“For Heaven’s Sake, Teach History!”

This is the title of a good recent article at Kairos Journal. The article is a good, brief argument for the value of history generally for Christians and an encouragement for pastors to teach their people about the works of God in history.

I encourage you to read it and to sign up for Kairos Journal (for free!).

Grace Points from Ortlund

Ray Ortlund is a regular reminder to me of the centrality of grace. Two of his recent posts speak directly to the theme of my last two posts (one, two). First, in words I have heard him use elsewhere Ortlund presses the implications of being under grace and not law. He writes:

You are not under law but under grace. Romans 6:14
If I am not under grace but under law, then the burning issue in my life moment by moment is, Am I sinning?
If I am not under law but under grace, then the burning issue in my life moment by moment is, Am I forgiven?

Then in another post he cites this powerful excerpt from Luther, who is so helpful on this point. This is good preaching to contemplate and take deeply into our souls:

"God does not save those who are only imaginary sinners. Be a sinner, and let your sins be strong, but let your trust in Christ be stronger, and rejoice in Christ who is the victor over sin, death, and the world. We will commit sins while we are here, for this life is not a place where justice resides. We however, says Peter (2 Peter 3:13), are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth where justice will reign. It suffices that through God's glory we have recognized the Lamb who takes away the sin of the world. No sin can separate us from Him, even if we were to kill or commit adultery thousands of times each day. Do you think such an exalted Lamb paid merely a small price with a meager sacrifice for our sins?"

Martin Luther, writing to Philip Melanchthon, 1 August 1521.

Believe the Love of God

Following on from my previous post, here is my recent attempt to proclaim the reality of God’s love for His people from Isaiah 43. I read from and alluded to Isaiah 42:18-43:21, but focused the exposition on 43:1-7 which says:

43:1 But now thus says the Lord,
he who created you, O Jacob,
he who formed you, O Israel:
“Fear not, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by name, you are mine.
2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you;
when you walk through fire you shall not be burned,
and the flame shall not consume you.
3 For I am the Lord your God,
the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.
I give Egypt as your ransom,
Cush and Seba in exchange for you.
4 Because you are precious in my eyes,
and honored, and I love you,
I give men in return for you,
peoples in exchange for your life.
5 Fear not, for I am with you;
I will bring your offspring from the east,
and from the west I will gather you.
6 I will say to the north, Give up,
and to the south, Do not withhold;
bring my sons from afar
and my daughters from the end of the earth,
7 everyone who is called by my name,
whom I created for my glory,
whom I formed and made.”

This is a beautiful and amazing text full of gospel promises. I am aware that some OT scholars would be displeased with my handling of the text, but I am unapologetic. I move very quickly from these statements directed to Israel centuries ago to applying them to the people of God today. I know that the return from Exile is in view, but these statements are not confined to that situation. This is the reiteration of the covenant promises of God for the people of God, and they apply directly to the people of God today.

As we wrestle with sin and are subtly tempted to believe that we remain saved by our own worthiness, we need to be reminded that God says to those who are in Christ, “I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.” Yes! The God of the universe, who does not need me has chosen in his inestimable mercy to say to me, a sinner, “You are mine!” What beautiful words! What soul enriching words! What freeing words!

And, in spite of what I know about the deceitfulness of my own heart and about my own unworthiness, the Lord of all creation declares, “you are precious in my eyes,and honored, and I love you.” This is what we struggle to believe. It is so good that it seems it cannot be true.

Brothers, let us believe this amazing truth and proclaim it to our people. They are dying to know it- even some who have heard it all their lives.

What a message! What a privilege to proclaim it! What a God!

Proclaim the Forgiveness of Sins

I am increasingly mindful of the struggle Christians have to really believe that God loves them and forgives their sin. Part of our task as pastors in proclaiming the gospel is to remind the people of God that God does truly forgive sin. This is a crucial aspect of the gospel. But for some of our people it will be easy to believe that God hates sin, that God judges sin, and even that God forgives the sins of other people but not that he really & truly forgives their own sin.

Honestly, I am more accustomed to dealing with the error of minimizing God’s holiness and the horribleness of sin. This is a real problem in the church, but we must be wary of the error on both sides of the road here.

Eric Smith has a wonderful recent post on the task of proclaiming forgiveness individually to our people. He uses a great quote from Calvin on the fact that while we reject the Catholic practice of priestly pardon we do still as ministers of Christ, speaking as his heralds, proclaim the pardon of Christ to believers.

Eric then closes with these four searching questions which do truly get to the heart of pastoral ministry.

1) Am I striving to know my people in such a way that I can tell when they are burdened, and when they are rejoicing? Or am I content to prepare my sermons without thought to their needs and shake their hands on their way in and out of church on Sunday mornings?
2) Do I present myself as a knowable pastor, himself conscious of his sin and carried away by mercy? When my people think of someone who is approachable and sympathetic, do they think of me? Or do I come off as high-handed, demanding, and scolding?
3) Do I preach the Gospel beautifully, as the best news any sinner has ever heard, as sufficient to cleanse the deepest stains upon the conscience and heart? I personally find it much easier to preach legalistically about what we should do and not do, than to preach the Gospel of glorious free grace. My default mode is to try and modify our sinful behavior, rather than to exalt a merciful, life-giving Savior.
4) Am I able to personally apply the Gospel to the lives of my people when sitting across the table from them and listening to their stories as Calvin described? Or would I bungle this, able only to talk in generalities before a crowd? Have I thought through the sorts of sicknesses from which my people will suffer that will require tonic of the Gospel?

May we be the sort of faithful shepherds in view here.

Christ's Atoning Wounds

If you do not already read Justin Wainscott’s blog, Theology in Verse, I encourage you to do so. He often posts theologically rich and powerfully emotive poems, some of his own and some from others. Today he posted the following poem which I particularly appreciated. The meter is 8.6.8.6 I believe, so it could be sung to “O For a Thousand Tongues to Sing,” “There is a Fountain,” or any other tune in that meter.

Christ's Atoning Wounds
M. Justin Wainscott, © 2009

That sacred stream which ever flows,
Flows from the Savior's wounds,
Does in the souls of saints compose
Sweet, Christ-exalting tunes.

So let the saints in chorus flood
This place with songs of praise;
And sing of Christ's redeeming blood,
And marvel at his grace.

The precious wounds of Christ above -
His hands, his feet, his side -
Stand as a witness to his love
For us, his ransomed bride.

Those wounds which paid our sinful debt
Remove all grounds for pride;
For God's requirements all were met
When Christ our Savior died.

So let us boast in him alone,
And in the wounds he bears;
Since he who sits on heaven's throne
Those sacred scars still wears.

And when before that throne we stand,
And on our Savior gaze;
We'll truly come to understand,
His wounds deserve our praise.

Southern Baptists, Evangelicals and the Future of Denominationalism

This Fall, October 6-9, Union University will host a major conference on the theme, “Southern Baptists, Evangelicals and the Future of Denominationalism.” I referred to this conference in passing previously, but now the conference website is up with details and registration.

The conference is timed to celebrate the 400th anniversary of the Baptist movement and intends to examine some of the most vital issues facing Southern Baptists and Evangelicals as we prepare to move into the second decade of the 21st Century.

I have pasted in the schedule below so you can see who is speaking and what their topics are.

My address will focus on the renewal needed in our vision of pastoral ministry- the need to reclaim the centrality of the oversight of souls. I hope to see you here.

Schedule
Tuesday, October 6
5:00 p.m. Ed Stetzer: Denominationalism: Is There a Future?
6:00 p.m. Dinner
7:00 p.m. Jim Patterson: Reflections on 400 Years of the Baptist Movement: Who We Are. What We Believe.

Wednesday, October 7
Continental Breakfast
8:30 a.m. Harry L. Poe: The Gospel and Its Meaning: Implications for Southern Baptists and Evangelicals
10:00 a.m. Timothy George: Baptists and Their Relations with Other Christians (G. M. Savage Chapel)
Noon Luncheon Address - Duane Litfin: The Future of American Evangelicalism
2:00 p.m. Ray Van Neste: The Oversight of Souls: Pastoral Ministry in Southern Baptist and Evangelical Life
Afternoon and dinner on your own
7:00 p.m. Corporate Worship: Robert Smith, preaching, (G. M. Savage Chapel)

Thursday, October 8
Continental Breakfast
10:00 a.m. Daniel Akin: The Future of the Southern Baptist Convention
Noon Luncheon Address - Michael Lindsay: Denominationalism and the Changing Religious Landscape in North America
2:00 p.m. Jerry Tidwell: Missions and Evangelism: Awakenings and Their Influence on Southern Baptists and Evangelicals
6:00 p.m. Banquet
7:00 p.m. David S. Dockery: Denominationalism and a Global Evangelical Future
8:00 p.m. Mark DeVine: Emergent or Emerging: Questions for Southern Baptists and North American Evangelicals

Friday, October 9
Continental Breakfast
8:30 a.m. Nathan Finn: Southern Baptists and Evangelicals: Passing on the Faith to the Next Generation
10:00 a.m. R. Albert Mohler, Jr.: Southern Baptists, Evangelicals, and the Future of Denominationalism (G. M. Savage Chapel)

Ministry in Zimbabwe

One of the young men at our church, Mike Evans, is serving as an intern this summer at Central Baptist Church in Harare, Zimbabwe and is chronicling his experience at a blog, “Entrusted With the Gospel.” I am finding his reflections encouraging and challenging so I wanted to pass it along. The following is from a recent report about his labors in pastoral work:

Day by day, the Lord provides me with the graces I need to go on, but I will be honest that I am tired. As I write this, my eyes are filled with tears by the things that I have seen and the pain that I am surrounded by. HIV/AIDS is rampant, and the needs are great, even among our church family here. My eyes are being opened to what it means to oversee the flock, to meet one another's needs (even as I have sat here, a family has come in to give me some money as a gift), to care for widows and orphans and the fatherless, to see each of these to maturity in Christ, to teach and admonish one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs, to read the Bible together and to eagerly long for the return of Christ. More and more, my heart is being turned toward the needs of God's people as they cry out for relief, and they gather as a church body to lean on one another, hoping that they will have the faith to persevere tomorrow.

Bond on Calvin Tour

Douglas Bond, whose books my family particularly enjoys, is leading a tour of key places in the life of John Calvin in honor of the 500th anniversary of his birth. Bond is journaling the tour at his blog complete with photos and video. He has recently written a fascinating historical novel on the life of Calvin (The Betrayal: A Novel on John Calvin) so he knows the history well and is able to point out significant places along the way. For example in this video Bond points out the place where Calvin had to escape, most likely by lowering himself from an apartment window as the authorities closed in on him for his part in the reformation work in Paris. This sort of things makes history come alive.

A Shepherd’s Prayer

I have mentioned previously here the new church start, Grace Community Church. After their first official meeting as a church, Chad Davis, one of their pastors, sent this prayer to the congregation. I asked permission to post it here as an example of praying Scripture for your people. Scripture (especially Paul’s prayers) provide us great material for praying specifically for our people. I hope this is an encouragement to you as it was to me.

Heavenly Father,

I thank you today for loving this world enough to send your only begotten Son so that whoever believes in Him would not perish but have everlasting life (Jn. 3:16). Thank you for choosing us in Christ before the foundation of the world (Eph. 1:4). Thank you that, in Christ, we have redemption through his blood (Eph. 1:7). And thank you that, in Christ, we have obtained an inheritance (Eph. 1:11) that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading and is waiting in heaven for us (1 Pet. 1:4).

I thank you as well for the people of Grace Community Church. Thank you for shining into our hearts the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ (2 Cor. 4:6). Thank you for delivering us from the domain of darkness and transferring us to the kingdom of your Son (Col.1:13). Thank you for arranging the members of this body as you have chosen (1 Cor. 12:18), for your glory.

I pray for us today that we would have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth of the love of Christ so what we would be filled with all of your fullness (Eph. 4:18-19). And as we begin to comprehend that incomprehensible love, I pray that we would walk in love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us (Eph. 5:2). I pray that we would love one another because we have been loved (1 John 4:11,19). Fill our hearts with the glory and beauty of the gospel and of our Savior so that such joy and love will overflow into our relationships with each other.

Help us to glorify you by exalting Christ through the power of the Spirit today. Amen.

A Minister's Confession

From Valley of Vision: A collection of Puritan Prayers & Devotions:

God,
I know that I often do thy work
without thy power,
and sin by my dead, heartless, blind service,
my lack of inward light, love, delight,
my mind, heart, tongue moving
without thy help.
I see sin in my heart in seeking the approbation
of others;
This is my vileness, to make men’s opinion
my rule, whereas
I should see what good I have done,
and give thee glory,
consider what sin I have committed
and mourn for that.
It is my deceit to preach, and pray,
and to stir up others’ spiritual affections
in order to beget commendations,
whereas my rule should be daily
to consider myself more vile than any man
in my own eyes.
But thou dost show thy power by my frailty,
so that the more feeble I am,
the more fit to be used,
for thou dost pitch a tent of grace
in my weakness.
Help me to rejoice in my infirmities
and give thee praise,
to acknowledge my deficiencies before others
and not be discouraged by them,
that they may see thy glory more clearly.
Teach me that I must act by a power supernatural,
whereby I can attempt things above my strength,
and bear evils beyond my strength,
acting for Christ in all,
and have his superior power to help me.
Let me learn of Paul
whose presence was mean,
his weakness great,
his utterance contemptible,
yet thou didst account him faithful and blessed.
Lord, let me lean on thee as he did,
and find my ministry thine.

(posted Thurs at http://www.banneroftruth.org/pages/dailydevotion_detail.php?2399)

Wilson on Authoritative Preaching

Here is another excerpt from Wilson’s A Serrated Edge: A Brief Defense of Biblical Satire and Trinitarian Skylarking. Here he is critiquing our current culture’s view of humility and arrogance.

“We see the same thing in the conflict between biblical and modern theories of preaching. The biblical preacher is a herald, a steward. He has been entrusted to declare something that would have been true if he had never been born. He is to preach it with a strong view of his own ultimate irrelevance. He is to get into the pulpit and say, ‘Thus says the Lord….’ And to the modern world, this is insufferable arrogance.

In stark contrast with this, a modern pretty boy preacher – excuse me, a pretty boy communicator – gets up front and can talk about himself the entire time he is there. He is open, transparent, honest, and emotionally approachable. He is humble, or so it is thought. The evidence? He is humble because he talked about himself a lot. And the other one, the insufferable one, he must think he has a personal pipeline to God. He must think that God wrote a book or something . . . wait.” (p. 23)

We do see too much pride in the pulpit. We must fight the selfish pride that wells up within us. But we must also realize that certainty about what God has said is not arrogance. As Wilson rightly notes later “Arrogance is the sin of assuming yourself to be in the right without warrant from the Word of God” (p. 25). Let us be humble about ourselves, by talking most about Christ and holding fast to his authority unconcerned about the praise of man.

Doug Wilson on the Wisdom Needed for Giving Sharp Critique

I have my disagreements with Doug Wilson (baptism for example). But I have my agreements as well and they are many. I really like reading his material because he will at least give you something worth disagreeing with! You will not be bored and where he sees truth he will press it with fervor.

I have just recently read his book on satire, A Serrated Edge: A Brief Defense of Biblical Satire and Trinitarian Skylarking (Moscow, ID: Canon Press, 2003). There are still significant questions about when and how satire can be profitably used, but I enjoyed his book.

My point here though is to cite a passage which contains significant wisdom for the internet discussions taking place currently. As an advocate of satire, Wilson comments here on who is and is not qualified to wield such a sharp sword.

“Of course, in saying al this, there are a few caveats of the ‘don’t try this at home’ variety. I believe that true biblical balance in such things is the fruit of wisdom, and that such balance is not usually found in hot-headed young men who do not know what spirit they are of (Lk. 9:55). Consequently, prophetic rebukes should come from seasoned prophets, from men called to the ministry of guarding those people who belong to the Lord. The work should be done by men of some age and wisdom, and not by novices, firebrands, and zealots. The work should most certainly not be done by the kind of man who practices on his mom, wife, or kids. Satire is a weapon to be employed in the warfare of the kingdom, not an opportunity for personal venting. A man who has a need to cut others is a man who ought to be silent.” (p. 105)

This is a good word.

Public Sin Should Cause Us to Beware

There has been a lot of conversation about the revelation that South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford had been having an affair. I think one of the most important thing those of us at a distance should do in these situations is to take them as warnings to ourselves.

The most recent newsletter from Shepherd Press (ministry of Tedd Tripp) discusses this very helpfully. The newsletter takes up the point that Gov. Sanford mentions that this relationship began innocently as he counseled this woman regarding problems in her own marriage. Here then are some excerpts:

Talking with another person of the opposite sex who is not your spouse about intimate relational issues, without open and immediate accountability, is dangerous. It is not innocent; it is a high risk activity. When there is open discussion of intimate relational details with someone, there is always the possibility of things going horribly wrong. Christians have an enemy who is like a lion looking to devour the foolish of heart. The flesh is deceitful and it is at war with the Spirit. It cannot be trusted.

... Enjoying conversations about intimate relational struggles, with a woman who is not your wife, is not guarding your heart. Rather, it is the precursor to disaster. God has provided the family and the church for protection for God’s people. The marriage relationship must be guarded with relentless diligence. Don’t have conversations that you cannot speak openly and freely about with your spouse. As soon as intimate issues come to the surface in such conversations, be like Joseph—flee!! Urge the other person to speak with someone who can truly, objectively help him or her. Many relational failures in the church community happen simply because hearts are not being faithfully protected. Trying to help someone else’s marriage by talking privately with one of the spouses is asking for trouble.

Read the whole thing.

This is sound counsel and especially important for those of us in leadership who will have to counsel people in marital difficulty. Men, we must involve our wives at these points. Plus, this is another reminder of the great value of having other elders laboring alongside you.

Charge to New Pastors of Grace Church

As I mentioned in the previous post, we had the privilege of launching a new church, ordaining two new pastors, installing a third to serve with them this past weekend.

I had the opportunity to give the charge to these men, and thought I would share it with you as well. I love ordinations where I have full confidence in the men being ordained, and it is a struggle to know which text to take up in addressing the situation since there are so many great texts. So, here I sought primarily to bring together many of the key texts using as much as possible the direct words of Scripture to charge them with their task.

It is always a challenge to me to revisit these texts. Perhaps it will be edifying to you as well.


Gentlemen, I do not come today to tell you of your duties, thinking you do not already know them. If we did not think you knew your duties and were equipped and desirous of fulfilling them we would not be here today. We are convinced of your gifting, calling, and willingness. It is still fitting, however, at this significant point for me to charge you with these duties before God, this church whom you will serve and this church who sends you forth.

So, I do charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. But you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry. (2 Timothy 4:1-5)

Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he purchased with his own blood. (Acts 20:28)

Indeed, keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching. Persist in this, for by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers. (1 Timothy 4:16)

So I exhort you, elders, as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed: shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly; not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock. And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory. (1 Peter 5:1-4)

Keep watch over their souls, as ones who will have to give an account. (Heb 13:17)

And you may rightly say with Paul, “Who is adequate for these things?” (2 Cor 2:16)
But also lay hold of the confidence Paul has saying with him, “Such is the confidence that we have through Christ toward God. Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God, who has made us competent to be ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.” (2 Cor 3:4-6) You are ministers of the glorious New Covenant of Christ! Unworthy, you say? Of course you are! So revel in the wonder and amazement of the call of God, and in gratitude to such grace fulfill your calling caring only for the approval of this Great God!

So having this ministry by the mercy of God, do not lose heart. But renounce disgraceful, underhanded ways. Refuse to practice cunning or to tamper with God's word, but by the open statement of the truth commend yourselves to everyone's conscience in the sight of God. And even if your gospel is veiled, it is veiled only to those who are perishing. In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For what you proclaim is not yourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with yourselves as servants for Jesus' sake. For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in your hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. (2 Cor 4:1-6)

And men, remember the Psalm that says, “How good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell together in unity” (Psalm 133:1). To cite a lesser source, you must indeed all hang together or you will all hang separately. In many ways the security and health of this new church depends on the depth, power and health of your friendship. And friendship is not a word I use lightly. With some people you can afford simply to get along or merely to have a good working relationship. Not so here. You must love one another deeply as men who go to war together. For you truly do so, and you must have complete confidence in the one who has your back. Labor to develop and maintain this sort of relationship between you. In so doing you guard the flock, build the kingdom and protect your own souls.

Lastly love your people, this congregation, deeply, fiercely, tenderly- as Christ the Great Shepherd does. Grow to say of these people as Paul did of the Thessalonians:
“For what is our hope or joy or crown of boasting before our Lord Jesus at his coming? Is it not you? For you are our glory and joy.” (2 Thess 2:19-20)
Then your people may say of you as they did of Baxter, “We take all things well from one who always and wholly loves us.”
Imitate your Lord who said:“I am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.” (John 10:11-13)