GFBC Annual Spring Conference 2011 with Conrad Mbewe

Our family was blessed to be able to attend one of the sessions of Grace Family Baptist's Annual Spring Conference for this year, and the following are some of the notes that I took. Pastor Conrad Mbewe was the guest speaker, visiting from Kabwata Reformed Baptist Church in Lusaka, Zambia, Africa (more about him at his blog here).

Pastor Mbewe spoke on the topic of authority and submission. Opening with I Peter 3:13-17, the Apostle Peter is writing to the dispersia of Pontious, Galatia, and believers scattered all over various countries. Peter teaches with a focus on salvation, which is the organizing principle of their lives. As obedient children, so we should be holy, living lives consecrated to God - lives distinct from the Gentiles (the unbelieving world.)

In Ephesians 5, we are instructed to submit to one another out of reverence to Christ. Col. 3:18 also emphasizes submission, that God has established an order to his people. We honor and respect God by respecting an honoring those in authority over us. We are to be subject, not for America's sake, but for the Lord's sake. We are keeping the vertical plane in the right place.

The question becomes, what if the leader is a despot? This was not a new issue at the time, and Peter addresses the subject of suffering at the hands of the unjust. In doing what is right we might be called upon to suffer for it.

In I Pet. 2:17, we read about being subject to every institution. Submission and authority is a not a side-issue, but rather is at the center of godliness and holiness. Our individual holiness pours into other areas of life.

Peter avoids splitting the hairs of obeying issues such as national vs. state, but rather gives blanket instruction to honor all authority. When Paul speaks of submitting to leaders, we are indirectly submitting to God, and in Paul's situation, he wasn't talking about a Christian leader but rather a despot and a tyrant. National and state leaders that rule are servants of God (I Pet. 2). These governors ensure the way that we live with one another, and uphold laws against those who break them, punishing those who do evil and praising those who do good. Rom. 13 - rulers are ultimately servants for our good. Pay taxes, respect and honor those in authority, as submission to authorities pleases God.

My notes were a little scattered, as we had some kid issues, but there were also a few notes on marriage, and that the one who brings up together in marriage is God. Our vows are made to Him, and we do not need a civil magistrate. We register to satisfy the laws of the land. We should be careful not to use the freedom that we have in Christ to breach the laws of the land.

The Jesus Storybook Bible: Every Story Whispers His Name

Ideal for family worship, the Jesus Storybook Bible is an excellent retelling of many of the principle stories of the Bible.  This was used as part of this year's Family Camp, with each lesson taught at camp punctuated with some of the audio from this series.  The narration is actually fantastic:  read by David Suchet (the Inspector Poirot actor), the reading is very dramatic and entertaining, and appeals both to kids and adults (some of the narration is actually pretty funny.)

There's also a deluxe edition that includes a book with the CD narrations.  Eventually I'll get around to linking some of the sermon notes from family camp.  Every year its a tremendous blessing to be able to head out to do some camping and enjoy the teaching and fellowship, and I look forward to the family camp time each year.

Luke 6:46

While having coffee at the cafe in the local United Methodist church, at the sanctuary entrance they have a large display (with expensive-looking video and music, etc) to solicit for various questions about who they think God is, questions about the faith, etc, with a bunch of verses listed on sheets of paper with space provided so that you can "sketch or write you(sic) answer on this page." What's amusing about these questions is that one of the verses is Luke 6:46:
“Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?"

For a United Methodist church, with its generally wonky theology, I thought that this is quite ironic that they would choose this particular Luke text as a question.

(Strangely, the wireless internet connection wasn't working today at the UM church cafe, but this wasn't a big deal since I wanted to work on some C# coding with a book that I've been studying, plus I packed along my MP3 player to listen to a Mark Dever 9Marks interview, so all is well. I think the UM staff is on to me and shut it off just for my sake... :)

Also ironically is that in this interview I'm listening to with David Wells they've been discussing the state of the culture and how America is what could be considered predominantly "spiritual" and how this puts the Christian message in a much different context - closer to the Nchurch as it was in the context of Acts. That "spiritual" direction describes a lot of how it feels walking through in this UM church - spiritual flavoring but no high-view of scripture, no Scripturally-sound doctrine, etc.

They do have a nice cafe though with half-decent coffee.  Just would have been nice had the WiFi been working...

Ephesians 1:1-14

(The following is a devotional I wrote during my time as the central mailer with Alpha-Omega fan magazine.  Just pasting it here as I clean out some old jump drives on my desk...)

Ephesians 1:1-14

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, to the saints who are in Ephesus, and are faithful in Christ Jesus: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.
In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory. In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.

Paul's text to the Ephesian church speaks of the blessing of our adoption and redemption, as well as the glories of our being predestined for an eternal inheritance. Reading this passage, and knowing the value that Christ has put on our lives, we are obligated to use our earthly time wisely and effectively, which brings me to the topic of time, and our usage of the limited time that we have.

Although as a concept this can be difficult to fully grasp, time is a convention created by God, and that belongs to God. As such, we should use time in accordance with His will, and not that of our own. And while this does apply to time lost due to sinful behavior, it also applies as well to non-moral behavior. Consider, we can sometimes wind up spending (or more accurately, wasting) life's precious time with watching television (a rerun of a sitcom we've already seen a half dozen times already), video games (you don't need another game of Tetris, Rob), exercise, or even sitting motionless rocking in a chair. Time is a very easy commodity to waste.

In every manner which we use time, we could question if we are using our time wisely as well as to the best of our abilities. Even work itself can be time poorly spent if our working is simply an excessive pursuit of overtime in an attempt to amass money, or when done only for material pursuit and to the detriment of spiritual growth and family commitments.

Puritan theologian Jonathan Edwards wrote an excellent sermon on this very topic called "The Preciousness of Time" that's worth reading.  Edwards addresses the topic so much better than I, and while he makes no references to 'Tetris', he does point out a number of important considerations, not least of which is consideration of how precious time is to those who have come to the end of it. Those of us who aren't in that situation should appreciate what it would be like to be at our last days, and make the most of the time that we have. The internet is the pinnacle of time-wasting, with surfing, social networking, online gaming, etc, all being capable of burning up time which is a very precious commodity.  I've personally felt the soul-draining experience of time wasted with online gaming, as well as the regret of lost time that can never be regained.  Reading this text in Ephesians, we as Christians are given a clear picture of Christ's amazing love for us, and how important we as the elect are to him.  Knowing this, we are obligated to look at our lives and how we spend out time, and make the most of the time we've been given.

Time is short, and time cannot be recovered.

Finding Christ Between the Testaments

Fascinating message by Dr. John Barnett on the Intertestamental Period (the 400 years between Malachi and Matthew.)  The message of this silent period is that the Jews were victorious when they were obedient to the Word and defeated when they fell away from the Word.  The intertestamental period also presents the timeframe when the four main religious groups of Christ's day (the Essenes, Pharisees, Sadducees and Zealots) came into development, and also gives more background into the very dark and violent times of the life of people like Joseph, Mary, Simeon, Anna, Elizabeth and Zacharius, etc.

Dr. Barnett discusses how Daniel (in Dan. 11) prophesied about Alexander and the four kingdoms (prophetic words that were indeed fulfilled), as well as a little more background into the some of the Apocryphal books.  Although for Protestants we can sometimes be a little quick to dismiss the Apocrypha as non-canonical "Catholic" books, even though these are not cannon they do offer some interesting insight into the dark times between the testaments, including details of events such as the Maccabean revolt.


Some of the Apocryphal works, such as the Ezras books, need to be taken with a grain of salt:  per Dr. Barnett, I Ezras is basically just a copy of the Old Testament book of Ezra with extra stuff added in about "don't mistreat the Jews".  II Ezra's is a "flaming apocalyptic" with various inaccurate prophecies.  Its noteworthy that Jesus nor any of the New Testament ever make mention of the Apocrypha.  Rome clings to these, primarily because of fringy passages like 2 Maccabees 12:43, that talk abotu how Judas Macabees, when his soldiers died, shacked them up and made a sacrifice for them.  The entire Catholic system of purgatory was built around this one verse.

Dr. Barnett gives an excellent overview of this Intertestamental Period, and it helps give an little more background into the lives of those in Luke's gospel and the rough, violent time that they were coming out of.

Hebrews 2:14 and the Hypostatic Union

Hebrews 2:14
Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil

Some notes from a message by Douglas F. Kelly of RTS on the topic of the hypostatic union.  I don't always agree with everything Dr. Kelly speaks about (particularly on infant baptising) but these notes were particularly good.

The manhood, or humanity, of Christ, was and is necessary for salvation.  Hebrews speaks about how it behooved him to become flesh.  If a view of docetism is held, then he is still far away from us.

When we die, what will we offer God?  The answer:  Jesus' obedience.  Jesus is who God most essentially is.  He is the character of God.  If the diety of Christ is denied, then the foundation of the Christian faith is undermined.

Mark 12: 13-17

Here's an excellent message by Mark Devers of Capital Hill Baptist on the subject of "Jesus Paid Taxes", from Mark 12:13-17:

And they sent to him some of the Pharisees and some of the Herodians, to trap him in his talk.  And they came and said to him, “Teacher, we know that you are true and do not care about anyone's opinion. For you are not swayed by appearances, but truly teach the way of God. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not? Should we pay them, or should we not?” But, knowing their hypocrisy, he said to them, “Why put me to the test? Bring me a denarius and let me look at it.”  And they brought one. And he said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” They said to him, “Caesar's.” Jesus said to them, “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's.” And they marveled at him.

The rule was that it was one denarius for each man, and the Jew's hated this, because each coin was basically proclaiming Caesar as lord.  The goal here, then, was a trap for Jesus: an either-or scenario of popularity (favoring the tax) versus potential death (opposing the tax as a revolutionary.)  Jesus here gives a brilliant answer in which He gives a directive to both be obedient to government, as well as giving to God what is Gods.  At the same time, Christ is also unhitching his followers from any particular nation.  There is no "Christian country", for Christ's kingdom is not of this earth.  By unhitching His followers from any nation, the ethnic phase is now done, meaning that there is no more need for circumcision (and likewise infant baptism, since there is no longer a national connection.)  Being a follower of Christ is part of a national identity that we share with brothers and sisters globally.

I Corinthians 15:22

Our trip to the children's doctor last week brought to mind some ideas for this post.  We had a long discussion with the doctor about the vaccine/autism controversy, and our doctor, while very cautious in the administration of vaccines to small kids, mentioned that in her own research, the rapid rise of autism shouldn't be blamed entirely on vaccines, but instead that there are a number of environmental factors that play a part: toxins in food, water, the air, our clothing, etc.
As we discussed this, it really brought home to me the reminder that we do live in a fallen world, and as, part of the punishment and curse of sin is the effects we experience from the fallen world.

“For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive” (1 Corinthians 15:22)

There can be a temptation in our lives to think that, if we feel good, we have things and stuff and have no problems, that we are in a way indestructible. But the reality is that we are under the taint and curse of Adam, and as such, the world that we live in is equally fallen, leaving us prone to sickness and illness from our environment and other factors. No matter how clean we scrub the earth and sky, and how well we take care of our bodies, all of us are under sin's curse, of which the outcome for all of us is death.

But praise God for the gift of Jesus Christ, and his free gift of grace, shared for us on the cross of Calvary! While our mortal bodies are still prone to the ravages of sin and death, we have hope in the resurrection of our Savior!

Now while we live by faith and know that there is life everlasting beyond our mortal bodies, at the same time, this assurance of grace and salvation should not make us cynical to the responsibility to be good stewards of our health and the planet. The body...

“...is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God” (I Cor. 1:19)

and the earth...

“...is the LORD's, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it” (Psalm 24:1)

We have a responsibility to care for both, not under legalistic obligation, but rather doing so to give God the glory and honor. We should be mindful of caring for the bodies he's given to us, and also do what we can to take care of the earth, while being cautious not to fall into the trap of worshiping self or the earth.

We have remarkable designed bodies, and the world around us is beautiful and wonderfully made. We should continuously give praise and glory to the God who gives us our lives and a world to love Him in, all the while looking forward to the return of our Savior and the new life to come.

Matt. 5: 21-26

Some quick notes on Matthew 5 and the topic of murder. In these verses, Jesus isn't telling the Pharisees that they had the wrong view towards murder, but rather that they were misinterpreting these rules and laws. The law is built upon the word of God and has moral implications. In Hebrew, there are seven words for "kill", and Jesus reminds them here that this applies to all.

The jurisdictional explanation of v. 22 shows Jesus claiming the jurisdiction as the extreme authority. V. 23-26 speaks about how, if you're at the altar and remember a wrongdoing, then leave and go. The expectation is that you will return after reconciling with your brother. Make peace quickly.

Romans 6:1

Some notes on Romans 6:1, and the concept of continuing to sin for grace.  Not sure where these notes came from (I think it was a message from a Dallas Reformed Seminary mp3.)

Perfectionism is not taught in the Bible, and yet on the flip side is the attitude that sin is not all that serious.  The writer of Hebrews instructed to "pursue holiness".  Its important to understand the idea being that sanctification is just as important as justification.  Hebrews speaks especially about being set apart for God.

Sanctification of God, taken from Ezekiel, speaks about God being set apart from false gods.
Sanctification of man, in the Old Testament, was illustrated in separating from what was unclean.
Sanctification of the redeemer we see in the example of how Jesus sanctified self (John 17).

Sanctification is ultimately about the believer being set apart more and more for God.  This is a continuing process solely through the indwelling and working of the Holy Spirit.

Luke 7:11-17

Some more Oak Ridge sermon notes from Luke 7:

The preface to the message was reinforcing that Jesus Christ has eternally existed with God the Father. We understand that creation is a trinitarian work, just as redemption is, and that God speaks things into existence and they exist.

In Luke 7 we read about Jesus raising to life the widows son. In this we see providentially timed "crowd of death" meeting the "crowd of life". To the reader, Christ's instruction to the widow to "stop crying" seems like a strange one, unless it was said by someone with the authority to restore life. From the passage, there is no indication that this woman knew Christ or that she had asked anything of him, but rather He has arrived with a mission to heal.

Luke 7 also touches on the principle of touching the dead/the "unclean", and the idea that touching unclean things makes the clean unclean, but Christ is clean, and when he touches the unclean things (us) we become clean again. In vs. 14, Jesus "went up and touched the coffin", restoring the child to life.

The people here recognized that Christ was similar to the prophets of the Old Testament, and there was excitement that, 400 years following the Old Testament, God was revealing his power again. This passage in Luke is the first account of Christ raising the dead to life again.

Luke 15:11-32

Some notes on the parable of the prodigal son, or "sons", as Tim Keller referred to this passage in some of his messages. Most of these are notes taken some some of his Redeemer sermons (many of which are free from here.)

In Luke 15 Jesus tells the parable of the prodigal son, but the story is actually built around two sons. The younger one wants to leave and requests an early inheritance, basically the same as wishing his father dead. the analogy being built here is of one being ungrateful to God's goodness.

The younger son leaves, spends all of the money, and ends up feeding pigs, and even envying their food (and eating with pigs would have been highly taboo and shocking to the Jewish audiences.) Realizing his fallen state, the younger son decides to go home and, as he's returning he prepares what he will say in terms of an apology. Yet on the way home the father rushes to him, interrupting the son's apology message (here speaking about the fact that there is no stipulation on his return.

The younger son is welcomed back, but the story doesn't end here. The older brother refuses to celebrate with the father and younger son. Again here is an example of a son shaming his father, by refusing to be part of the banquet. The father appeals to the older son to come in, and the curious thing about the parable is that we don't know what happens. Does the older brother come in? We never find out, as the parable ends, a new chapter begins and Jesus starts telling a different parable.

One message about the younger son is that it can speak to the mentality of those who merely stay at church until they get what they want, and then they leave. This parable isn't just about "bad" people out there, but can speak to virtually anyone in the church who sees it with a mentality of "what will I get out of this?"

The older brother speaks of legalism and being faithful to the law, yet at the same time being lost by blind, rigid obedience to works-based righteousness. In this story, both brothers were lost and, at the close of the story, we only know that one of the brothers was saved.

Dr. Thomas Schreiner on Credobaptism

Here is an excellent mp3 message by Dr. Thomas Schreiner in defense of Credo baptism. Worth checking out, as it's an excellent defense packaged into a 30 minute time frame. Some notes I took from this message:

In the baptist view, believers are clothed with Christ at baptism. Peter's message at Pentecost was "Repent and be baptised". Numerous NT scripture references all cite baptism following belief. In the Presbyterian paedobaptist model, the baptism provides no benefit unless it's followed by later faith. Faith MAY occur later in life, or may never occur at all.

I Cor. 12:13 - All believers are baptised in the body of Christ in one spirit..." All believers drink of the spirit and are equal members at baptism. Have infants received the spirit at baptism? (baptismal regeneration).

Baptism is also described scriptually as a "washing". I Cor. 6:11 - makes it clear that washing of sin and justification take place at the same time, yet justification involves faith. Justification is for those who believe.

"Household baptisms" of scripture (Acts 16) does not support the notion that this included infants. The household is contextually limited to those who could understand and believe. Evidence for this is that the household is described as "rejoicing". This joy implies understanding the significance of what had happened. Those who had rejoiced were those who believed - no compelling evidence that this included infants.

Acts 18 - Belief of the household meaning mental understanding. Maybe children included. Acts 2:39 - Often used in defense of infant baptism. Peter states "The promise is for you and for your children..." A careful reading of this does not include infants. The groups are Peter's listeners, the children, and those far off (the gentiles). It's not all those listeners, but only for those from every group who believe in the Gospel. This is justified by the last clause in the verse, "that is everyone that the Lord has called to himself." How would baptized infants who turn from faith later in life apply to this group?

Baptism as covenental sign (col. 2:12) continuing circumcision. "In him you were circumcised..." The parallel, however, doesn't work for a number of reasons: it lumps the plans of God together. There is one plan of God from scripture, but there is no evidence from scripture that we have one covenant of grace. The Abrahamic covenant is clearly distinguished from the Mosaic covenant. It is also clear that the new covenant and the Abrahamic covenant are not the same. There are elements unique to the Abrahamic covenant. For instance, Ishmael receives the covenental sign of circumcision. There is a genealogical principle to the Abrahamic covenant that does not continue in the new covenant. There is continuity and discontinuity in both covenants. The old covenant was a nation and a church. This is no longer true in the new covenant - the new covenant is composed only of those who believe in Jesus Christ. There is no special chosen nation. Heb. 8-10 make it clear that all members of the new covenant are forgiven of their sin and filled with the Holy Spirit. People from every people group.

The new testament supports a credobaptist position.

Matt. 7:7-14

Some notes on Voddie's message about Matt. 7:7-14. Up to this point, the messages of the Beatitudes have focused on our role as Kingdom citizens, followed by the six antithesis ("you've hear it said... I say..."), and then Jesus addressed practical issues (prayer, fasting, giving, etc.). In Ch. 7, the sermon on the mount comes to a close. One of the things that pastor pointed out was that this message wasn't just aimed at "heathens and pagans", but rather it's about believers looking at the Pharisee's, the most righteous folks there were, and being directed to EXCEED their righteousness. And it's impossible to exceed that righteousness outside of the work of Christ alone.

v. 13-14 speak of the straight and narrow paths (Jer. 21:8 - "The way of life, the way of death"). Voddie spoke about the Christian life, and how it must be entered into intentionally. He addressed the more nominal approach to Christianity, that when asked "are you a Christian?", tend to reply with "I go to church", "I was raised a Christian", or "I've been a Christian all my life" (the later of which goes against the viewpoint of entering the Christian life intentionally, but rather makes it sound like an accidental pursuit.) Christianity is not an accidental endeavor, but instead is founded on repentance and faith (Mark 1 - "repent and believe"). To state that "I've been a believer all my life" is a theological impossibility.

Voddie pointed out that we all, by default, find the "wide gate" (the doctrine of original sin). We need to find the narrow gate. We seek it and petition God, with faith and repentance. So many churches this day teach an easy salvation, with belief without repentance, or acknowledgement of the burden of sin. The world wants to believe in Jesus "meek and mild", not the final judge who will convict us based upon our sins. We all deserve the death on the cross.

The expectation, as well, as that we will experience persecution as part of our walk. Modern teaching ("Best Life Yet" stuff) teaches that you should believe to escape persecution (in other words, they have the system backwards.) We learn from the Word that the one who endures to the end will be saved, not the one who just says "the sinner's prayer". We are encouraged to endure patiently.

Pastor also taught that our sin nature makes it difficult to find the narrow gate, as it's surrounded by the wide path. But our companions are few on this road. Language on the broad road, about the narrow road, is that the narrow-road travelers are "over committed", or "they're taking it too far." Responses like "Do you think we're wrong when there are THOUSANDS at our church, or because God is blessing our church?" This was a really good point, as I've struggled with how the local UM church can be so enormous, while being so shallow in it's teaching. The broad road is convenient, easy Christianity. Church on Sunday then go home and live as you like for a week.

We are exhorted to watch ourselves, and test ourselves. Jesus is the author and finished of our faith, and we should never adopt an attitude of, as Pastor said, "Thanks for dying, Jesus, but I did the rest myself." Endurance is evidence of our salvation - it's not a result of sheer credit to our own efforts. Salvation is about more than a "sinners prayer" on a specific date and time written in a Bible somewhere. It's about repentance, because you fully know and understand that you are a sinner deserving eternal wrath (and not just repentance in thinking that we are comparably less-wicked than the "Hitlers" of the world). Repentance and faith in the person and work of Christ alone.

FOR ALL THE SAINTS

A favorite hymn of mine, particularly the last verse: "Through gates of pearl streams in the countless host, And singing to Father, Son and Holy Ghost: Alleluia, Alleluia!" More background here.

For all the saints, who from their labors rest,
Who Thee by faith before the world confessed,
Thy Name, O Jesus, be forever blessed.
Alleluia, Alleluia!

Thou wast their Rock, their Fortress and their Might;
Thou, Lord, their Captain in the well fought fight;
Thou, in the darkness drear, their one true Light.
Alleluia, Alleluia!

For the Apostles’ glorious company,
Who bearing forth the Cross o’er land and sea,
Shook all the mighty world, we sing to Thee:
Alleluia, Alleluia!

For the Evangelists, by whose blest word,
Like fourfold streams, the garden of the Lord,
Is fair and fruitful, be Thy Name adored.
Alleluia, Alleluia!

For Martyrs, who with rapture kindled eye,
Saw the bright crown descending from the sky,
And seeing, grasped it, Thee we glorify.
Alleluia, Alleluia!

O blest communion, fellowship divine!
We feebly struggle, they in glory shine;
All are one in Thee, for all are Thine.
Alleluia, Alleluia!

O may Thy soldiers, faithful, true and bold,
Fight as the saints who nobly fought of old,
And win with them the victor’s crown of gold.
Alleluia, Alleluia!

And when the strife is fierce, the warfare long,
Steals on the ear the distant triumph song,
And hearts are brave, again, and arms are strong.
Alleluia, Alleluia!

The golden evening brightens in the west;
Soon, soon to faithful warriors comes their rest;
Sweet is the calm of paradise the blessed.
Alleluia, Alleluia!

But lo! there breaks a yet more glorious day;
The saints triumphant rise in bright array;
The King of glory passes on His way.
Alleluia, Alleluia!

From earth’s wide bounds, from ocean’s farthest coast,
Through gates of pearl streams in the countless host,
And singing to Father, Son and Holy Ghost:
Alleluia, Alleluia!

More thoughts on Matt: 6:19-24 and treasure on earth

I'm still kicking around the message in my head from a few weeks ago, about Matt. 6:19-24 and Christ's teaching about not building up one's "treasures on earth." Pastor played down the angle of the Christian possessing wealth with the (somewhat tired) expression of "there's nothing wrong with a Christian having wealth", which unfortunately I've heard from a few too many pulpits over the years, and each time I hear it I have trouble with it. In a way, it feels as if the teacher is trying to appease the token rich person/people in the audience, or it could just be a type of spiritual complacency towards Christian wealth possession, as if this, if anything, is just one of the "lesser sins". I dunno. My struggle is, if anything, taking for granted the DESTRUCTIVE power that money has in a person's life (my own life is no exception. I'm dirt poor and saddled with plenty of debt, but that doesn't mean that the world of the material doesn't hold sway on my heart and hinder the progress of my own sanctification. Don't even get me started in dreaming about some of the cool stuff they have at Frys...)

Anyhow, let me try to break out my thoughts out this a little more, in my own reasoning, at least. When a pastor says that "there's nothing wrong with a Christian having a lot of money," to me this is similar to saying, "There's nothing wrong with a Christian who wants to live on snake island" (with the number of venomous snakes directly proportional to the amount of earthly wealth.) Is there anything wrong with living on snake island? In and of itself, no. But the greater the number of snakes, the greater the likelihood that the individual can get struck, and venom can infiltrate one's life. Wealth in abundance can sometimes be like a venom: corrosive bodily and potentially lethal. But the snakes may never strike, and the venom may not be an issue. But the RISK factor is there.

It's not my intention to judge or condemn here: a believer with great wealth has a type of blessing from God (I do NOT believe that wealth is always a blessing though. I've been MASSIVELY blessed in my own life, and I have been and remain to this day dirt poor financially.) I'm breaking this down because, frankly, I've been kicking around in my own head how I'd ever handle great wealth if God brought this into my life. Say my web comic is picked up by a major studio (don't laugh, it could happen.... ok, it won't ever happen) but say I'm introduced to wealth - how would this translate into my walk? What does wealth do to the heart of a believer, and is it's influence ultimately more corrosive than anything? Is it more of a blessing to NOt receive wealth? What was Jesus really getting at in his message in Matt. 6 (and in other texts, such as when he tells the rich young ruler to sell what he had and give it all to the poor. Why does something like that seem so unthinkable this day an age?)

Just some pondering lately. Happy 4th. May God continue to bless this nation.

Matt. 6:19-24

Pastor Paul spoke on Matt. 6:19-24 this week, the "treasures" part of Christ's message, and here are some of the notes from the message, in addition to my own thoughts. The subject of money is always a touchy one from the pulpit, and I can't help but wonder, whenever I hear the topic addressed in a sermon, if the teacher has to deliberately hold back so as not to offend anyone (or, more specifically, offend any wealthy folks in the audience.) I've personally struggled with this topic, so I'm always glad to hear new teachings on the topic, and for the most part, I agree with most of what Pastor spoke about, with some exceptions.

The passages covered were:

Matt: 6:19-24 - Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness! No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.

The gist of the message is that Jesus encourages us to lay up treasures in heaven, and that we need to be careful how we invest our treasure, especially in light of the fact that we live in a culture growing increasingly antagonistic towards God. The message addressed the Pharisees, who focused on earthly rewards. They loved money, selling in the temple, taking widow's houses, etc, and their religion was similar to the "prosperity gospel" of today.

Pastor Paul mentioned that wealth, in and of itself is not a bad thing, but it's how you use it. Here's where my struggle was. I'm not sure that I agree that wealth isn't a bad thing. I think it's one of those mixed blessings: having a lot of money and things can be nice, but ultimately becomes something of a burden (e.g. storing your "stuff", protecting your money, etc) and a contention I've had for a long time is, is it reasonable for a Christian to live in a mongo-huge house driving a top-of-the-line sports car, or does this reflect a negative testimony to the non-believer who sees the Christian living a less-than-humble lifestyle? So on the other side of this, then, would this mean that Christians should dress in rags? I'm reminded of a message from "The Imitation of Christ" by Thomas A'Kempis, where I think he makes comments to that regard.... I need to write a commentary on "Imitation of Christ" one of these days. It's such a remarkable book.)

Anyhow, the gist of the message was that the earth makes a poor storehouse for treasure (what with the moth, rusts, thieves and all... :) that that our true treasures should be vested in heaven. But I couldn't help but think that the message seemed a little more angled towards a message of, "wealth is a reality, and there's nothing wrong with having wealth, but be careful how you use it." And that's sort of true, but I personally only see the corrupting influences of excessive wealth, and the display of wealth (houses, cars, clothes, things) outwardly reflects the heart.

Richard Foster is another writer who comes to mind. Ages ago I read "Celebration of Discipline", and while the book isn't perfect, I can appreciate reading his sections on humility, or more specifically, "simplicity". While sort of skirting the edges of legalism, Foster would making points about living more of a utilitarianistic life: e.g. getting a car that functions and works, not one that looks like a luxury-SUV-metallic dinosaur (ok, that last part was my own description, but you get the idea.) And I believe there is a truth there to the importance of humility and utilitarianism: living practically and showing caution in what we own and showcase to the world. I think humility and practical living, and I personally understand this to be a step of our sanctification: drawing further from the things of the world and closer to God.

Luke 24:13-25 The Road to Emmaus

I've been discussing communion and the concept of transubstantiation with an Anglican friend of mine, and wanted to record some general thoughts about the idea of the Lord's Supper sacrament being more than just a symbolic reminder of the Lord's sacrifice, specifically in regards to Luke 24:13-25. My friend cited this Luke passage to indicate that for these two individuals (Cleopas and his friend) that a revelation of Christ was given to them as they broke bread with the resurrected Jesus - or in other words, Christ was not revealed to them until they partook of the meal, implying that there is something more to the meal, in terms of the revelation given to those taking of the meal.

I dug into these passages, and responded with some of John MacArthur's comments from my study Bible, that Christ, in His resurrected body was *glorified*, and that his appearance was altered from what it was previously (Mary Magdaline didn't recognize Him at first in John 20.) And in a larger sense, if Christ was imparting some special revelation through the breaking of bread with these two, why was it only to these two people and not all of the disciples, as recorded in Scripture?

Another thing I brought up was the idea that with Catholics/Lutherans (and the high-church denominations), my own observation is that the elements are often offered to the congregation WITHOUT the admonition/caution presented by Paul in I Cor. 11. In other words, when you attend a Catholic Mass, the priest generally says some words in Latin, then the elements are presented, unguarded (without an admonition for self-examination, resolution of sins with brother, etc.) and anyone, regardless of the state of their heart, can partake of this sacrament. I believe that Scripture cautions against taking the meal lightly, and that there needs to be a guarding of the elements, and that the meal is only observed/taken by those professing believers who have examined their hearts, completely understand the meaning of the meal, and who have no unresolved sins with their brothers. In a typical mass, ANYONE can line up to take the elements and the table is completely unguarded. I think this goes against what Paul speaks about in I Cor. 11, and is ultimately dangerous to the individual partaking of the elements (as per Paul's warning) and to the church itself. Is there a special revelation granted through partaking of the meal? I'm more convinced that the meal serves as a public reminder of Christ's sacrifice and the importance of this in the life of believers. Is there a spiritual revelation from this meal? I'm more convinced that revelation if given the believer from Scripture alone, through the work of the Holy Spirit in the heart of the believer.

Now whether or not I believe the person taking the Lord's supper elements needs to be Baptized or not, I'm not completely sure about yet. Could a newly-converted, yet unbaptized individual partake of the Lord's supper, knowing what it means and what it entails? I would say yes, although some churches (like my own) would guard the table from those who have not been baptized in Christ's name.

Sanctification

I listened to a SermonAudio message by Les Walthers yesterday on the topic of sanctification. And although the audio quality of the mp3 left something to be desired, the message was a good one. Two views brought up by Pastor Walthers in the message were those of, on one side, perfectionism, a view not taught in the Bible (and ultimately one impossible to hold to) and on the other side, the view that sin isn't all that serious and doesn't need to bother the believer.

The writer of Hebrews speaks of sanctification with the instruction to "pursue holiness", and that we should be especially set apart for God. Sanctification is just as important in the believers life as is our justification.

Pastor Walthers elaborated on three different categories of sanctification:

1. The sanctification of God (such as described in the book of Ezekiel: God is set apart from the false gods of the time)
2. The sanctification of Man (in the Old Testament, this was a sanctification of self through separation from what was unclean)
3. The sanctification of the Redeemer (John 17 speaks about how Jesus sanctified Himself)

Another point made in the message was aimed at the unbelieving spouse (from I Cor. 7:12-14) in which the unbelieving spouse is sanctified through the believing spouse. In this situation, the non-believing partner is privileged to witness a living display of the gospel.

Sanctification is about the believer being set apart more and more for God. This is a continuing process by the indwelling Holy Spirit.

Here's a link to Pastor Walther's message.

Matt 5:33-37

Pastor Dave spoke about Matt 5:33-37 this past weekend, and I wanted to jot down some notes on this particular passage of scripture.  Here Jesus is speaking about oaths and vows, and the important of avoiding vain, rash and frivolous oaths.  Ultimately the message was about the fact that, at the time, the Pharisees were casually making oaths in everyday conversation, and Jesus' instruction was that oath spoken should be done seriously.  It was worth noting that Jesus did not forbid swearing oaths, so a Christian is still obligated to situation in life where oaths are a requirement (such as marriage oaths, swearing an oath of honestly before a court, etc.) and Pastor Dave also pointed out a number of passages throughout the Bible where oaths played an important part, such as throughout the account of the patriarchs, for example.  It was not coincidentally that this message from Christ in the Beatitudes followed immediately after teaching on marriage and the importance of the marriage vow.

Swearing by God's name is a form of worshipping Him.  To swear by something else, such as the earth or heaven, angels, saints, etc, takes the honor that belongs to God and asserts it to something else.  Ultimately, the issue here is about idolatry, and we diminish God's glory when there is not a sincerity solely in God's name within the oaths that we swear.