Monthly Archives: November 2013

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Sheer Prayerlessness

In the preface to A Call to Spiritual Reformation DA Carson writes,

I doubt if there is any Christian who has not sometimes found it difficult to pray. In itself this is neither surprising nor depressing: it is not surprising, because we are still pilgrims with many lessons to learn; it is not depressing, because struggling with such matters is part of the way we learn.

What is both surprising and depressing is the sheer prayerlessness that characterizes so much of the Western church. It is surprising, because it is out of step with the Bible that portrays what Christian living should be; it is depressing, because it frequently coexists with abounding Christian activity that somehow seems hollow, frivolous, and superficial. Scarcely less disturbing is the enthusiastic praying in some circles that overflows with emotional release but is utterly uncontrolled by any thoughtful reflection on the prayers of Scripture . . .

If we are to make any headway in reforming our personal and corporate praying then we shall have to begin by listening afresh to Scripture and seeking God’s help in understanding how to apply Scripture to our lives, our homes, and our church.

– Carson, A Call to Spiritual Reformation: Priorities from Paul and His Prayers, 9.

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Recent Reads

I love to read. By God’s grace I am a pretty fast reader; I usually read a couple books each week. I find it helpful to summarize my thoughts on each book and I offer those thoughts in hopes that you will be encouraged to either read or pass over the given title.

419r4qrrEGL._SY344_PJlook-inside-v2,TopRight,1,0_SH20_BO1,204,203,200_Preaching: A Biblical Theology by Jason Meyer. Many contemporary books on preaching can be quite selective, as some narrowly rely on word studies of “preaching” words, while others largely neglect the Old Testament. Jason Meyer believes his new book fills a void, for he writes, “This book is unique in that I think the whole Bible alone can give a holistic answer to what preaching is” (14). I would affirm the book’s uniqueness. He defines preaching as “stewarding and heralding God’s word in such a way that people encounter God through his word.” Men who preach in this way will be men who preach faithfully, fearlessly, and reverently. I originally planned to do an extended review of the book, but I found myself having nothing to offer but effusive praise. So if you preach regularly or hope to preach regularly, tolle lege!

Overcoming SinOf Temptation by John Owen. Few books have impacted my view of the Christian life with such simplicity and clarity as this one. It is short, relatively easy (at least for an Owen book), and packs a punch. Owen takes the words of Christ in Matthew 26:41 – “Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation” – and offers a two-part scheme for resisting temptation, “Watch and pray.” Housing all kinds of pithiness and profundity that one can expect from the Prince of Puritans, this book might just be the handiest guide to slaying temptation you can find outside of sacred Scripture. Chapter seven’s discussion of heart-watchfulness is particularly helpful.

41Fd-bA0ViL._SY344_BO1,204,203,200_A Guide to Prayer by Isaac Watts. Many know Watts as a hymn writer (“When I Survey,” “Joy to the World,” etc.), but he was also a great theologian and logician. This book on prayer is a treasure trove of wise application on how to pray in light of Scripture. While the book is somewhat short, Watts leaves no stone unturned as he manages to provide enough principles and directions to fill an encyclopedia. One of the most lasting takeaways from the book – for me – will be the relationship between prayer and spiritual conversation throughout the day. Watts writes, “The reason we lack words for prayer is because we speak so little of Christ throughout the day.” A great book on that most difficult of devotions.

51J+3sfwMwL._SY344_PJlook-inside-v2,TopRight,1,0_SH20_BO1,204,203,200_The Poet by Michael Connelly. This was the first Connelly book I’ve read that didn’t focus on Harry Bosch or Mickey Haller, and Connelly shines as usual. The Poet follows crime-beat reporter Jack McEvoy as he responds to his brother’s apparent suicide in the only way he knows how: investigative journalism. McEvoy’s investigation uncovers a serial killer of unprecedented cunning who target homicide cops, each one haunted by a case he could never crack. About a third of the way into the book I thought I had identified the killer and was well on my way to accusing Connelly of being predictable, but shame on me! In typical Connelly fashion the books ends with a surprise twist; thus the only thing predictable about his books seems to be their very unpredictability. The Poet was originally published in 1997, thus the reader gets an idea for what journalism was like before internet dominance. For example, one character is amazed that one picture can be downloaded on the internet in just four minutes. This of course comes after a detective’s amazement at the strange device called a “digital camera.” A fun and gripping read.

51sJBOCKG5L._SY344_PJlook-inside-v2,TopRight,1,0_SH20_BO1,204,203,200_The Scarecrow by Michael Connelly. This is the second Jack McEvoy book, but Connelly published it twelve years after The Poet. By reading the two volumes back to back I got a clear sense at how technology and the internet revolutionized journalism in just over a decade. Whereas the first volume revels in the novelty of dial-up connections and digital cameras, this second book is stocked with server farms, complex computer hacking, and cutting edge security software. The Scarecrow finds McEvoy forced out of the Los Angeles Times due to budget cuts (thanks to the rise of internet journalism) and once again stumbling into the discovery of a notorious infidel. Page-turning suspense at its finest.

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3 Lessons for Contentment

Contentment

Yesterday I looked at 1 Timothy 6 and the “rare jewel of contentment. Specifically  “3 Reasons to Be Content”: 1) you can’t take it with you, 2) you have enough already, and 3) discontentment leads to disaster.

Think about the unbelievable witness to Christ that comes from a contented church.  The world around us is marked by discontentment, by striving and searching after satisfaction in worldly things. The church is called to reflect the character of God, therefore any faithful reflection will image forth His self-sufficiency. Fostering a spirit of contentment in the church fuels the reflection of God’s sufficiency. What a testimony to the grace of Christ would it be if a church can say with Paul in Philippians 4:11, “We have learned the secret of being content in every situation.” But notice something significant in this verse. The rare jewel is learned, it is not engrained. We all know this to be true . . . just look at children.

My boys, as I am sure your kids do or did, exemplify the truth that coveting is not a learned response. It is engrained within the heart from birth.  Just stick my two boys in a game room filled with toys and at some point, usually sooner than later, one of them wants whatever the other has. For no other reason than the other has it. There is an old little ditty that sums up my boys’ behavior in a toy room quite well,

If I like it, it’s mine.
If I can take it away from you, it’s mine.
If I had it a while ago, it’s mine.
If I say it’s mine, it’s mine.
If it looks like mine, it’s mine.
If I saw it first, it’s mine.
If you’re having fun with it, it’s mine.
If you lay down your toy, it’s mine.
If it is broken, it’s yours.

We don’t need to be taught discontentment, rather like Paul we need to learn contentment. 1 Timothy 6 gives us three lessons to be learned in order that a church have the sweet aroma of Christ-centered contentment.

  • First, learn the lesson of God’s goodness. 1 Timothy 6:17 tells us that God provides richly for our every need.  Let us learn that God is good and does good.  In every station of life, the goodness of God is present. And the goodness of God is enough for His children.
  • Second, learn the lesson of Christ’s sufficiency. We have remarked on this already, but let us continually remind ourselves that all we have is Christ and He is sufficient for each day.
  • Thirdly, learn the lesson of the world’s vanishment. Whatever we have we cannot take with us and whatever we have is enough. This world and all of its perceived benefits will pass away and cannot satisfy the soul’s for sufficiency.

I have heard it said that a spirit of contentment is like a good watch. Though you move up and down, the spring is not shaken nor are the wheels out of order; the watch keeps perfect motion.  When life moves up and down, a contented spirit protects the heart from being broken and keeps our motion continually heavenward. Steady yourself with contentment on heaven’s path by learning these three lessons.

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3 Reasons to Be Content

Contentment

Jeremiah Burroughs called a “rare jewel.”1 Thomas Watson said, “I do not know of any jewel in religion that more bespangles a Christian, or glitters in the eyes of God and man more than this . . . How every Christian should be ambitious to wear such a sparkling diamond!”2

Just what is this jewel that we should be ambitious to find? The jewel of contentment.

In 1 Timothy 6:5 Paul says, “But godliness with contentment is great gain.”  Let’s define our terms here.  Godliness in the New Testament references a life of reverence before and obedience to God. Contentment (αὐταρκείας) here is a fascinating word, it literally means “self-sufficient.”  The Stoic philosophers of the first century loved this idea. By emphasizing self-sufficiency, the Stoics advocated a life marked by detachment from things or outside possessions and stressed independence.  And Paul picks up on this word and its importance, but he provides us with the Christian use of the term.  The Bible tells us that in the strictest sense, only God can be said to be “self-sufficient” (His aseity); He rests fully satisfied in and with Himself alone. But it is the glory of God to communicate His sufficiency to His children, thereby making them self-sufficient.  How does that happen?  Through faith in Christ. You see, contentment is not just a rare jewel, it is also a gospel mystery.

The Bible tells us that we were born into sin, therefore envy and covetousness flowed out of our hearts from the minute we first breathed in air. Then as the life of sin moves on it becomes increasingly marked by striving and searching for satisfaction in the things of this world – place, power, pleasure. But true satisfaction in those things never comes. The good news of Christ Jesus is that He came and perfectly satisfied the law of God, then He went to the cross and satisfied God’s wrath against sin by dying as a substitute for any who would place their faith in Him.  And those who place their faith in Christ are not only saved from their sin, but are united to Christ and therefore become partakers of His sufficiency.  So Christian contentment, αὐταρκείας, is not a state of self-sufficiency, but the state of Christ-sufficiency.  This is why Paul says in 2 Corinthians 6:10 that he can possess nothing, while simultaneous be in possession of everything in Christ.

Godliness with contentment is great gain.  Now in 6:7-10 Paul gives us three reasons to be content.

First, in 6:7 he says, “For we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world.” Reason number one: you can’t take it with you. Here Paul is merely echoing a couple rich Old Testament texts. After losing almost everything at the hand of Satan Job states in 1:21, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return.” After surveying every pleasure offered in this life Solomon said in Ecclesiastes 5:15 it was all meaningless for, “As he came from his mother’s womb he shall go again, naked as he came, and shall take nothing for his toil that he may carry away in his hand.”

The second reason is found in 6:8, “But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content.” Reason number two for being content: you have enough already. Discontentment always wants something more or something else, it’s why we could say’s discontentment is life’s burglar.  Because even when you get what you think you want – a new home, better job, more toys, clothes, or gadgets – you soon find that you are discontent all over again. I recently bought some weed killer that said it would kill weeds for up to six months – it’s a temporary fix.  Believing contentment comes from possessions is a temporary fix.  You get something new that you want and you might be content for a few months, but soon enough the noxious weed of discontentment will rise again.  That’s because contentment does not come from what you have, but from who you are in Christ. The old hymn has is right, “Thou o Christ, are all I want; more than all in thee I find.”3

Reason number three for being content: discontentment leads to disaster, notice 6:9, “But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. The desire for monetary wealth is nothing less than a tempting snare of the devil and according to 6:10 is a root of all kinds of evil.  Let’s make sure to note that Paul is not saying people who are rich fall into this trap, but those who desire to be rich.  The reason why is that through this desire, or what Paul calls a craving, some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.  The word pierced more narrowly means “impale”; a love and desire of money has impaled many with grievous pangs and more tragically, caused some to wander from the faith.  Jesus himself said this would happen; do you remember the parable of the sower?  Seed thrown on the third soil lands among the thorns and Jesus said, “As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it proves unfruitful” (Matt. 13:22)).  You cannot serve two masters, He also said. You cannot serve God and money.

So the, we have three reasons to be content according to this passage: 1) you can’t take it with you, 2) you have enough already, and 3) discontentment leads to disaster.  What we see in this text is something incredible, that contentment does not consist in adding possessions or pleasures, but in subtracting from our desires.  That’s the paradoxical mystery of this rare jewel of the Christian life. Contentment is reveling in Christ’s sufficiency and brings great gain to the life of godliness. We need to see one glorious truth from this passage, “Godliness is especially sweet when the soul is content in Christ.”

  1. Jeremiah Burroughs, The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment ↩
  2. Thomas Watson, The Art of Divine Contentment, v-vi. ↩
  3. “Jesus, Lover of My Soul” by Charles Wesley. ↩
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Reading God’s Word in Public

Read the Word

The public reading of Scripture is a glorious requirement of faithful pastors. In 1 Timothy 4:13 Paul writes, “Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation, to teaching.”

Reading God’s word is no easy task. It’s likely you have been to a church’s public gathering and heard a pastor rapidly read his sermon’s passage, appearing to be more eager in what he has to say about the word than what the word actually says. Or maybe you have been to a gathering where church member stands to read a text, but nervousness causes the moment to be less than it should be. Among the most disheartening things I hear, with some regularity, is monotonous reading of God’s word. Brothers, this should not be so! The word is living and active, thus God audibly speaks when His word is read. Such a reality demands care and thought go into every time His word is read publicly. Here are two simple principles to help every pastor, or church member, read God’s word with faithfulness.

2 PRINCIPLES FOR FAITHFUL READING

Read out the Word’s meaning. We want to read God’s word in such a way that an unfamiliar hearer gets a sense of its meaning. Therefore, when you stand to read be familiar enough with the passage to know what the biblical author is communicating. Which words or phrases need to be emphasized? Are there places where you should pause? Although the original languages don’t have punctuation, those little dots are quite helpful to faithful public reading as they help signal meaning. It’s usually wise to pay attention to verbs, particularly action verbs. Reading verbs right will give the passage appropriate movement and pace.

Read in the Word’s spirit. Faithful reading reflects the spirit, or tone, of the passage. It’s a terrible thing to read a declaration as a contemplation, or a warning as a comfort. Every text has a spirit that you want to unveil in your reading. This doesn’t mean that public reading needs to be theatrical. It does mean that the congregation should get a sense of John the Baptist’s power if you are reading from Mark 1 or David’s sorrow if you are reading from Psalm 51.

Lastly, it is always wise to include a statement such as, “This is the Word of the Lord,” as it heightens reverence.

The pastor must devote himself to publicly read God’s word. Let him read it with faithfulness.

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The Business of Obedience

John Owen Temptation

After calling Christians to store up gospel treasure in their hearts, John Owen provides the normative response of such a heart – universal obedience:

He that, having a due acquaintance with the gospel in its excellencies, as to him a word of mercy, holiness, liberty, and consolation, values it, in all its concernments, as his choicest and only treasure,–makes it his business and the work of his life to give himself up unto it in universal obedience, then especially when opposition and apostasy put the patience of Christ to the utmost,–he shall be preserved from the hour of temptation.

– Owen, Overcoming Sin & Temptation, 211-212.

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4 Marks of Heralding the Gospel

Preaching Header

“From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” – Matthew 4:17

In Preaching: A Biblical Theology Jason Meyer channels Gordon Hugenberger to amplify what it means to herald (kerusso) God’s word. He writes,

The ‘herald’ is the town crier that speaks with the forceful ton of ‘hear, ye.’ In other words, the herald made his proclamation with a rousing “attention-getting noise” that could not be ignored.

Gordon Hugenberger reinforces the gravity of the herald’s task by stressing the political or military associations of the word. He points to the work of Suidas, the tenth-century AD Greek lexicographer, who said, ‘A herald is in time of war what an ambassador is in peace.’ The herald would go into ‘enemy territory ahead of an advancing army to warn the enemy of certain destruction unless they accepted the proffered terms for peace.’ Therefore, the king would invest the herald with power ‘either [to] accept surrender on behalf of his king or to declare war if those terms were rejected.’ The herald’s authority is completely derived and is legitimate only to the degree that he faithfully represents the one who sent him. (23)

Meyer is right to say, “Preaching is not discussing or explaining something with the tone and tenor of a fireside chat.” Preaching instead is the publishing of a King’s reign and rule, it is an announcement calling sinners to lay down their arms of iniquity and surrender their souls to Jesus Christ, the great Warrior King. If preaching is heralding, after the manner Hugenberger recounts, what are some characteristics that ought to be present in the preacher’s heraldic delivery? I can think of four.

4 DISTINGUISHING MARKS OF HERALDING THE GOSPEL

Heralding the gospel means preaching with authority. I am thinking here of a palpable sense of strength in the preacher’s message and delivery. We would go astray if we think the preacher has any authority within himself. No, his authority is derived from the King. The man of God stands behind the sacred desk as the King’s ambassador announcing the terms of the New Covenant. The terms are clear and certain, thus he proclaims them with all the authority the Spirit gives. We would also go astray if we think authority means a particular volume level flowing forth from the preacher’s mouth. I have seen men who are meek in tone preach with more authority than the young pastors who love to dwell in the upper register at all times. An analogy to parenting works well here. There are times when a father needs to raise his voice, but a calm word of instruction or discipline carries no less authority. A herald will have a demeanor of authority.

Heralding the gospel means preaching with confidence. Heralding with authority assumes a peculiar confidence within the herald. He is confident in the King who commissioned him and confident in the word he was sent to announce. If a preacher isn’t confident or assured in the truth he stands to proclaim he will not herald the gospel. Just like authority, heraldic confidence is outward looking. The preacher cannot be confident in his own persuasive power or attractive personality. Persuasive personalities have led many a hearer to hell. No, the herald’s confidence is in the Spirit he received and the Word the Spirit illuminates. Preachers should be careful on these first two marks because misplaced authoritative confidence can slide into arrogance. Heralding is a humble declaration, for the herald preaches not himself.

Heralding the gospel means preaching with urgency. Life and death hang in the balance during every sermon. The herald nor the hearer has any guarantee of tomorrow, of another chance to speak or listen. I can’t improve on the Prince of Preachers words here, “Oh my brothers and sisters in Christ, if sinners will be damned, at least let them leap to hell over our bodies. And if they will perish, let them perish with our arms about their knees, imploring them to stay, and not madly to destroy themselves. If hell must be filled, at least let it be filled in the teeth of our exertions, and let not one go there unwarned and unprayed for.”

Heralding the gospel means preaching with fearlessness. This is the overriding mark that Meyer is concerned with, and rightfully so. Heralding means not fearing man, but fearing the King of Kings. It is His word, thus it must not be tampered with. The preacher is to obey the command of old, “Cry aloud; do not hold back; lift up your voice like a trumpet; declare to my people their transgression, to the house of Jacob their sins” (Isa. 58:1). Jesus knows heraldic preaching will be opposed, will bring persecution, and will often bring death, but the herald must fear God alone: “So have no fear of them, for nothing is covered that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known.What I tell you in the dark, say in the light, and what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops. And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell” (Matt. 10:26-28).

Preacher, you are a herald. Will you climb to the sacred desk this weekend? If so, make your ascent and then open your mouth with authority, confidence, urgency, and fearlessness.

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Store the Heart

John Owen Temptation

In Of Temptation, John Owen encourages Christians to store up their hearts with truth in order to stand against temptation:

But store the heart with a sense of the love of God in Christ, and his love in the shedding of it; get a relish of the privileges we have thereby,–our adoption, justification, acceptation with God; fill the heart with thoughts of the beauty of his death;–and thou wilt, in an ordinary course of walking with God, have great peace and security as to the disturbance of temptations.

– Owen, Overcoming Sin & Temptation, 202.

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Pastoral Postcard – Husband of One Wife

Pastoral PostcardEvery few weeks I try to write a “Pastoral Postcard,” a post that aims to encourage pastors in the work of ministry. I take one verse of Scripture and apply it to the blessings and afflictions every gospel minister experiences. The postcards originate from a time when I was preaching through 1 Timothy while reading Thomas Boston’s The Art of Man-Fishing. As a young pastor myself, I tried to channel my inner Boston and write short-ish notes to encourage my labor. Hopefully they can be some encouragement to you.

“Therefore an overseer must be above reproach, the husband of one wife.” – 1 Timothy 3:2

Pastor, you are to be a “one-woman man.”

The apostle says this world is filled with sensuous souls greedy to practice every kind of impurity, “but that is not the way you learned Christ!” No, you have learned to renew your mind and put on the new self, from which flows the life of purity – the life of “one-womanness.” If sexual immorality is “out of place” in church, how less of a place should it have in the pastor’s life? You are a herald of the Light, so walk as a child of light. A “one-woman man” does this by reveling and repelling.

A ONE-WOMAN MAN REVELS

The wise preacher said, “Let your fountain be blessed, and rejoice in the wife of your youth.” If you are blessed with a wife you have a reason to rejoice. God saw it was not good for you to be alone, so He fashioned you a woman. Revel in the Giver of this gift and revel in the gift itself.

It is a mighty scheme of the Serpent to have your wife become common in your eyes, for he knows that you won’t revel in the common. In portraying her as common he pokes your heart toward pursuing things, and women, that are uncommon. But that is a poker pulled from the fires of hell and it will burn you if it isn’t fought with the shield of faith and sword of the Spirit.

Remember that the wife of your youth is a treasure and treasure is never boring – never common. Stomp on the sly Worm’s scheme by studying your wife. There are riches in her body and soul you have yet to discover, but such discovery will require effort. The apostle wrote, “The fruit of light is found in all that is good, right, and true”; therefore, you must find for the treasures contained within your wife. The Worm’s world says a wife’s treasure lies in the soil of superficiality, but the King of creation says, “Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.” Revel in her God-fearing heart. Yes, drink in her physical beauty, but intoxicate yourself in her spiritual beauty. The Rock himself said this kind of beauty is imperishable and precious in the sight of God. Why revel in that which is perishable when you can revel in that which is imperishable?

As an under-shepherd of Christ it is your task to image the glory of Christ to your sheep; remind yourself regularly of how being a “one-woman man” uniquely reflects the Savior. Our Lord Jesus saved His bride and united her to Himself. He is fixated on her and sings over her; His heart is not divided with other lovers. He has only one lover. Revel in your wife and you will reflect the Savior.

A ONE-WOMAN MAN REPELS

It is not enough to simply revel in your wife, you must also repel any other lover. You must be, after all, a one-woman man.

I know the vanity of your heart and how it will want to gravitate toward other lovers. The Serpent know this and thus will employ one of his favored conspiracies, “The Conspiracy of Greener Grass.” He will enjoy leading you to the fence in order to look at the greener grass (another lover) on the other side . . . he may even give you a boost to jump over to the other side. Once over the fence, The Fork-Tongued One will let you enjoy the freshly shaded blades for a period of time before he begins to whisper, “Have you seen the grass even greener than this? Let’s go look.” But I warn you now that the grass is never a better shade of green, it’s merely a different shade of green.

What vigilance you must have to repel the Worm’s conspiracy! The Savior knows this for in the great mountainside sermon He says to lustful men, “If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell.” With the Spirit’s power you must make war against the members of your flesh; kill the sins of lust and unlawful lovers before they kill you.

Just as every bicycle needs two wheels to advance, so too does your purity need two things to grow: reveling in your wife and repelling the Serpent’s schemes.

P.S. –  Remember greener grass actually does exist. The Serpent is crafty, but he is not smart enough to come up with original truth, he just distorts – expertly so – the real truth. The real Greener Grass lies at the feet of the Lord Jesus who will soon make “all things new” and lead His bride into lush valleys and rolling hills.