Bonhoeffer’s Life Together

Last month I finished reading Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s little book, Life Together. It is truly a spiritual classic. There is so much depth and wisdom here about living the Christian life, particularly living in communion with fellow believers and living in light of the truth having been freely justified in Christ (the imprint of Luther is clear). I was encouraged as I saw much of the practice of my fellow church members reflected here.

In a day when (in Phil Ryken’s words) “church has become a place you go rather than the community to which you belong” Bonhoeffer’s message is particularly needed.

Here are a couple of quotes about the value of community:

“The Physical presence of other Christians is a source of incomparable joy and strength to the believer.” (p 19)

“The believer feels no shame, as though he were still living too much in the flesh, when he yearns for the physical presence of other Christians. Man was created a body, the Son of God appeared on earth in the body, he was raised in the body, in the sacrament the believer receives the Lord Christ in the body, and the resurrection of the dead will bring about the perfected fellowship of God’s spiritual-physcial creatures.” (pp. 19-20)

Bonhoeffer also deals with the false community we tend to establish where fake closeness by never really facing sin. He powerfully argues that there is no real intimacy until sin is faced and we can come out on the other side.

“Only that fellowship which faces such disillusionment, with all its unhappy and ugly aspects, begins to be what it should be in God’s sight, begins to grasp in faith the promise that is given to it. The sooner this shock of disillusionment comes to an individual and to a community the better for both. A community which cannot bear and cannot survive such a crisis, which insists upon keeping its illusion when it should be shattered, permanently loses in that moment the promise of Christian community.” (p. 27)

Similarly, true love will not call us to indulge one another but to help one another toward Christ-likeness. And our own personal ideas of love will not do. We must look to the Scriptures to teach us what love really looks like.

“I do not know in advance what love for others means on the basis of the general idea of love that grows out of my human desires-all this may rather be hatred and an insidious kind of selfishness in the eyes of Christ. What love is, only Christ tells in his Word.” (p. 35)

“Where Christ bids me to maintain fellowship for the sake of love, I will maintain it. Where his truth enjoins me to dissolve a fellowship for love’s sake, there I will dissolve it, despite all the protests of my human love.” (p. 35)

Ortlund on Marriage

Valentine's Day puts me off because of what is done with it.  The world around us does not know what love is and so many of the attempts are sad and tragic.

However, the love between a husband and wife is a beautiful thing, supposed to mirror the love of Christ for His Church.  Ray Ortlund has spoken powerfully to this in a recent post which I have pasted in here in full.  This is a good word for husbands and wives.  I am blessed to have a wife who does as Ortlund describes and "breathes life into her man."

"Let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.” Ephesians 5:33

God made Adam first and put him in the Garden with a job to do, a mission to fulfill. In the heart of every fallen man is the self-doubt that wonders, “Am I man enough to climb this mountain God has called me to? Can I fulfill my destiny?” A wise wife will understand that question at the center of her husband’s heart. And she will spend her life answering it, communicating to him in various ways, “Honey, I believe in your call. I know you can do this, by God’s power. Go for it.” In this way, she will breathe life into her man.

God made Eve from Adam, for Adam, to help him follow the call. In the heart of every fallen woman is the self-doubt that wonders, “Do I please you? Am I what you wanted?” A wise husband will understand that question at the center of his wife’s heart. And he will spend his life answering it, communicating to her in various ways, “Darling, you are the one I need. I cherish you. Let me hold you close.” In this way, he will breathe life into his wife.

Paul and Pastoral Love

Yesterday Lee Tankersley preached a great message on Galatians 4:12-20 and how the gospel develops a deep love between members of the church. Before the sermon ever began, I was gripped simply by the reading of this text, and the heart for the Galatians which Paul exhibits. It is so important in this, perhaps the harshest of Paul’s letters, to see this pastoral love expressed.

There is a place for speaking the hard word. Rebuke is necessary and a true example of love. However, if you think rebuke and “calling out” is cool, you are missing the heart of God- and are currently in danger of harming the church. In fact this is a sign of immaturity. Mature leadership speaks the hard word, when necessary, from a heart broken for the people and yearning for their growth and obedience.

This text is worth meditating on often:

12 Brothers, I entreat you, become as I am, for I also have become as you are. You did me no wrong. 13 You know it was because of a bodily ailment that I preached the gospel to you at first, 14 and though my condition was a trial to you, you did not scorn or despise me, but received me as an angel of God, as Christ Jesus. 15 What then has become of the blessing you felt? For I testify to you that, if possible, you would have gouged out your eyes and given them to me. 16 Have I then become your enemy by telling you the truth? 17 They make much of you, but for no good purpose. They want to shut you out, that you may make much of them. 18 It is always good to be made much of for a good purpose, and not only when I am present with you, 19 my little children, for whom I am again in the anguish of childbirth until Christ is formed in you! 20 I wish I could be present with you now and change my tone, for I am perplexed about you.

Let us go and do likewise.

Gerald Bray at Union University

Gerald Bray is the Scholar-in-Residence at Union University this Fall. It is a great privilege for us to host Dr. Bray who is an amazing scholar and good friend. His intellect and wit are both legendary!

He will give a series of public lectures on the theme, “God is Love.” All the lectures will be held in Union’s Coburn Dining Room and the schedule and specific topics are as follows:

Tuesday, September 29 – 12:15 pm
“God’s Love for Himself”

Thursday, October 1 – 12:15 pm
“God’s Love for His Creation”

Friday, October 2 – 12:00 noon
“The Rejection of God’s Love”

Monday, October 5 – 12:00 noon
“God’s Response to the Rejection of His Love”


Dr. Bray will also speak on the debate between John Piper and N. T. Wright at our Christian Studies colloquium at 3:15 on September 29 in Jennings 325.

Calvin on God’s Promises to Individuals

Recently I have in a number of settings felt the need to stress that God’s promises in Scripture to the church apply to each individual who is redeemed. This has at times come up in situations where God’s love for his people is mentioned, and some struggle with thinking, “I know God loves His people in general, and I even believe God loves those believers there who are more faithful etc., but really I doubt that he loves me.”

With that in mind, this quote from Calvin’s commentary on Psalm 125 (pointed out to me by my fellow pastor Lee Tankersley) is helpful:

whenever God speaks to all his people in a body, he addresses himself also to each of them in particular. As not a few of the promises are extended generally to the whole body of the Church, so many contemplate them as at a distance, as far removed from them, and will not presume to appropriate them to themselves. The rule here prescribed must therefore be observed, which is, that each apply to himself whatever God promises to his Church in common

Calvin on Trusting the Love of God

In looking through the recently published new English translation of Calvin’s sermons on Luke’s infancy narratives, I came across this quote which connected with my previous posts on trusting the love of God despite our feelings or circumstances. This is another example of pastoral preaching, of which Calvin is a great example. He is known as a great intellect but his sermons show him to also be a true shepherd in tune with the struggles of his flock and the troubles of the soul. May we also be such shepherds.

“The word ‘knowledge’ thus arms us against such devilish errors. When God gives us proof of his fatherly love, he desires us to have full assurance, so that we are not left to murmur to ourselves, ‘I think . . . I assume . . . That’s how it seems to me . . .’ No, this is the judgment each of us must make: ‘God never disappoints those who look to him. So when my trust is firmly fixed on him, he will never let me down.’ In ourselves we are guilty creatures, condemned to perdition. But when God, by his word, calls us to himself, we rise so to speak from death to life, we emerge from hell and draw near to him, knowing that we do not come to him in vain.

Inevitably we will experience doubt and distress. In this world our faith can never be perfect. We must battle with our troubles which, like the waves of the sea, push us this way and that. Are we tempted to distrust God? Are we weak in the faith? Is our trust in God’s word less firm than it should be? We should not lose heart, but instead remember that, whatever happens, God will not fail us. That is what we must do when the devil seeks to unsettle us, when he reminds us of our sins and sorely tries us. We know that we cannot live free of distress. Angry winds will swirl around us. Yet we must always come back to this fixed point: since our Lord has spoken, let us simply accept what he has said, persuaded that he will fulfill all our hopes and much
more besides. His goodness goes far beyond all we can conceive or imagine.” 111-112
(John Calvin. Trans. by Robert White. Songs Of The Nativity: Selected Sermons on Luke 1 & 2. Edinburgh, UK: Banner of Truth Trust, 2008)

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!

Love and Perseverance

My good friend Ron Sloan, owner of Refiner’s Fire Bookstore, recently sent me this quote from C. S. Lewis in The Four Loves, and it fits well with the topics I mentioned in my post on preaching about the church:

"The little pockets of early Christians survived because they cared exclusively for the love of 'the brethren' and stopped their ears to the opinion of the Pagan society all round them."

We need this sort of active, caring unity for the church to advance the kingdom as we ought.

Barth, Preachers Must Love their People

I have a number of disagreements with Barth theologically and ethically, but he did often speak truth. This quote from his book Homiletics he expresses well the how essential it is for us to love the people to whom we preach. Without this love it all falls apart.

“Preachers must love their congregations. They must not want to be without them. They have to realize: I am part of them, and I want to share with them what I have received from God. It will not help to speak with the tongue of men or angels if this love is missing.” (Cited in Preaching with All You’ve Got, David Day, p. 17)

If your theology is better than Barth’s, will your practice be less?

Pastoral Love Exemplified

Last Sunday was a significant day in the life of our church. Last year the church voted to give Lee Tankersley, one of our pastors, a 2 year sabbatical to complete coursework for a PhD. This past Sunday was Lee’s last Sunday before beginning that sabbatical. He and his family will be back with us in between terms, but the sending off of one who has done the bulk of the preaching for the last 8 years is a big deal.

Even though Lee will just be away for a time, I was reminded of a statement I heard from a layman I had had heard in a seminary chapel years ago. He told us, “Any church you can leave with out tears is a sterile place where your heart failed to find a home.” Its goes both ways- for a pastor and the church. This is not a corporation simply changing employees. This is a family, in which dearly loved members are moving away for a time.

This was a powerful day in the life of our church, illustrating once more how much we are bound together. One of our members has reflected on this here.

Lee’s farewell sermon is a great example of a pastor’s love for his people. This is what a pastor should be able to say to his people. As we see the beginnings of a renewal of substantive teaching in the church, we must remember that pastors shifting from CEO’s to simply the ‘professional teacher’ is not enough. We need men who teach the depth of Scripture because they love their people and want them to know God. Lee is such a man and his labors have been greatly blessed in our midst.