this text: evangelism (“ received his word”), incorporation into the body of believers (“ were baptized… there were added”), and instruction (“ apostles’ teaching”). The commission clearly entails more than evangelism, if evangelism is strictly defined as leading someone to a profession of faith in Jesus Christ, and the opening pages of church history confirm this. Those who professed faith in Christ identified with Him in baptism and brought themselves under His teaching through the Apostles.
In fact, the apostle Paul, writing to the believers at Ephesus, makes clear that the Lord’s plan for the time until He returns involves the “official” function of pastor-teachers “for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ” (Eph. 4: 12). The Lord Jesus has provided gifted men to lead the church in fulfilling the Great Commission responsibility of “teaching them to observe all that I commanded you.”
The local church is the God-ordained means for the baptizing and instructing of those who have professed faith in Jesus Christ. Without the formation of local assemblies, the commission cannot be fulfilled. When we accept Christ, we are brought into union with Him and placed into His body, the church. Though the “church” is the mystical, universal Body of Christ, the responsibilities of baptizing and teaching belong to the local church as visible expression of that Body. Thus church planting must be the target of missions.” (Doran, David M. For the Sake of His Name. Detroit Baptist Theological Seminary, 2018, 62-63)
Make Followers, Not Decisions
“First, we cannot fall prey to the idea that the Great Commission means evangelism alone, especially if it is cut off from discipleship. Christ has commanded us to make disciples, not count up evangelistic decisions. If all we have is a choice between getting the gospel to a group of people in a one-time shot or doing nothing, obviously, we should take the one-time shot and trust God to do the rest. But it is not legitimate to turn that decision into a ministry goal or guideline. The Great Commission is not fulfilled until there are disciples who continue to obey the teachings of Jesus Christ and bear fruit through Him. We must consistently make that our objective, strategizing and striving toward that end.” (Doran, David M. For the Sake of His Name. Detroit Baptist Theological Seminary, 2018, 57)
An Enduring, Saving Faith
“A few years ago I heard a preacher illustrate the concept of receiving salvation by drawing a comparison between getting saved and getting on an airplane. Once you have boarded the plane, the preacher explained, you will arrive at the original destination whether you still want to or not. In the same way, he argued, once you have accepted the gift of eternal life, you will end up in heaven whether you still want to or not. I hope you are as shocked reading this as I was when I heard it. In a hopefully well-intentioned attempt to protect the doctrine of eternal security the preacher actually distorted the gospel and the biblical meaning of saving faith. This illustration perpetuates the false view that you only receive a ticket to heaven, not Christ Himself, when you profess faith in Christ. And instead of a faith that embraces Jesus Christ because it sees God’s glory in His face (2 Cor. 4: 6), this illustration presents us with a “faith” that does not continue until the day of Christ (Phil. 1: 6) and therefore is not based in the power of God. This kind of one-time faith is not genuine saving faith.” (Doran, David M. For the Sake of His Name. Detroit Baptist Theological Seminary, 2018, 39).
First Pastorate Problems
“Not long after I was chosen Pastor at Park Street, I was interviewed by a good man who had left the church, having been, as he said, “treated shamefully.” He mentioned the names of half-a-dozen persons, all prominent members of the church, who had behaved in a very unchristian manner to him,—he, poor innocent sufferer, having been a model of patience and holiness! I learned his character at once from what he said about others (a mode of judging which has never misled me), and I made up my mind how to act. I told him that the church had been in a sadly unsettled state, and that the only way out of the snarl was for every one to forget the past, and begin again. He said that the lapse of years did not alter facts; and I replied that it would alter a man’s view of them if in that time he had become a wiser and a better man. I added that all the past had gone away with my predecessors, that he must follow them to their new spheres, and settle matters with them, for I would not touch the affair with a pair of tongs. He waxed somewhat warm; but I allowed him to radiate until he was cool again, and we shook hands, and parted. He was a good man, but constructed upon an uncomfortable principle, so that, at times, he crossed the path of other people in a very awkward manner; and if I had gone into his case, and taken his side, there would have been no end to the strife. I am quite certain that, for my own success, and for the prosperity of the church, I took the wisest course by applying my blind eye to all disputes which dated previously to my advent. It is the extremity of unwisdom for a young man, fresh from College, or from another charge, to suffer himself to be earwigged by a clique, and to be bribed by kindness and flattery to become a partisan, and so to ruin himself with one-half of his people.” (C.H. Spurgeon. Autobiography, Vol. 1 & 2, Pilgrim Publications, 362-363.)
In Good Health
For the mid-week devotional at our prayer meeting, see sermonaudio.com.
The elder to the beloved Gaius, whom I love in truth. Beloved, I pray that in all respects you may prosper and be in good health, just as your soul prospers. (3 John 1-2)
Within the last couple of weeks – as part of my weekly regiment – I was listening to a cycling podcast. Most of my podcasts are sermon-related. However, a major portion of my weekly exercise is on a bicycle. Therefore, I listen for training, health-related issues, and general encouragement. I also usually listen during “admin” time, so I am not giving my whole attention but loosely paying attention. One sentence in a recent podcast caught my attention. It ran along these lines.
“The body’s natural state is one of health.”
My next thought was, “Is this true?” This statement is an unchallenged statement, not only in the culture but also among many, if not the majority of genuine believers.
After some reflection that day, I want to propose that the answer to the question, “Is our body’s natural state one of health?” is, “no.”
Apologetic
These were some of my thoughts concerning this over several days.
3 John 2 – a prayer is a request formed out of need. The Apostle acknowledges the prosperity of Gaius’ soul. Gaius is walking in truth and manifesting cruciform love before the church. These are an indication of a soul flourishing in Christ. John makes request from the Lord that things would go well for Gaius in this world and for the state of his body to be in good health. For our purposes, if the default state of the body is health then what is the point of praying for his health? One might pray that Gaius would be guided to the right foods so that his default state of health might return. This is not the concern of John. John’s prayer and desire for Gaius is that he would be in good health. This implies that perhaps Gaius’ natural state is not one of good health.
Psalm 103:3 – this is in keeping with this psalm of thanksgiving. Bless the Lord … who is healing all your diseases. Salvation is of the Lord, and one of His physical deliverances is our body from disease.
Job 1:9-12; 2:5 – the thought that came to mind immediately after the question, “Is this true” was Job. Satan accused God of putting a protective fence of protection around Job, his household, and all that he possessed. There was no crack in the wall of protection (on every side). Satan destroyed all he possessed – his children, his business, his wealth. Satan then sought to destroy Job’s flesh. The only protective fence that remained was to take Job’s life. Please note how quickly Satan moves to murder Job. This is the Adversary.
Thoughts
The natural state of anything is under the curse of sin and death. Corruption pervades all things.
Apart from God’s mercies, mankind would be destroyed – soul, body, and possessions. Lost mankind shares under the wrath of God but presently it is mixed with mercy – their health, their wealth, their family, and their affairs. Believing mankind has protective fencing around them. Apart from these mercies of the Lord, our natural state is dying and death.
Saying that “our body’s natural state is health” misunderstands the curse due to Adam’s sin.
The understanding that our all is due to the Lord’s common and special grace preserves both a thanksgiving and growing gratitude in Christ. When calamity comes, believers know that it has been filtered by His mercy, for our good, and for His glory.
Fear of the Lord
Come, you children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the Lord. (Psa 34:11)
“David was a famous musician, a statesman, a soldier, but he doth not say to his children, I will teach you to play upon the harp, or to handle the sword or spear, or draw the bow, or I will teach you the maxims of state policy, but I will teach you the fear of the Lord, which is better than all arts and sciences, better than all burnt-offerings and sacrifices. That is it which we should be solicitous both to learn ourselves, and to teach our children.” (Matthew Henry)