Sunday Sermon: "Love" (Galatians 5:22-23; 1 John 4:7-16)

 

Matthew Dowling, preaching minister at the Plymouth Church of Christ, delivered a sermon message titled "Love" from Galatians 5:22-23 and 1 John 4:7-16. The September-October sermon series is "The Fruit of Our Faith."

Guilt and Forgiveness

"He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; He took it away, nailing it to the cross" (Colossians 2:13b–14)

Whether he or she admits it or not, every person has a problem with guilt. There is nobody in this world who even lives up to his own personal standards, let alone to God’s standards. Faced with the reality of guilt, people generally respond in one or both of two ways.

The first is the way of denial. The person simply denies that he has any guilt. He denies that there is any moral law, or if there is, he denies that he has broken it. It is as if a man destroys his neighbor’s new car and has to borrow $10,000 to buy him another, and then, when the bill is presented to him, boldly denies that he ever incurred the debt.

The second common way of dealing with guilt is the way of transference. The person blames someone else for his problems. We see this all the time in modern society. It is the rich who are at fault, we are told, when street gangs riot in Los Angeles. Continuing our analogy, it is as if the man who borrowed $10,000 now claims that actually it is not he but someone else who owes the money.

The problem with both these approaches is this: God has kept a record, and it is very clear who incurred the debt and who is liable to pay it. It is very clear who is guilty. Using our analogy once more, there is no way we can get around the fact that we owe the $10,000. But what if we receive in the mail the bill for $10,000 with the words PAID IN FULL written across it? This would mean that we have been forgiven our debt.

It is the law of God that shows us our guilt and our debt to God, and it is no paltry $10,000 that we owe. What we owe is an eternity in hell. But God has canceled our debts by taking the law and “nailing it to the cross.” What does this mean? It was Jesus who was nailed to the cross. Jesus took the law and condemnation of God to Himself, and God put on Him all the debts that we owe because of our guilt. 

Then God put Him under the curse by nailing Him to the tree (Galatians 3:13; Deuteronomy 21:23). In Jesus’ death on the cross, the law died and our debts died with Him. In Jesus’ resurrection, the law arises with Him, no longer as a condemnation of us, but as a gracious rule for godly life.

Have you been practicing denial or transference in dealing with some problem in your life? In your prayer today, ask God the Holy Spirit to bring to your mind any areas of true guilt that you have been refusing to deal with. Accept God’s forgiveness in Christ, and arise to make things right with anyone you have wronged.

How God Answers Spiritual Self-Doubt

Our culture promotes the idea that self-worth and self-belief are essential and that we need to overcome the self-doubt that holds us back. The idea is that we simply ignore what self-doubt tells us, develop self-belief and draw on our personal resources. But the gospel gives us a realistic understanding of ourselves and that we cannot depend on our own resources. Yet it offers to us the greater, inexhaustible resources of Christ. Spiritually, there may be much self-doubt and it can be hard to see it as a bad thing. After all, we cannot depend on ourselves and we are not in doubt about God and grace. But these things are not so easily separated because when we are dealing with self-doubt concerning the work of God within us. Sometimes we can be discouraged with a deep sense of our weakness and doubt whether we have grace at all. This kind of self-doubt can be very hard to overcome. We need to hear God’s covenant promises speaking into such a condition.

We should be careful of mistaking weak grace for no grace. There is a world of difference. William Gurnall in The Christian in Complete Armour says that even if you have the very least grace that any ever had to begin with you have something of infinite value. God has done more in putting that grace within than in giving perfect grace to believers who are now in heaven… “There is a greater gulf between no grace and grace, than between weak grace and strong; between a chaos and nothing, than between a chaos and this beautiful frame of heaven and earth.”

William Guthrie (1620–1665), a minister of Fenwick in Ayrshire who is best known for his valuable book on salvation and assurance The Christian’s Great Interest, patiently applies the covenant promises of Hebrews 8:10-12 and Jeremiah 31:31-34 to twenty-seven different doubts and fears. He represents God as doing this directly with the individual through the words of Scripture in the following dialogue. God makes a covenant with rich promises. “I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people…they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them…I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more”. He shows how these promises are to be embraced and depended on by faith alone, discarding all trust in our own resources. In this updated extract from an unpublished sermon, we find numerous doubts and objections graciously disarmed and laid aside, one by one.

1. How can I have mercy when I am an enemy to God by nature and the thoughts of my heart are only evil and wicked continually?

Answer. The Lord says, “I will make a new covenant” (Jeremiah 31:31) with you. Hold your peace; do not let that thought about being an enemy to me trouble you seeing that I purpose to bind a bond of friendship with you in my Son Christ.

2. Although God would make a thousand covenants with me, yet I am unable to keep (or fulfil) any condition the Covenant requires. But what conditions can I a sinful creature fulfil towards the Lord who is holy?

Answer. “I will make a new covenant” in which I promise to fulfil all that I require of you. I will put in you a new mind and a new heart (Hebrews 8:10), and I will bind my Son as surety that I will do this.

3. But how can I know I if I am one of those with whom God will enter into covenant? I know there is a people in covenant with God, but I doubt if I am one of them.

Answer. I will make the covenant “with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah” (Jeremiah 31:11), or, in other words, with the visible Church consisting of Jews and Gentiles (the partition wall being now taken away). Now you have been born into the Church and baptised, and so are already within the outward scope of this covenant.

4. I know that the Church is called the Israel of God. But what God promises is to the sincere and upright Israelite. I fear that I am only an Israelite outwardly in the letter and not in the spirit. There is nothing in me except what is to be found in all professing Christians who have merely been baptized.

Answer. My covenant shall be with those who have nothing of my law written in their inward parts. If you lack my law in your heart, I will put it there (Jeremiah 31:33). I will make you an Israelite, in whom there is no guile (John 1:47), and whose praise is not of men but of God (Romans 2:29).

5. Although God would put his law in my heart, yet I am blind and incapable of apprehending spiritual mysteries. No matter how long they were taught and explained to me, yet I would remain ignorant of them.

Answer. I will put my law in your inward parts (Jeremiah 31:33), as the apostle expounds it, “I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people” (Hebrews 8:10).

6. But I find after everything only weak desires of knowledge in my mind. My love to God is very cold. My hatred of sin is very little or nothing. My heart is not affected towards heavenly things but is occupied with vain and sinful things. It is sometimes set on the world, and sometimes on my lusts and pleasures and those ways that lead to destruction and perdition.

Answer. I will put my laws in your mind and write it in your heart (Hebrews 8:10). If your heart is wicked, you will have a new heart. Your lawless heart will yield to the law, for you will have a loving heart, and love is the fulfilling of the law. Your blind mind and stony heart will be taken away, and a single and sincere heart will be given to you.

7. My heart is averse to God and godliness and inclined to all evil. If any godly motive arises in my heart, it does not abide. It is as though written on water, or on sand that is blown away with the wind. It is as the morning cloud, or as the early dew which soon vanishes away. (Hosea 13:3).

Answer. I will write my law in your heart (Hebrews 8:10). A written testimony is constant and enduring. As the law written in a book remains, so also when it is written in a renewed man’s heart.

8. But my heart is harder than the millstone, harder than the adamant so that the Word preached does not move me.

Answer. I will write my law in it (Hebrews 8:1). I will make it like a polished and prepared writing tablet so that the fingers of the Lord will make deep letters in it. Although it may not appear like this to you, yet love and obedience to the law will be seen by others. Sin, bit by bit, will be rubbed out and disappear, and the law of the Lord more and more clearly read.

9. These promises are to the believer and those who have new obedience begun in them. But I find little faith, repentance, or obedience in me. Indeed, I often doubt if any of those things are in me.

Answer. I will put my law in your mind and write it in your heart (Hebrews 8:10). Now, what is faith but receiving of the law into your mind and heart? If then, you are pleased to covenant with God and will say so, you will answer to Him that it is the chief desire of your heart to be reconciled, then be sure He will give you faith and repentance.

10. If I take hold of these promises, I know that I will be exposed to a thousand dangers because of many temptations.

Answer. “I will be their God” (Jeremiah 31:33). Now, if God is yours, what do you lack? Should this promise not satisfy your trembling heart? As long as God endures, you will endure and enjoy all that He is to his own.

11. I have no reason to doubt that God will do all that He says of Himself. My only doubt is that I will not get my part done to Him in an acceptable way and manner.

Answer. “They shall be my people” (Jeremiah 31:33), i.e., I will make you one of my people when I consecrate you to serve me and to be a diligent subject and careful honourer of me.

12. Although I were among God’s people, I would slip out again. I am afraid that I would not persevere, and so the bond would not continue.

Answer. You “shall be my people” (Jeremiah 31:33), i.e., you will remain my people, my special people, and none will be able to pluck you out of my hand. (John 10:29)

13. I wonder how this can be, how God can promise so much to me? I am so unworthy and have so many disqualifications and cannot give him a good reception. Will a king covenant with a beggar or draw up a contract with a poor, unprofitable person? Far less can God covenant with me.

Answer. “I will be their God,” (Jeremiah 31:33) i.e., of my own accord I am pleased to be so. It is not a covenant of works but a covenant of grace that I make, and it is made with the unworthy. If they were worthy I would bid them obey my law perfectly in their own strength; but now, although they are unworthy, yet I am pleased to be their God. And what have you to say against this which is my purpose and my pleasure?

14. What if a change of religion should come, heresy arises, and teachers from whom we have received the truth swerve and fail or fall away? What if teachers change their theme, and take out of our hands what once they have taught us? I even fear that I myself may become an apostate.

Answer. “They shall not teach… ” (Hebrews 8:11). If any teacher does not teach so, you will not be taught by him, but I will teach you myself. You will learn to lean on me and not on them. Although their teachers may be learned men and of great repute, yet (if they do not teach so) you will not acknowledge them. Although they are in the Church, they are not of the Church, they are apostates. But as for you, I promise to teach you myself, and you will receive no man’s doctrine except what I have delivered by the mouths of my prophets and apostles.

15. What if all true teachers were to be driven away by persecution. It would then be with me as in the days of the prophet Amos (8:13) when they wandered from sea to sea to seek the word of the Lord and did not find it? What if we are so dispersed by persecution so that we cannot meet together, and even the Bible taken out of our hands so that we cannot even read it?

Answer. “They shall be all taught of God” (John 6:45). If I take away the means I will supply the lack of them myself. I will be a little sanctuary to you (see Ezekiel 11:16).

16. “I am only young,” says one. “I am unlearned,” says another. “I am a weak helpless woman,” says another, “and they may make me believe anything they please”. “I am poor,” says another, “and do not have the means that others have to obtain knowledge.”

Answer. “All shall know me, from the least to the greatest” (Hebrews 8:11). It is the duty of all to learn to read; but, although you are unlearned, here is a promise that God will teach you as much of Himself as will save your soul.

17. I cannot attain to the knowledge which others possess, neither have I capacity to take in matters of so much consequence as are set down in Scripture.

Answer. “All shall know me,” that is, all shall come to the saving knowledge of the Lord Himself, your teacher and friend. Although your calling may be such as to make the attainment of learning impossible, although your capacity may be weak, and you lack means to receive instruction, although there are many things, of which you will still remain ignorant, you will know Him whom to know is eternal life.

18. But, when I consider my natural disposition, I fear that, although I were even now pardoned and cleansed, I would immediately defile myself again.

Answer. I will be merciful to your unrighteousness. (Hebrews 8:12). What else do you wish but mercy? If your nature is rebellious, know that the Maker and Surety of the Covenant is also your Advocate (1 John 2:1).

19. I would trust for grace not to sin wilfully for the time to come, but when I think of my past sins I am afraid and know not what to answer.

Answer. Your “sins and iniquities I will remember no more” (Hebrews 8:12)

20. These things are all good. If I could be sure that they would be made good to me I would be joyful in spirit.

Answer. Four or five times “Thus saith the Lord of Hosts” is repeated in this Covenant. As if He had said, “I the Lord of hosts am Surety that whatever is promised will be fulfilled”. God’s curse on everyone who does not continue in doing the things of the law (Galatians 3:10) makes you afraid and disturbs your peace. Why does His saying in the gospel not restore your peace again, seeing you have His Word in the one case as well as in the other?

21. If I could remember that sweet promise I would be rich, for it satisfies me now. I can say nothing against it; but, when my adversaries assault me, I am afraid I will forget again.

Answer. The sun and moon, heaven and earth, are witnesses of the Covenant, and they shall never depart out of your sight. But, even, if you were blind, the earth under your feet would remind you of it, for this Covenant is as securely established as the earth.

22. But I am so changeable, I never remain one day in one condition. What if the Lord calls me away when I am in the worse case? How can I have any steadfastness?

Answer. The day and the night have their changes but not the ordinance of the day and of the night (Jeremiah 33:25). It is an article of the Covenant that the ordinance should remain sure. So, although you are changeable yet the Covenant made with you will not change, for the Covenant is not of you but of God. He says, “I am the Lord, I change not” (Malachi 3:6).

23. I am like Peter when he was ready to sink in the Sea of Galilee. Everything seems to terrify me. There are fightings within and fears without, and I have little or no steadfastness.

Answer. The Lord stills the sea when the waves arise. Can he not quiet the tempest of the heart?

24. How is it possible for a saving work to go on steadfastly in the heart of one so unworthy and so fickle?

Answer. The Lord gives the sun for a light by day and has made all things out of nothing. He can as easily complete the work of your salvation. Is anything too hard for the Lord?

25. But I see the whole Church of God is harassed, what then can I expect who am but one? When the ship wherein I sail is ready to perish what shall become of me?

Answer. “The seed of Israel shall not cease being a nation before me for ever” (Jeremiah 31:36). Sun and moon, heaven and earth, shall all soon perish, but the Lord will reserve a people to himself.

26. There are so many against the Church and so few on her side. The King of Babylon has a hundred provinces, and how shall Judah and Benjamin, a parcel of poor, naked captives, deliver themselves? The king who should be a defender of the faith is its persecutor.

Answer. The height of the heavens and the depth of the earth is also unsearchable to you, but not to God. Leave the fulfilment of what He has promised to God Himself, and He will find a way for it. Is His hand shortened that He cannot save, or has He no power to redeem?

27. Well, then, I see by all these promises I will have an easy life. I may be secure and indifferent. It may encourage sin in me to tell me of a Covenant by which any person that pleases may be saved.

Answer. There is nothing so good but men may abuse it. Grace is grace, although some may turn it into licence. This Covenant is made with the true Israel of God. If any, then, will abuse this doctrine let them answer for it. If they will draw near to the devil because God has drawn so near to them, or be more wicked because God has been so good, let them see to it. If any will be more licentious because God is ready to forgive, and allow that which should be an anchor of the soul to draw them away from God, let them know that their punishment will be all the more dreadful at the last.

It is a sure token of a damned soul when it grows the more wicked the more it hears of grace. But the more the sons of Jacob hear of grace, the more they will wrestle for it. The more loving and gracious a father is to his children, the more ready they will be to obey him. But if a child is more rebellious because the father is good, he deserves to be put out of the door. If you are a good child, you will out of love pursue after God when he pursues after you with kindness. But if you will abuse this doctrine against God and your own soul, and will harden your heart because God has spoken good things to you, you will draw swift destruction on yourself.

And now if anyone says, “let the minister preach as he pleases, and we will do as we please”, I have only to say that the benefit of our preaching is to another and not to him, and that the more he hears of such preaching the worse it will be for himself. Let him, however, rather recall his words and return now to God. For it is God Himself who says, “Incline your ear and come unto me: hear, and your soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David” (Isaiah 55:3).

The PreacherCast (Episode: August 29, 2020)

Welcome to The PreacherCast for August 29, 2020. We round up the news and talk theology and five things which are on my mind this week!

Christian Circumcision

"In Him you were also circumcised, in the putting off of the flesh, not with a circumcision done by the hands of men but with the circumcision done by Christ" (Colossians 2:11)

When God called out Abram to be a priest to the nations, He gave him the sign of circumcision as a mark of the special status of Israel, the nation he would conceive. Both Abram and his children were circumcised. Paul wrote to the Colossians that they were all circumcised in Christ, Jew and Gentile alike, thus striking down the distinction God had temporarily imposed on the human race until the time of the new covenant.

Circumcision in the old covenant had both a positive and a negative aspect. It represented both blessing and curse. When a person entered the covenant, he was coming into the bountiful blessings of God’s kingdom. The danger is that he was also coming under the possibility of judgment; for those who break God’s covenant receive His curse.

The foreskin was designated the “flesh,” and it is this flesh that is cut off in a symbolic castration. The implied curse was, thus, full castration. Those who are thus cursed will have no seed and no future in the kingdom. Those who are merely circumcised will have a future, and this future is symbolized by the fact that their children are also circumcised. Baptism, which implies drowning as a curse, has the same meaning in the new covenant.

The cutting off of the flesh symbolized separation from sin and judgment, and separation to a life of service as God’s priests. Because Israel was a nation of representative priests (representing the other nations) only males were circumcised. In the new covenant, all people, Jew and Gentile, male and female, are baptized as priests, while those who represent and lead in worship, and who are ordained, must be males.

How were the Gentiles circumcised? Ritually, by being baptized (Colossians 2:12). Paul, however, points to the way in which ultimate circumcision has taken place: in Christ. Circumcision, since it was a bloody rite and cut the person into two parts, was a symbolic sacrifice. Jesus’ sacrificial death on the cross, therefore, was the fulfillment of ritual circumcision. Jesus’ death on the cross was the ultimate circumcision, and we participate in His death. It was more than symbolic.

Your baptism signifies many of the same things as circumcision. Do you see yourself as a priest to the nations? How are you fulfilling that function since you have been set apart by baptism? Write out a definition of a priest and begin to strive to model that definition.

The Head of All Things

"And you have been given fullness in Christ, who is the Head over every power and authority" (Colossians 2:10)

The headship of Christ over all earthly powers and authorities also contradicts a pervasive heretical tendency seen throughout church history. Many have felt that because Christ is their King, they need not recognize lesser powers. In part, this notion has been involved in various “drop-out” sects that have arisen time and again in church history. It is found as the justification for wives not submitting to their husbands, and it has been used at various times to justify civil rebellion.

The biblical perspective, however, is quite the opposite. It is precisely because Christ is the Head of all earthly heads that we can submit to earthly heads. Whether or not they realize it and admit it, Christ directs and rules all husbands and all civil powers. It is far better, of course, for these rulers to submit willingly to Christ—better for them and better for those they rule. Whether they submit willingly or not, however, the fact is that they can do nothing except what Christ allows them to do.

How does that square with the fact that we see so many tyrannical rulers and parents in the world? The answer is that such persons are allowed by Christ to be scourges to those under them, just as God raised up the Assyrians and Babylonians to be scourges to His people, Israel. When we please the Lord, He will give us good rulers. Until then, we are to submit to the chastening rods He has put in power over us.

This does not mean we must obey everything they tell us to do. The biblical doctrine is that we must disobey them if they command us to do something that is sinful. We are not free to reject them when they sin, but we are required to disobey them if they command us to sin. Thus, for instance, we must submit to a government that allows abortions, but if that government commands us to take part in one, we must refuse.

Further, Christian social theory argues that if a lesser authority, ordained by God, refuses to obey an order to sin, those under his authority may join with him; and the lesser authority may lead his people in physical resistance to tyrants if they try to force him and his people to sin.

It can be disheartening to realize that those who oppress us are ordained to do so by God. Such an understanding, however, should lead to repentance and gratitude for such a gracious reminder of the need to repent. Take comfort in knowing that God remains on His throne and rules everlastingly.

Five Things on Friday

Here are five things which are on my mind this week...

1) I've mentioned before that I will watch nearly any Christian movie once, no matter how good or bad it is. Yep, that's me. Well, I queued up one that turned out to be pretty good this week. Now, in my defense, I chose it because Rachel was watching with me and my thought was that Sweet Inspirations, a movie about women in midlife who start a cupcake bakery, would be a "chick flick." It was, of course, and Rachel loved it but it was more than just that and ended up being a pretty good movie. Well, the closing song of the film was "Alive" by Graeme James, a New Zealand artist. This song has been my jam this week:

2) Speaking of Sweet Inspirations —here is the movie trailer (and cast) in case you're curious. I watched it on PureFlix (check out their free trial). The cast was great: Cassie Self, Dean Cain, Katherine Forbes, Verda Davenport, Natalie Canerday, Maria Canals-Barrera, and Lauren Sweetser.

3) I've really been enjoying my daily Bible reading time each morning! For some reason, it is invigorating having a dedicated desk space and 3-4 resources open when I read my morning chapters each day. This week, I wrapped up the book of Jeremiah. For those curious, I read from the NLT Life Application Study Bible. In front of it, I have my MacArthur Study Bible (in the middle, on the book stand), on the book stand to the left I have Matthew Henry's concise commentary, and then to the right I have the Family Worship Guide from RHB books. Comment below if you want links, etc.

4) Rachel helped me with my fourth item this week: several answered prayers! I don't need to go into detail with this one, but I do want to explain how we as a married couple do prayer and life together. Each morning, Rachel and I go into our respective "war rooms" (prayer areas) and "pray one another up" - committing certain items to God which we have shared with one another. Over the past 2-3 weeks we've seen God mightily answers some prayers we have offered Him. As you might imagine, this is incredibly encouraging for both of us.

5) Finally this week, I risked inviting a Christian brother to join me for prayer at a local abortion clinic. Not only did he accept the invitation, he came out in a heavy rainstorm and stayed to pray. We asked God to intervene and help the pro-life workers (me included) to help intervene with the mother and fathers coming there. It was a blessing for me. Don't be afraid to invite others to join you in ministry!

Holy Spirit Seminar - Lesson 18 - "THE HOLY SPIRIT GIVES POWER AND GIFTS TO HIS FOLLOWERS"

 

The Scandal of the Incarnation

"For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form" (Colossians 2:9)

Greek philosophy, and all pagan thought, pitted the realm of the spirit against the physical world. Plato, summarizing Greek thought, said that the eternal world of “ideas” or “forms” was imperfectly manifested in physical things. Thus, the goal of Greek thought was to get away from the physical world and from the physical body, and into a world of pure thought as much as possible. The same idea is found in Hinduism and by implication, one way or another, in all pagan thought.

The biblical doctrine is radically different. The Bible teaches that God is an eternal person and that He created the world, both the visible and the invisible aspects of it. Thus, the Bible affirms the goodness of the physical world. The Bible, for instance, celebrates the goodness of food with festivals, and the goodness of sexual pleasure in marriage (in the Song of Solomon).

That God would become incarnate as a human being was scandalous to the Greek mind. For them, the body was bad, and it was a contradiction that God would take on a body. For Christian thought, however, for God to take on a human body is not in the least bad or even humiliating. Humanity was created to image God. For God to wrap Himself in a human body was simply a way of glorifying Himself. Thus, we say that Jesus will never give up His humanity but will enjoy it in glory forever. (Of course, God did not merely take on humanity in the Incarnation; He took on a humanity that was under the curse of sin, and that was an act of self-abasement, as Philippians 2:6–8 teaches.) The philosophers in Athens listened to Paul until he began telling them about the resurrection and glorification of the physical body; then they scoffed at him (Acts 17:32).

This idea had infected Jewish thought as well, especially among the Sadducees, but also the Pharisees to some extent. The Pharisees believed in a physical resurrection, but they could only conceive of Jesus as some kind of spirit or angel (Acts 23:6–10). Now, in Colossae, the Jewish proto-Gnostics were arguing that Jesus could not have been a man in physical form; rather, He must have simply looked like a man, but really was some kind of angelic being.

The church fathers understood the importance of maintaining the doctrines of the Incarnation and the Resurrection. Despite this they allowed antiphysical biases to creep into the church—fasting replaced feasting, and celibacy was seen as “higher” than marriage. Don’t be influenced by such thought—celebrate God’s good creation.

Doctrine and Life

"I want you to know how much I am struggling for you and for those at Laodicea, and for all who have not met me personally" (Colossians 2:1)

The history of the church displays various theories of preaching. One view is that the preacher should never let his personality show, but should present with dispassionate objectivity the facts of the text before him. The argument is that the preacher in the pulpit represents Christ, not his own person. His robe helps remind him and his hearers of this.

Paul’s letters force us to modify this view. Paul frequently bares his own soul and expresses his personal concerns. In so doing, Paul shows the pastoral heart of a man who is being renewed after the image of Christ, and thereby displays an aspect of Christ to the people. With Paul as our example, we should not try to remove the personality of the preacher too far from the sermon.

Paul is popularly regarded as a cerebral, intellectual theologian. He was probably “hard to know,” people think. Maybe this was true of Paul the Pharisee, but it was not true of Paul the apostle. Years of suffering with people, as well as his “thorn in the flesh,” had made Paul into a “people person” as well as the greatest theologian of all time.

Modern Pauline scholars sometimes say that Paul was not really a systematic theologian but a “task theologian.” They point out that none of his letters, not even Romans, is set out as a systematic theology. Rather, every letter addresses a particular church in her own intimate and particular circumstances with her own particular problems. The book of Romans, though full of theology, is largely devoted to a discussion of the relationship of Jew and Gentile.

We must say, though, that God in His providence brought precisely those problems into the early churches that would cause Paul to develop biblical theology properly. In other words, the problems that Paul addressed were not accidental and were not side issues. Rather, the problems God set before him were precisely those central issues that systematic theology deals with.

When Paul dealt with them, he never did so in an abstract or impersonal manner. He always addressed real human needs and conflicts, and showed how the Gospel answered them. In this, he is the model for pastors, and for all of us.

People often seek to drive a wedge between the “personal” element of the faith and the theological. Paul demonstrates the foolishness of this in all his epistles. How we relate to people is intensely theological, and theology impacts how we relate to people. Seek balance to be a thinking person and a people person.

Jesus and the Adulterous Woman (John 8:1-11)

Matthew Dowling, preaching minister at the Plymouth Church of Christ, delivered a sermon message titled "Jesus and the Adulterous Woman" from John 8:1-11. The August sermon series is "Encounters with Jesus."

The Mystery of Christ

“The mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the saints” (Colossians 1:26).

In ordinary English, a mystery is a puzzle to be solved. In theology, a mystery is something that is true, but that the human mind does not completely understand, such as the mystery of the Trinity or the mystery of the Incarnation. In Paul’s writings, however, “the mystery” is the revelation of things dimly revealed in the ages before Christ. What was a puzzle to people prior to Christ’ coming has now been revealed.

As we consider Colossians, we are considering also the heretical counterfeit of the Gospel proclaimed by the proto-Gnostics. All the pagan and Gnostic religions emphasized that they had certain mysteries, and for this reason certain of them are called “mystery cults.” These mysteries were secrets that would be given only to the initiates. These secrets supposedly gave the initiates power and the ability to influence other people. A shadow of these ideas is found in such groups as the Rosicrucians and the Freemasons.

The Jewish oral law tradition was such a “mystery cult” because the Jews maintained that the written Bible was for everyone to read, but only initiates were given access to the special wisdom revealed by angels to Moses and passed down by oral tradition. When Paul proclaimed the mystery openly, therefore, he was doing two things. First, he explained how what was foreshadowed in the old covenant had come to pass; but second, he was opposing the idea of a hidden mystery and said that the Christian “mystery” was public and proclaimed to all (Colossians 1:23).

The mystery consists of “riches” (1:27) which had been given partially to the Israelites but only marginally to the God-fearing Gentiles. Now, however, these riches are given equally to everyone, since “Christ is in you.” In the new covenant there can no longer be different degrees of nearness to God. Everyone is on the same footing, and the distinction between circumcised Jew and uncircumcised-believing Gentile has been eliminated.

The “riches” are Christ Himself. In the Old Testament, the Shekinah glory was nearer to Israel, since God dwelt in the temple. Now, however, the glory is dwelling in “you” (plural): The new temple, the church, and everyone is equally near.

Mystery-cult thinking has infected the church for centuries. Any group that says that some Christians are “ordinary” and others have received something extra has been influence by this idea. Have you ever encountered this notion? How would Paul respond to this idea of two-stage Christianity?

An Ongoing Finished Work

"Now I rejoice in what was suffered for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ’s afflictions, for the sake of His body, which is the church" (Colossians 1:24)

Colossians 1:20 says that God was pleased to reconcile to Himself all things through Christ’s blood, which was shed on the cross. One of the earliest heresies in the church, and one that continues to live a quiet life in the minds of many people, is the notion that God the Father was angry at humanity, but that God the Son intervened and through His death persuaded the Father to relent. This idea pits the Father against the Son, the former being wrathful and the latter loving. Nowhere does the Bible teach this. Quite the contrary: It was the Father whose love sent the Son to die for us, just as the Son’s love motivated Him to do it. Also, there is just as much wrath in the Lamb as in the Father (see Revelation 6:16).

Another error that Colossians 1:20 calls to our attention is the error of thinking that there was some kind of magical efficacy in Christ’s blood. If Jesus had cut His finger in Joseph’s carpentry workshop, it would have had no redemptive significance. If we read the Old Testament as foundation to the New Testament, we will see that “the shedding of blood” is a phrase that simply means “death.” It is the death of Christ, not His physical blood, that has reconciled the world. We will not misinterpret Colossians 1:20 if we keep it in its whole-Bible context.

It is clear from Colossians 1:20 that our reconciliation to God is accomplished wholly and solely by Christ. In verse 24, however, Paul speaks of his own sufferings as “filling up what is still lacking” in Christ’s afflictions. Since we can be sure that Paul is not contradicting himself, we have to ask in what sense the sufferings of Christ are “lacking.”

There is nothing lacking in Christ’s sufferings as regards satisfying the wrath of God. God’s people, however, are placed in union with Christ and are given the privilege of joining with His sufferings in another sense. Christ bore our sins on the cross, but we are given crosses to bear one another’s burdens. Our sufferings are part of the outworking of God’s sanctifying work in history, and not until history is finished will what is lacking be completely fulfilled.

It is precisely because we have already been reconciled to God by the unique sufferings of Christ that we can be given the privilege of finishing up what is lacking in His non-unique sufferings. If God has called on you to suffer at this time, ask Him for insight to help you understand the good that it can accomplish for the kingdom.

Five Things for Friday

Here are five things which are on my mind this week...

1) I was recently helped by a Christian brother who brought to my attention the way some of my social media posts were hurting my Christian witness (the posts were too political). It took a lot of courage for this brother to share that with me. Admittedly, it was a hard truth at first but I prayed for God to make me teachable and the accountability ended up being a huge blessing this week. I was able to re-think how I am using social media, was able to have a phone conversation with a ministry mentor who gave me a new vision for my presence on social media, and I was even able to write some "ground rules" for how to use Twitter and Facebook. And it all started with a brother who cared enough for my ministry to take a risk and help me be better in this crucial area: social media presence. If you are a minister, let me recommend this podcast on pastors and social media, to help you get started being better, too.

2) This week I read something I've never tried before: a movie novelization. I chose to read the novel based on the movie Flywheel. It's been very good. The novel is based on the first movie by Alex and Stephen Kendrick, which is also very good - and they only spent $37,000 to make it! 

3) This week I was reminded of how much we need to be praying for teachers, parents, and students as the children in our community return to school this Fall. If you know anyone in that category, reach out to them this week and see how you can be praying and supporting them this year!

4) Movie recommendation: Ask my family and they will tell what a sucker I am for watching all kinds of Christian movies. I have a subscription to PureFlix and love it because it gives me a chance to indulge my Christian movie watching. Of course, not every Christian movie made is good, and some are pretty cheesy, but it doesn't matter to me: I will give it a try. One that I did watch this week which I thought was good was Do You Believe? Here's the trailer...

 

5) Finally, let's talk about communication and our spouses. Struggling to talk with your spouse meaningfully once you get home from work? “Rituals of connection” are an important tool in nurturing successful relationships. Create a daily ritual where you intentionally reconnect each evening, whether it’s over dinner or after the kids are in bed. To get you started, here are five questions to ask instead of “How was your day?”

What made you laugh out loud today? This might sound like a silly question, but more than likely it will lead to sharing a story, whether it’s to provide context or explain what happened. Out of this you might learn more about your partner, increasing your connection.

If your day was a meal/song/color, what would it be and why? Here’s another question you can have fun with, but that can actually give you insight into the flow of each other’s day

What gave you a sense of accomplishment today? Sure, you might find out about a big work project or the third day in a row of hitting their step goal, but the conversation might take a deeper dive as well. Maybe they don’t know how to answer because they’ve been struggling with balancing work and home responsibilities, and that’s okay. The goal is to have a more meaningful conversation or at the very least give yourselves the opportunity for one.

How would you like today to end? Maybe their day was so busy they didn’t have a spare moment to catch their breath, and now all they need is some quiet time to relax. Maybe it was a bad day and they just want leave it all behind them and play games with the kids. Either way, it gives them an opportunity to tell you exactly what they need – and an opportunity for you to help make it happen.

What did you learn today? Sure, this might sound more like something you’d ask your kids after school, but hey, we adults learn new things, too! Maybe it’s an interesting factoid from that new podcast they’re listening to. Or perhaps they learned they shouldn’t stay up so late reading (they were dragging today) or to always make sure the blender cover is on tight. Whatever it is, you can hopefully also learn something new about each other.

The Firstborn Over All Creation

"He is the Image of the invisible God, the Firstborn over all creation" (Colossians 1:15)

Certain groups have latched onto Colossians 1:15 with a vengeance. Arians, Mormons, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Unitarians, and many others have insisted that this verse shows that the Son of God is but a creature like all the rest of us. First of all, they point out that all of us are created in the image of God, according to Genesis 1:26, so that when Paul says Christ is the “image of the invisible God,” he is saying no more than that Christ is an excellent man. Second, they insist that the phrase “firstborn of all creation” implies that the Son is a creature—the first and most excellent of creatures, but a creature all the same.

The underlying heresy here is to read the New Testament without reference to the Old. What we call the Old Testament (the Bible never divides itself up this way) is the foundation of the revelation in what we call the New Testament. The term firstborn does not mean that Christ is the first thing God made. Rather, the firstborn is the ruler over all the other sons. In fact, we see repeatedly in Genesis that the natural firstborn son is set aside and the privilege of being counted as firstborn is given to a younger brother (Cain and Seth, Ishmael and Isaac, Esau and Jacob, Reuben and Joseph, Adam and Jesus). Thus, when Paul says Jesus is “firstborn of all creation” he is saying Jesus is the preeminent ruler over all the universe.”

It is true that Genesis I calls all human beings the images of God, but it is also true that Hebrews 1:3 calls Christ “the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of His being.” This tells us that God is invisible (John 1:18) and that the Son of God reflects and reveals Him. John 1:1 tells us that the Word is God, as well as being with God, and clearly establishes the deity of Christ.

Paul says in Colossians 1:16 that Jesus created all things and that all things were made for Him. Verse 17 says that in Him all things hold together. Statements like these can only apply to God the Creator. Anybody who reads the Old Testament first, and then comes to the New Testament will see this clearly. It is only because of their Greek and Gnostic assumptions that the heretics misinterpret these verses.

Colossians 1:13–14 set up what Paul writes in the following verses. Read these, and consider the practical import of the fact that Jesus is the image of God, the ruler of creation, the Creator, and the One in whom all things cohere. Consider how this ensures your redemption and the forgiveness of your sins.

Book Review: "Spurgeon on the Christian Life: Alive in Christ" by Michael Reeves

I very much appreciated Michael Reeves excellent addition to the “Theologians on the Christian Life” series from Crossway. It is clearly written and was a joy to read. As a signature of this series, Dr. Reeves lets his subject, Spurgeon, do much of the talking. And for that reason, the book is full of wonderful Spurgeon stories and quotations. If you are looking for a great introductory work on Spurgeon, this is it. 

In the opening chapter we meet a man whose theology shaped his life, which led to living life “full-on.” He was a kind man, a fun man, someone who lived in the knowledge of his Heavenly Father’s care and sought to enjoy and learn as much about this God-given world as he could.  He believed that cheerfulness wins souls. The later chapters remind us that Spurgeon’s life certainly wasn’t free from suffering. He was a man who wrestled with depression and physical pain, but we are given an insight into how he found comfort in Christ and spoke comfort into the lives of others. It will be an encouragement to those who suffer.

We are reminded in the book about Spurgeon’s conversion and how he was encouraged to look to Christ and live and how Spurgeon’s life became about wooing people to that same savior. Christ was, therefore, central to Spurgeon’s life and ministry and the early chapters of the book explore how his Christocentric perspective shaped his attitude towards Scripture, theology and preaching. 

As a fellow preacher I was deeply encouraged to keep on preaching the cross with confidence, to believe as Spurgeon did that this is the message that will bring about faith in Christ and transform lives. His attitude towards the necessity for deep learning (he had a library of over twelve thousand books) combined with clarity in proclamation makes him a wonderful example to all who want to make Christ known. The following chapters touch on the topics of regeneration, baptism, human sin and prayer, to name a few. 

One of the neat benefits of reading this book was this: Spurgeon certainly was a great preacher and I learned a lot about preaching from reading this book. In the end, I was encouraged by a brother of the past to seek joy in Christ and to make him known boldly. I would encourage you to read this book and “meet” Spurgeon on the pages. I think that Michael Reeves has done a great job in a relatively short book to introduce us to Spurgeon’s life as a Christian in a clear and captivating way. Please note, I received a review copy of this work from Crossway.

3 Minutes to a Stronger Faith - Ep. 19 - "Is Gender on a Spectrum?"

 Do you have three minutes? In episode 19, we ask the question, "Is Gender on a Spectrum?" Join me today as we explore the answer to this question and invest 3 minutes today and grow your faith!

True Gnosis

"For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of His will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding" (Colossians 1:9).

The Gentile Gnostics called God “the Fullness” (the Pleroma), and they wanted to be absorbed into God and partake of this fullness. They emphasized that they were the ones who had the secret knowledge of the universe and that they had access to the spirit-world of angelic beings who gave them wisdom and understanding.

Similarly, the Judaizing proto-Gnostics believed that through their traditions they had the secret keys to the wisdom of the Old Testament. These secret keys, they said, were given by angels to Moses on Mount Sinai, but never written down.

Paul attacked these heresies head-on. First, he contrasted the prideful knowledge of the Judaizers and Gnostics by saying that true knowledge comes from prayer, personal conversation with the living God. Thus, Paul emphasized that he was praying that the Colossians will be given true knowledge.

Second, true knowledge is not attained by human works but is given by God in response to prayer, and it is found in the Bible, which God has written for us. We don’t earn it and we don’t deserve it, but we are given it freely by God.

Third, unlike the Judaizers and Gnostics, who felt that they had attained to the fullness of knowledge, the Christian is aware of how ignorant he is and seeks more and more to understand the Bible. True Christians are never satisfied with a “simple faith.” The more they learn, the more they know there is to learn.

Fourth, Paul’s word for knowledge here is not mere gnosis but epignosis. The prefix epi intensifies the noun, so that an epi-skopos is a supervisor (both skopos and visor mean “watcher”) or in English, and overseer. The Christian, unlike the pitiful puffed-up Gnostic, is an epi-Gnostic!

Fifth, the Christian needs no angels and spirit-beings to give him knowledge. He has the Holy Spirit, who is God Himself, as teacher; so that his wisdom is spiritual, imparted by the Spirit. Finally, by using the terms “wisdom and understanding,” Paul points back to the Old Testament, Proverbs in particular, to show where this true knowledge is found: in the written Bible.

Do you hunger and thirst for the fullness of godly knowledge? You can have it if you (1) pray daily for the gift of spiritual guidance, and (2) study the Bible diligently. Are you involved in a Bible study program, something that goes beyond these blog posts? If not, join one.

Paul Against the Heretics

"Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother" (Colossians 1:1).

Because Colossians deals with heresy, we shall constantly take note of how Paul’s statements in this letter strike against heresies that existed in his day, and that still exist in ours. He began by saying that he was an apostle of Christ Jesus. Christ is Greek for “Messiah.” Paul claimed that Jesus of Nazareth was the Messiah predicted by the Old Testament, and thus contradicts the Jews who denied this.

He stated that he was an apostle, someone sent by God Himself to proclaim Christ Jesus. Many in Paul’s day said, “We like Jesus, but we don’t accept you, Paul.” Many in the liberal churches today say the same thing. Long ago this heresy was answered by the church Fathers. Those who pit Paul against Jesus are really pitting Paul against Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Jesus commissioned, taught, and inspired Paul in the same way He commissioned, taught, and inspired the Gospel writers. They stand or fall together.

In verse 3, Paul says that God is the Father (in a unique sense) of the Master, Jesus the Messiah (the “Lord Jesus Christ”). The Judaizers tended to deny that Jesus was uniquely the Son of God, and in the second century we find the descendants of the Judaizers, called Ebionites, denying the deity of Christ. The second-century Gentile Gnostics followed the same tendency, maintaining that each of us could be just as much the son of God as Jesus was. He was only the pioneer of our own deification, said the Gnostics. What Paul wrote here struck against both the Judaizers (the Jewish proto-Gnostics) and the later Gentile Gnostics.

In verses 4–5, Paul mentioned their faith, hope, and love. He said that love results in good works to the saints, and this strikes against the heretic in this way: The Gnostic-type of heretic is always concerned with himself and his mystical experience. He does not manifest servant love to the brethren.

In verse 5 Paul said that their faith and love sprang out of their hope. In the Bible, hope is not just a wish; rather, it is a sure and certain confidence in God’s promises. The essence of heresies is to deny the Word of God. Paul encouraged the Colossians to cling to the hope found in the Bible, which he had taught them.

Paul did not think it was “unloving” to point out the serious errors of these heretics because he was consumed with the glory of Christ and filled with a protecting love for the church. If you are offended at what some call Paul’s “critical spirit,” think through the matter and ask God to revise your perspective on His truth.

Sunday Sermon, "Jesus and the Paralyzed Man" (John 5:1-17)

Matthew Dowling, preaching minister at the Plymouth Church of Christ, delivered a sermon message titled "Jesus and the Paralyzed Man" from John 5:1-17. The August sermon series is "Encounters with Jesus." 

A Letter to the Colossians

"To the holy and faithful brothers in Christ at Colossae: Grace and peace to you from God our Father" (Colossians 1:2).

Centuries before Paul’s day, Colossae had been one of the leading cities of Asia Minor (present-day Turkey). By the first century A.D., however, Colossae had been eclipsed in power and importance by the neighboring towns of Laodicea and Hierapolis. During Paul’s three-year ministry in Ephesus, the Word went out to all the neighboring towns and cities (Acts 19:10), and a believer named Epaphras carried the Gospel to Colossae (Colossians 1:7–8) and also to Hierapolis and Laodicea (Colossians 4:13).

Colossae had a large Jewish population, and a form of the Judaizing heresy became a major problem in the Colossian church. While Paul was under house arrest in Rome, Epaphras visited him there and asked for help. At about this same time a bond-servant of a leading member of the Colossian church fled to Rome, found his way to Paul, and was converted. Paul wrote a letter to the master, Philemon, asking him to take this slave Onesimus back as a brother. A comparison of the names in Philemon 1 and 23 with those in Colossians 4:9–17 makes it almost certain that the letter to Philemon was sent along with the letter to the Colossians.

During the nineteenth century, many scholars became fascinated with early gnosticism and proposed that the heresy being spread in the Colossian church was a form of gnosticism. The Gnostics despised the body and held that only the “spiritual realm” really mattered. The Colossian heresy bears some resemblance to this idea, but is actually a form of the Judaizing heresy. The Colossian heretics held to strict rules about food, religious days, and circumcision. Like many Jews of the day, they were fascinated with angels and had an elaborate and speculative angelology. They emphasized the Jewish oral law tradition and its supposed “secret treasures of wisdom” that had not been written down, and about which Gentiles knew nothing.

These heretics were similar to the Jewish ascetic cults of the day, like the Essenes. Outside of Judaism, these same notions circulated among the pagan religions of the day, and in the second century A.D. emerged as the Gnostic movement. This gnosticism, however, arose a century after Paul’s letter to the Colossians.

Gnosticism infiltrated the church quickly. Perhaps its most dangerous element is the idea of “secret treasures of wisdom.” Adaptations of that heresy continue today as people look for subjective and untestable messages from God. Commit to hearing God speak only where He has spoken, in His creation and in His Word.

The PreacherCast (Episode: August 15, 2020)

 

Welcome to The PreacherCast for August 15, 2020. We round up the news and talk theology and book reviews. On today's episode after the news, we'll consider: 1) What age will we be in heaven? 2) Does liberal theology destroy churches? Yes. 3) Book Review: "Flywheel" by Alex and Stephen Kendrick and Eric Wilson.

Christ Our Sufficiency

As we complete our study of Paul’s letter to the Philippians, we need to recall a few key considerations.

First, Paul was writing his letter from prison, probably the Roman imprisonment described in Acts 28. 

A second key concern speaks to the central theme of his letter: joy. Paul’s letter to the Philippians resounds with this theme of joy and thanksgiving, despite his own circumstances. Forms of the word joy appear over fifteen times in this short epistle. 

A third issue we need to keep in mind deals with the circumstances of his readers. The Philippian church was facing its own persecutions from outside. Additionally, we can surmise that the church was experiencing conflict within.

Paul, while in the midst of adverse circumstances, writes to his children in the faith, who were going through their own sufferings and trials. In his concluding comments to the Philippians, he speaks of learning to be content in every situation.

The Greek word translated content carries with it the meaning “self-sufficient, adequate, needing no assistance.” Is Paul calling the Philippians to recognize their own abilities, completeness, and competence and deal with their difficulties through good old self-reliance? Absolutely not! In the next verse (4:13), Paul states, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” It is Christ who increases our strength. It is Christ who empowers us, gives us the ability to deal with trials. He is sufficient. He is able to face the pains, evils, and hardships we encounter. He strengthens us, through His Spirit, to deal with life and all its difficulties.

True Christianity demands honesty and involves an honest self-perception. It is an honest fact that we are inadequate, that life is difficult, and that we have extreme needs. When we fail to acknowledge this, we minimize our needs and what Jesus has done and will do for us. Self-reliance robs Jesus of the glory due Him. If we “have it all together,” if our needs are just not that great, then what Jesus did and continues to do to meet our deepest needs is not so great a thing.

Paul calls those who consider themselves self-sufficient and without need to repent and find their sufficiency in Christ. Paul’s closing remarks to the Philippian church call us to live honestly before God and with one another. To have faith in Jesus does not mean we pretend that bad things are good. It does not mean that we fail to acknowledge our deep needs, pains, hurts, and frustrations. To have faith is to see ourselves as we are—frail, hurting, crippled people whom Jesus has called out of the world to be His own. It is Jesus who meets all needs. He alone is sufficient.

As we realize His sufficiency and rely upon Him, we experience the joy of the Christian life.

Five Things on Friday

Here are five things which are on my mind this week...

1) I was inspired by the War Room movie to create a special prayer space for my wife Rachel (I know, I know, this is SO five years ago, but I'm a bit behind). It was simple, cost very little because I repurposed an end table, lamp, and chair from our basement, and it has become an important part of her morning routine. She's happy, I'm happy...and bonus feature, she prays for me and my ministry in this new "war room." BTW, I have a "war room" as well - my trusty reading chair in my downstairs reading room. Here is Rachel's new war room:

2) I got rid of Netflix and Amazon Prime a while back. In their place, I subscribed to two streaming services, PureFlix and AnswersTV. Both are wonderful Christian alternatives to "Netflix and Chill" and I don't have to worry about what political causes my dues are supporting or what kind of immoral grossness we are helping fund and distribute. Check them out if you are really looking to cut the (big corporate) cord.

3) Have you heard of the Kendrick brothers' first movie, Flywheel? It's a movie about a dishonest used car salesman who decides to become the salesman that God wants him to be - with surprising results. It's from the group who brought us Fireproof, Courageous, War Room, and Overcomer. It's actually their first movie. Admittedly, it is very low budget, but it's a good story, and I am going to watch it again with my family this evening after downloading from iTunes.

4) Over the past two weeks, I read one of the BEST men's discipleship books I've ever laid eyes on: Manly Dominion by Mark Chanski. The book is an older one, over a decade old now, but really excellent. Check out Owen Strachan's review of it at 9Marks. But by all means, get copies and pass them out to men in your church.

5) I recorded an impromptu little devotional this week inspired by Genesis 25:15 about "protecting the well-springs of our hearts." May it be a blessing to you...

Beware of Esau

"Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is on earthly things" (Philippians 3:19)

As we come to the end of Philippians 3, we see Paul again alluding to the threat posed by the Judaizers. The Philippians are reminded about prior warnings about the Judaizers, and now with tears he must warn them again. Many of these Judaizers were men for whom Paul had high hopes, but who wound up rejecting the Gospel and falling back into grievous errors. They became, Paul said, “enemies of the cross of Christ” (3:18).

Paul characterized them as new Esaus. Just as Esau persecuted Jacob, fighting him even in the womb, so these better Esaus were bringing grief to the true Israel of God. Paul warned the Philippians not to follow them, because their end would be destruction, and those who followed them would follow them to hell. 

Esau-like, their gods were their bellies. Esau was willing so sell his birthright to the kingdom of God in order to get a quick meal from Jacob. Esau was hungry, but if he had waited twenty minutes, any of the servants could have made him a meal. But his god was his stomach, and he despised the covenant (Genesis 25:29–34).

Esau’s mind was on earthly things, and what he regarded as important were things of which he should have been ashamed. A true minister of the Gospel feels internal shame when he catches himself seeking earthly gain and glory at the expense of his flock. Sadly, the Judaizers were not the last Esaus in the church of Jesus Christ. Down through the centuries and into our own day we see many ministers who are more interested in their careers than in their callings. They pursue glory and riches, and ignore their congregations’ needs.

Paul knew that Christians have earthly needs, and he also knew that it is possible to become so focused on these earthly needs that we forget the cross of Christ. There is nothing wrong with wanting to take care of your family, but there is something deadly when such a concern overwhelms everything else. Paul therefore tells us to keep our eyes focussed on Jesus Christ. When He returns, He will reward us all, and He will transform our bad situations into wonderful ones that will last forever. The problems of this life are of only a short duration.

In light of today’s blog post, take a good look at your concerns. What do you worry about? Are worries overwhelming your focus on Christ and on the kingdom? Take time in prayer today to re-center your focus on the kingdom of God, and ask for the Spirit to give you strength to resist the things of this world.

Pressing On In Christ

"I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 3:14)

Throughout Philippians, Paul encourages the church to press on to maturity in Christ, a maturity that involves living in harmony with one another. In 3:2–6 he warned them against Judaizers, and in 3:7–9 he used himself as an example of someone who has left behind the old shadows of the former covenants to embrace Christ. Today’s passage speaks of pressing on, seeking to know more and more about “Christ and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in His sufferings” (3:10).

Paul admitted that he was far from mature (translated “perfect” in some versions), and that he was pressing on to lay hold of Christ’s gifts (vv. 12–14). He says that when he looked at how much farther there was for him to grow, he did not consider that he had even begun to lay hold on these riches, but he forced himself to strive for more of them.

He continued, “All of us who are mature should take such a view of things” (v. 15). If Paul himself was nowhere near maturity, then who are the ones who are mature? In context, it would seem that the mature believer is precisely the believer who sees himself as immature and who is desperately seeking to grow more and more. Those who think they have “arrived” are the sophomores—the “wise fools”—of the church. It is they who are the immature. But Paul had hope for them, too, that God will show them their inadequacy and motivate them to press on to maturity.

The exhortations in verses 15 and 16 are in the plural. Paul addressed the Philippians as those in community with one another. Some would think differently from others on some points. Provided these differences are over minor matters—that is, provided they are differences within the orthodoxy of biblical Christianity—we should bear with one another. We should stand united in what we do believe, “and let us live up to what we [corporately] have already attained” (v. 16).

Unity is important to the church, but unity cannot exist in the face of fundamental differences. True unity is grounded in commitment to the inerrancy of the Bible, and is expressed when we actively discuss our differences while maintaining an attitude of love.

“Doctrine divides; love unites.” Is this oft-repeated slogan true? Both doctrine and love unite and work together. It is false doctrine and true doctrine held in an unloving attitude of pride that cause division in the body of Christ. Love the unity of the church but be concerned to discuss doctrinal differences and achieve unity of understanding.

The Church and Her Enemies

"Watch out for those dogs, those men who do evil, those mutilators of the flesh" (Philippians 3:2)

The Philippian church, being mostly Gentile in origin, was not troubled by Judaizers as much as other churches, but such trouble was never far from Paul’s mind. Paul’s warning in Philippians 3:1–11 does not depart from his theme, because the essence of the Judaizers was that they put their own pride before the real needs of the people they were supposedly going to serve and educate. They are the negative example of all Paul has been saying.

The Judaizers refused to understand what the Old Testament clearly taught—that Israel was set aside to serve the Gentiles, not to master them. It was never necessary for Gentile converts to be circumcised and become Israelites. The Judaizers, however, wanted all Gentiles to be circumcised and tried to impose this on the church. Paul hated this attitude with a passion.

He called the Judaizers “dogs,” which is the term they used for Gentiles. He said that their circumcision is actually mutilation, and a mutilated person could not serve as a priest, according to the law of Leviticus 21:16–23. Thus, he was saying, these Judaizers had actually disqualified themselves from serving as priests to the “true circumcision,” as he called the church in verse 3.

Paul again became his own example. As far as the flesh was concerned, he had it all. He was circumcised strictly according to the Law on the eighth day. He had a perfect genealogical record tracing back to Benjamin. He had the best possible schooling in the Law. He had zeal and he obeyed the customs perfectly (vv. 4–6).

But all of this was “rubbish” compared to what had now come to him in Christ (v. 8). Some scholars contend the Greek word for rubbish is actually the ordinary slang term for dung, or may refer to garbage thrown to dogs. This stuff had value before Christ, but now it is to be flushed away. Christ is now the only thing that counts, and Paul put everything else away.

His call was for them to imitate Paul, Timothy, and Epaphroditus, and pay no attention to barking dogs. Those who divert attention from Christ are the enemy. The same is true today—stay away!

The church always has enemies who would steal her affection away from her Master and His service. We may wince when preachers warn us against enemies, but we should be grateful. It is their job to warn us against the church's enemies. Encourage your minister to this kind of Pauline faithfulness.

Protecting the Well-Spring of Your Heart

 

What does an ancient story in Genesis 26 about water wells, Philistines, and dirt have to do with you? More than you might imagine.

Paul's Fellow Workers

"I have no one else like him [Timothy], who takes a genuine interest in your welfare" (Philippians 2:20)

In Philippians 2:19–30, Paul seems to change subjects. He has been telling the Philippians how to live the Christian life, climaxing with the need to remain in this world, somewhat absent from Christ, and suffering for the sake of the kingdom. Now he had a few words to say about Timothy and Epaphroditus. Actually, though, just as Paul used himself as an example to them in the earlier part of the epistle, so his message about Timothy and Epaphroditus also served to reinforce his themes.

First he said that he would send Timothy to them because there was no one else like him, “who takes a genuine interest in your welfare” (v. 20). Everyone else, Paul said, “looks out for his own interest, not those of Christ Jesus.” This is a severe statement of condemnation of Paul’s fellow workers, and it is hard to believe Paul would even be associated with such men. Perhaps we could say that, by way of contrast to Timothy’s single-mindedness, these other men just did not measure up, not that they were totally selfish.

Paul had been discussing the need to live sacrificially for others, to esteem others better than oneself. Now Timothy is an example: Timothy cared about them, the Philippians, and he would put their interests first, before his own.

Second, Paul assured them that their friend Epaphroditus was recovering after a brush with death. He “was ill and almost died,” and he “almost died for the work of Christ, risking his life” (vv. 27, 30). But Paul had said that it is better to die, hasn’t he (Philippians 1:21)? Yes, but he also said that it is even better to stay alive and serve the kingdom. That is what Epaphroditus had done.

Epaphroditus was a “fellow worker” and a “fellow soldier” (2:25). He was a man who might have died and gone to be with Christ, but who chose to fight his way back to health in order to serve the church below for another season of time. This was a good thing, said Paul, for “God had mercy on him, and not on him only but also on me, to spare me sorrow upon sorrow” (v. 27). Just as Paul needed to stay alive to serve them (1:24), so they, in their representative Epaphroditus, needed to stay alive to help Paul.

Sometimes in the fire of suffering we face a serious temptation to give in, to be with Christ sooner. Paul here echoes what is clear in all of Scripture, that our calling is to endure and press on, and wait for God’s time and means of release. Keep this thought before you in the face of suffering.

Sunday Sermon, "Jesus and the Suffering Man" (John 9:1-41)

 

Matthew Dowling, preaching minister at the Plymouth Church of Christ, delivered a sermon message titled "Jesus and the Suffering Man" from John 9:1-41. The August sermon series is "Encounters with Jesus."

The Problem of Grumbling

"Do everything without complaining or arguing" (Philippians 2:14)

Paul told the Philippians to work out their salvation with fear and trembling, counting on God’s working within them to perfect them (Philippians 2:12–13). The Christian life is not a matter of “letting go and letting God.” “Yieldedness” is not a Christian virtue; the virtue is obedience, and obedience takes effort. If we obey, then of course we will “yield” our will to the revealed law of God; but lying around and being “yielded” has nothing to do with the Christian’s life of obediently following the Savior.

Paul went on to say that we should do everything without grumbling against God and without arguing amongst ourselves. We should do this so that we mature, even in the midst of a perverse generation. Then he said that he would soon to die, poured out as a drink offering, and hoped that he would have the joy of seeing the Philippians persevere (Philippians 2:14–18).

We are reminded of Moses. For forty years, Moses led a perverse generation through the wilderness. For forty years, these people grumbled and murmured against God over and over again. For forty years they argued with Moses and Aaron. But in the midst of all this, a new generation grew up that was faithful, and Moses, just before his death, had the joy of seeing that new generation poised to enter the Promised Land. This was how Paul felt and what he looked forward to.

Grumbling is a real problem for us. When we grumble, what we are saying to God is that He, in His infinite goodness and wisdom, is not treating us fairly. We are saying that we deserve better at His hands. Of course, we don’t come right out and say this because we know better; so we just grumble quietly to ourselves and gripe at the members of our family about all kinds of little things.

Grumbling is the opposite of the sacrificial mentality Paul taught the Philippians in the first part of chapter 2. If we embrace the privilege of suffering, of becoming “drink offerings” ourselves, then we should not be prone to grumble. If we truly esteem others better than ourselves, we will not grumble when they are promoted ahead of us. If we live for Christ’s service alone, we will not be murmurers.

There is a dangerous movement afoot in the church wherein, in the name of “honesty,” we are actually encouraged to grumble against God. To do so is to claim greater wisdom than God. Lay claim to the promise God graciously gives in Romans 8:28 and strive to silence your grumbling.

Address God with Reverence and Awe

We must solemnly address ourselves to that infinitely great and glorious Being with whom we have to do, as those who are possessed with a full belief of his presence and a holy awe and reverence of his Majesty, which we may do in such expressions as these:

Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come! Revelation 4:8 (ESV)

O you whose name is the LORD, who alone are the Most High over all the earth. Psalm 83:18 (ESV)

O God, you are our God, earnestly we seek you; Psalm 63:1(ESV) our God, and we will praise you; our fathers’ God, and we will exalt you. Exodus 15:2 (ESV)

O you who are the true God, the living God, the one only living and true God, 1 Thessalonians 1:9 (ESV) and the everlasting King! Jeremiah 10:10 (ESV) The LORD our God, the LORD is one. Deuteronomy 6:4 (ESV)

And may we thus distinguish ourselves from the worshipers of false gods.

The idols of the nations are silver and gold, they are vanity and a lie, the work of human hands; Psalm 115:4 (ESV) those who make them become like them, so do all who trust in them. Psalm 115:8 (ESV) But the Portion of Jacob is not like these, for he is the one who formed all things, and Israel is the tribe of his inheritance; the LORD of hosts is his name, Jeremiah 10:16 (ESV) God over all, blessed forever. Romans 9:5 (ESV)

Their rock is not as our Rock; our enemies are by themselves, Deuteronomy 32:31(ESV) for he is the Rock of ages; the LORD GOD is an everlasting rock: Isaiah 26:4 (ESV) His name endures forever, and his renown throughout all ages, Psalm 135:13 (ESV) even when the gods who did not make the heavens and the earth shall perish from the earth and from under the heavens. 

The Example of Christ

"Do nothing out of selfish ambition, or vain conceit but in humility consider others better than yourselves" (Philippians 2:3).

Paul spoke of the Christian’s privilege of joining in the sufferings of Christ, to His glory. His argument then moved to the impact this should have on our life in community. Our love for God, our insight into His truth, our obedience to Him, and our readiness to suffer should make us better able to glorify God and live with one another.

Paul pointed in this regard to the example of Jesus because Jesus did it first, and our power to do it after Him comes from our being united to Him. Jesus, even though God Himself was willing to regard us as more important than Himself, was willing to come and die for us. In fact, we are not more important than He is, but He was willing to consider us more important in order to serve and save us. In the same way, says Paul, we must be willing always to consider other people more important than ourselves (Philippians 2:1–5).

In Philippians 2:6–11, Paul reminded the believers of the fundamental principles of the faith by quoting to them a hymn of the early church, a hymn that celebrates the incarnation, humiliation, and exaltation of Jesus Christ. In verse 6, the hymn says that Jesus existed in the nature of God, but did not regard this as something to be clung to. In verse 7, the hymn says that He “made Himself nothing,” which means that He laid aside the glory that He had with the Father (see also John 17:5).

Verse 7 goes on to say that Jesus took the nature of a servant in being incarnated as a human being. Then verse 8 says that He went further, taking upon Himself the curse-judgment for sin that we were under and allowed Himself to be crucified, in obedience to the Father. This, says Paul, is how we should live with one another. It God calls us to it, we should be willing to suffer and die for one another.

That is not the end of the story, though, either for Jesus or for us. Jesus, because of His faithfulness, was exalted to the highest place, enthroned as King of all creation, and destined to receive the worship of the entire universe. We also, after our time of suffering, will participate in glory with Him, as coheirs with Christ, so that as He is the sun, so we will “shine like stars” (v. 15).

For Jesus it was humbling to become a man, even more to be a servant. Still further He humbled Himself by dying. Finally, before any exalting took place, He further humiliated Himself in His manner of death—the cross. Hold Christ as your example as God brings you down before He exalts you.

The Christian's Death Wish

"For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain" (Philippians 1:21).

Paul encouraged the Philippians to mature in their insight and love for Christ. The more we mature in this way, the more we come to understand two things. First, we come to see the beauty of Christ Jesus, and we desire to be with Him. Second, we come to understand, by contrast, the horror of sin (especially our own sin) and we desire to be rid of it. These two things—an increasing hatred of sin and an increasing love of Christ—cause us to want to leave this world and go to the next.

Paul knew that the Philippians would face the temptation to give up on this life, and so he addressed it in terms of his own desires (Philippians 1:21–30). He said that he desired “to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far,” but that “it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body” (vv. 23–24). In other words, the maturing Christian must press beyond the first two points (Christ’s beauty and his own sin) to a third: The call to service.

Paul knew that this life is very short when measured by the everlasting life that awaits us. A few more years of service are next to nothing compared to the billions of years of personal bliss ahead, but for the sake of the kingdom on earth, those few years of service may count a great deal. “If I go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me,” he wrote (v. 22).

The Christian call to service is the call to live “in Christ.” It is the great privilege of the believer that we are called to participate in the work of Christ. In union with His once-for-all work, our works count for the glory of the kingdom. In particular, we are privileged to suffer in union with His sufferings (v. 29). If we commit suicide, mentally or physically, we are rejecting our high calling from God.

Just as the sacrificial suffering and death of Jesus redeemed the world definitively and once for all, so the suffering and death of believers extends and applies the redemption of the world and fills out the kingdom. Irenaeus was right in saying the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church. Thus, Paul says, while it is personally desirable to be rid of this world of sin and to be with Christ, it is our special calling to wait on the Lord in this regard and to serve Him while we still have life and breath.

The Prison Perspective

"Now I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the Gospel" (Philippians 1:12).

In prison, Paul could look back at Joseph. Joseph was imprisoned for being faithful to God, just as Paul was. Joseph did not know it at first, but when the baker and cupbearer were tossed into prison, he realized that the pharaoh of Egypt was very dissatisfied with his chief counselors. Moreover, God was working on Pharaoh. Eventually Joseph stood before Pharaoh, preached the truth to him, and was welcomed (Genesis 40–41). Similarly, Daniel found himself in exile and even imprisoned with lions, only to get out and speak before kings who were ready to listen.

With these examples of God’s acts before him, Paul could be very optimistic about his prison experience. Perhaps God was working on the heart of Caesar. Perhaps soon Paul would have a chance to stand before Caesar, and Caesar would receive the Gospel and bring the Roman Empire under the easy yoke of biblical law. We know that in Paul’s case, the outcome was not as immediate and positive as it was with Joseph and Daniel; but Paul had reason for optimism anyway.

He tells us in Philippians 1:13 that his witness has gone throughout the official palace guard of Caesar, the famous Praetorian Guard. Moreover, the word has gone out all over the palace, so that “everyone else” also knew that it was because of this “Christ,” this “Jesus,” that this man Paul was in chains.

In addition to this, Paul said that many in Rome had been encouraged to speak out for the Gospel. Paul had become a hero to the Christians. His imprisonment was a cause for joy. He was the talk of the town. The notoriety of his chains had provided many Christians an opportunity to share their faith with boldness. To be sure, a few of the Christian leaders were envious, and talked down Paul while they talked up Jesus; but even this, says Paul, advanced the Gospel.

Finally, Paul fully expected to be delivered from prison (vv. 19–20). He thought that he might stand before Caesar and be well received; or that he might be martyred. Either way, he would be delivered, and either way it would turn out for the best as far as the Gospel was concerned.

From Love to Discernment

"And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight" (Philippians 1:9)

As he usually did, Paul began this letter with a prayer for the people to whom he was writing. There is a chain in Philippians 1:9–11 that we want to look at today.

First, Paul prayed that their love may abound more and more in deep knowledge and insight. The love that the Bible wants us to have is not a shallow, superficial, “happy-face” kind of love. It is not “sweet and sugary.” Rather, it is a full and deep love, a love characterized by mature knowledge and insight. It is a love that embraces doctrinal teaching and Bible study, not a love that focuses only on emotional experiences. It is a love that is familiar with suffering and pain.

Second, Paul wanted their love to be seasoned with insight so that they would be “able to discern what is best” (v. 10). The verb discern is the word used in Greek for assaying gold and coins, to tell the true from the counterfeit. The world is full of false wisdom, and Satan has always made sure that there is plenty of folly in the church as well. Paul wanted them to love God with their intellects so that they could judge and discern the bad from the good, and the good from the best.

Third, the purpose of this discernment was not knowledge and judgment for its own sake but for personal growth, that they would be “pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ” (vv. 10–11). In other words, they must be able to discern what was best so that they might do what was best, and so that their righteousness would overflow. The verb filled here implies not just full to the brim but full to overflowing. The church is to be a garden brimming with fruit for all humanity.

Finally, all of this is “to the glory and praise of God” (v. 11). It is to move toward worship. We don’t love God with an anti-intellectual warm-fuzzy love. We are to love Him with knowledge. But knowledge is not for its own sake but for discernment. Discernment shows us which good works are best and to help us grow abundant fruit. All this, however, is not so that we can have a “good healthy church,” but so that we can turn it all into praise and worship of God.

Consider Paul’s chain of thinking from this passage. How do you measure up? Are the words best, pure, and blameless characteristics of your life? Can you point to fruit from your righteousness in Christ? Use discernment to establish concrete ways that you can better glorify God with your life.