Category Archives: The Word

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Words In Season

The Winter of Suffering

When I began to study for our fall series on Job I did so with great trepidation. Who in our church would be met with unexpected suffering over the course of our study? Who would say the truth from Job arrive “just in time” for them during a season of pain and hardship?

I didn’t think those questions were unrealistic. God is sovereign over His powerful word. It is never accidental that a church hears the text it hears each week it gathers together. If, after much humble prayer and meditation, a new book of the Bible is selected for study, I take it to mean God wants those people to hear that book at that time. If you agree with that statement, then a mere cursory knowledge of Job would lead you to conclude – like me – that unusual suffering might be coming our way this fall.

And it has.

A STUDY FOR THE SEASON

I walked into this series knowing that several people were already suffering with cancer; many were dealing with familial and parenting pain; others were going through hardship in the workplace. The truth of Job has been like ballast in their lifeboat, giving weight and meaning as the struggle against the storms of suffering rushing over the deck.

Then came the news that a family in our church who was close to adopting a set of siblings, were actually going to have to watch the children return home to an environment in which no children should be raised. Our church had prayed for 18 months for God to provide children for this godly couple. The wife, upon finding out the children would likely be returned to their birth mom said, “It feels as though they’ve been given a death sentence.” The husband said, “If we weren’t studying the book of Job . . . I don’t know if we’d be making it.”

Job has been a sovereign word for their season of suffering.

A few weeks later I was on the phone with a church member talking about how we could pray for his family and he asked that God would open the womb. Their life was coming to the inevitable place of beginning to try to have children and there was some fear of not being able to conceive after trying for a few months. What elation we had together when just under a week I found out they were in fact pregnant! Two months go by and I receive an email from the husband saying his wife miscarried. Just a few days later I am preaching on Job 18-19 and asking the congregation as a whole, “Will you believe God is for you when your suffering makes no sense?”

God was speaking to them in their suffering.

WEEP WITH THE WEEPING

Then I received a text message this Tuesday informing me one of the women in our church had just gone into the doctor for a sonogram and it was discovered the baby might have anencephaly. Anencephaly is the absence of a major portion of the brain, skull, and scalp that occurs during embryonic development. Another test the next day confirmed the findings. Now these precious parents face the prospect of their child either dying in the womb or, more likely, giving birth to a baby that will inevitably die within a few hours of delivery.

I know afresh what it means to weep with those who are weeping.

The father of this young child texted me and said, “We are thankful for your teaching on Job. There was never any doubt that we’d need it, we just hoped it wouldn’t be so soon.”

Me too, brother. Me too.

God’s word has prepared them for this suffering.

HE IS DOING SOMETHING

I share all this to say something quite simple, “Trust in the sovereign sufficiency of God’s Word.” Oh, how it is useful and powerful! He has decreed to bring unimaginable glory to His name and good to His people through the preached word. The Spirit will use it as a mold to conform the church into Christ’s image.

I wish the uncommon suffering hadn’t come, but oh how thankful I am that the written word tethers us to the Incarnate Word.

Our hope is build on nothing less
Than Jesus’ blood and righteousness
We dare not trust the sweetest frame
But wholly lean on Jesus’ name

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Stand Firm on the Word of God

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For days Odysseus, the ancient hero of Greek literature, and his men had sailed without sight of land as they journeyed home.

Distress and despair permeated the crew, until they heard distant, otherworldly, and yet beautiful sounds . . . the fabled, sweet, and magical Siren songs. Few people knew about these Sirens because few survived them; their lovely songs were in fact death dirges in disguise. The songs would steal the hearts of sailors and compel them to go on the Siren’s shore, only to find that stepping on their sand meant certain death at the hands of these less than noble women. Having been warned of the Sirens’ melodic scheme Odysseus quickly covers the crew’s ears with wax and instructs them to lash him hand and foot to the mast. And so it was the crew was able to stay the course while the Siren songs called for their souls.

In 2 Timothy 3 we find Paul exhorting his young protégé, one final time, to lash himself to the masthead of gospel. For it’s only there that he, and by extension we, can navigate through the treacherous waters of this dark world, a world filled with siren songs of sin and death.

A STUNNING ASSURANCE

In 3:1-9 Paul says that “the last days” – the period the NT consistently refers to as the time between Christ’s comings – will be a time characterized by nineteen different kinds of godlessness. Godlessness perpetuated by false teachers who, according to 3:8, “oppose the truth . . . [are corrupt] in mind, and disqualified regarding the faith.” But Timothy is to follow another course, the apostolic pattern of Paul. Notice 3:10-11, “You, however, have followed my teaching, my conduct, my aim in life, my faith, my patience, my love, my steadfastness, my persecutions and sufferings.” As it has gone for me, it must go for you. Look at the stunning promise of 3:12, “Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.”

So here it is Timothy, here are my final parting words, “Don’t follow the false teaching of these men who proclaim a fixation on the world and a life free from pain and persecution. No, those men are duped by the devil (my contemporary translation of 3:13), and your faithfulness in ministry depends on not being duped.” Dear Christian, are you being devilishly duped about suffering and persecution in the Christian life? Radical Christ-exalting obedience and God-glorifying passion will always be persecuted. And we, like Timothy, must embrace it and endure it. The question then is, how? How will he embrace and endure the persecution that comes from life in Christ? The answer comes in 3:14-15.

STAND FIRM ON SCRIPTURE

Paul says in 3:14, “But as for you, continue . . .“ In 3:13 Paul has just said “evil people and imposters will go on from bad to worse,” they will advance and proceed in godlessness. But in 3:14 Paul tells Timothy to do the opposite, he is to “continue.” The word is better translated as “remain”, “stay”, or “abide.” Abide in what? Look at how the verse moves on, “Continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings.” There’s the answer to the question. And the answer is two-fold: embrace and endure suffering by 1) continuing in what you have learned, and 2) knowing from whom you’ve learned it.

In the course of the pastorals, what Timothy has learned is regularly said to be “sound doctrine” or “the gospel”, which are both revealed in “the sacred writings” of Scripture. We know from the rest of the New Testament that who Timothy learned it from was his grandmother Lois and mother Eunice.

Are you not amazed at the glorious simplicity for pastoral perseverance? Paul’s final exhortation to Timothy, as he sits in a Roman prison cell, is, “Lash yourself to the gospel. And you’ll do that by staying close to the word of God and people who teach it faithfully.

We stand firm in the life of God by standing firm on the word of God.

This post is adapted from my recent sermon, “Read the Word,” on 2 Timothy 3:14-17.

 

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Is it Enough?

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Have you ever considered how the Bible is, in many ways, much like a vivid night sky?

Every chapter in God’s word, like stars in a night sky, shouts and shines forth the glory of God in Christ, but – like certain stars and constellations – some chapters do so with incredible luminosity. Psalm 119 is one such chapter that shines with peculiar power. The Germans used to call this psalm, “The Christian’s golden alphabet of the praise, love, power, and use of the Word of God.”

At 176 verses this psalm is the longest longest chapter in the Bible, more than twice as long as its nearest competitor. You could point to verse twenty-five as indicative of the psalmist’s heart and theme.

NOT A NEW THEME

119:25, “My soul clings to the dust; give me life according to your word!” And what amazing about this one verse is how it encapsulates a main theme we see from Genesis to Revelation: the connection between God’s word and life. God’s word bring life from the dust.

All through the Bible we see that when God gives life, He does so through the power of his word. In Genesis 1 we find God creating, giving life to all things, by speaking them into existence with his powerful word. Later on in Exodus 20 we find God, through His word, speaking the nation of Israel into existence. Then there is the stunning vision in Ezekiel 37 of God giving new life to his people after their exile in Babylon. The prophet sees bones lying in the dust and God tells him to speak. Ezekiel then says,

So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I prophesied, there was a sound, and behold, a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to its bone . . . and the breath came into them, and they lived and stood on their feet, an exceedingly great army. (Ezekiel 37:7,10)

God’s word, spoken through Ezekiel, brings dead bones to life. The Old Testament is clear: God’s people receive life through God’s word.

We see the same thing in the New Testament. Indeed Scripture’s teaching about God’s life-giving Word finds its consummation in Jesus Christ, the incarnate Word. John writes at the beginning of his gospel,

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life. (John 1:1,3-4)

In the Word was life! It is through Jesus Christ – the incarnate Word of God – that we are brought from death to life and “born again” by God’s power. Paul makes the same point in Romans 10: “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ,” he says (Romans 10:17). And Hebrews 1 says, “he upholds the universe by the word of his power.” The Bible continually announces that God’s Word brings life to everything; that is a theme on which our soul is lifted from the dust of this world in which we live.

GOD’S WORD IS ENOUGH

Notice how prevalent this idea is in Psalm 119:

  • 119:37 – “Give me life in your ways.”
  • 19:50 – “Your promise gives me life.”
  • 119:93 – “Your precepts . . . have given me life.”
  • 119:107 – “Give me life, O Lord, according to your word!”
  • 119:54 – “Give me life according to your promise!”
  • 119:56 – “Give me life according to your rules.”

Psalm 119 reorients us to the primacy and life-giving power of God’s word. Here is life and life abundant! Why turn anywhere else?

How is it that God’s word can give us life? Notice the vital nuance we find in 119:2, “Blessed are those who keep his testimonies, who seek him with their whole heart.” Do you see it? 119:2 shows us that keeping God’s word is the same thing as seeking God. The psalmist doesn’t destructively separate God from His word. He knows that God’s word is an extension of Himself. To obey God’s word is to obey God. To hear God’s word is to hear God. These words are life-giving words because they are inextricably connected to the life-giving Creator of the whole universe.

I wonder what comes into mind when you think about God’s word. Tozer famously said, “What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.” Psalm 119 is telling us the same is true when we think about God’s word. Here is a trustworthy saying deserving of full acceptance: You can measure a person’s opinion of God by his or her opinion of God’s word. God’s word is an extension of God Himself, so your thoughts about it reveal your thoughts about Him. A person who loves God loves His word, and a person who rejects God rejects what God has said.

THE “ENOUGHNESS” SCRIPTURE

Here then is the first implication we as a church, and you individually, must see from Psalm 119: God’s word is enough. It has the power of life and so it is enough. We dare not be surprised that God’s people are regularly tempted to slide away from the the sufficiency – the “enoughness” – of God’s word. Understand dear church that the Serpent is desperate for you and us to believe it’s not enough. To tempt us to think life is found somewhere else – anywhere else! If we run away from the fountain of life we must know that we are actually into the desert of death. Is God’s word enough for you? Enough to give you life?

This post is adapted from my recent sermon on Psalm 119 entitled, “The Word of God.”

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5 Theses About God’s Word

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Jonathan Leeman’s Reverberation just might be the best recent publication you haven’t heard of. Carl Trueman, whose endorsement is never glib, is right to say, “This book . . . should be read by pastors, elders, and, indeed, church members.”

Leeman’s burden is to show that “one thing is necessary in our churches – hearing God’s Word through preaching, reading, singing, and praying.” The book powerfully illustrates how the ministry of the Word begins in the pulpit and then reverberates throughout the life of the church as members echo back that word to each other in the ordinary elements of life.

5 RELIABLE STATEMENTS

Before unpacking the more practical realities of the life of the word in the life of the church Leeman offers “five statements that will be foundational for everything else in this book.” Theology before doxology is oh so right.

Because every pastor needs to continually remind himself that God’s word is sufficient for all faith and life – even the growth of a church – consider the five theses along with some choice quotes.

1. God’s Word is an Extension of God. “To hear His words that comprise the whole Bible is to hear Him. To obey His words is to obey Him. To ignore His words is to ignore Him.” “You can measure a person’s opinion of God by his or her opinion of God’s word. That’s why a person who loves God loves His word, and the person who hates God rejects what God has spoken. God’s word is an extension of Himself – His identity, purposes, affections, and power.”

2. God Acts through His Word. “God acts when He speaks. He acts in three ways: He creates, He sustains, and He both establishes and breaks relationships.”

3. God Acts through His Word by His Spirit.“God’s words have power because they move by God’s spirit and do exactly what the Spirit wishes.” “There is no greater power a church has at its disposal than preaching the Father’s Word of the Son working through the Spirit.”

4. God’s Word and Spirit Act Together Efficaciously. “Combined, the Word and Spirit make a difference.” “God’s word does not merely impart information; it creates life. It’s not only descriptive; it’s effective. It produces worship, obedience, communion, and disciples.”

5. God Speaks through Human Preachers and Human Words.“When sending seventy-two disciples out to preach, Jesus tells them, ‘The one who hears you hears me, and the one who rejects you rejects me, and the one who rejects me rejects him who sent me” (Luke 10:16). “God’s Word, working through God’s Spirit, is the most powerful force in the universe and in the church. Father, Son, and Spirit wonderfully conspire to pour forth their power through speech, to accomplish their single will through words.”

MINISTERS OF WHAT?

Dear pastor, remember what you are: a minister of the word. The Word that is able, in and of itself, to creates, sustain, and empower your church’s ministry. Give yourself over to the study of this word. Wash your congregation with the water of God’s word . . . and watch it grow.

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6 Ways to Treasure God’s Word

Treasuring Gods Word

Nothing is more precious to a Christian than God’s word. And nothing is more precious to a church than God’s word.

God’s word is involved in everything He does: from His decrees to His creation to His providence. His word performs all His acts. If we go even further, it is impossible to separate God and His word. Where God is, His word is; where His word is, God is.1 In his recent Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Christian Belief the good perspectivalist, John Frame, writes:

So the word of God is a great treasure. We should rejoice that our God is not dumb, like the gods of the nations, but has shared with us his laws, his wisdom, and his love. And God is always with and in his word. When  we read the Word, we encounter him; when we encounter him, we hear his word. (523)

So then, a church that treasures God’s word will be a church that encounters God. How then can a church treasure God’s word and thus encounter God? One simple answer would be to construct a weekly liturgy clearly centered on God’s word. While the order and timing of every liturgy need not be the same, I would nevertheless advocate for a church’s liturgy to normally consist of the following six ordinary elements.

6 ORDINARY ELEMENTS FOR TREASURING GOD’S WORD

1. Preach the word (2 Tim. 4:2). This is where it all begins. Expositional preaching is the fountainhead for God’s word permeating the church, and is the spark for encountering God. I think it would be hard to find a church who treasures God’s word that doesn’t consistently feast upon expository preaching. The uniqueness of expository preaching is it strives to make plain what a passage of Scripture says. Because God’s word alone has the authority and power to change a heart, and is the ordinary way in which God speaks to His people, churches that treasure God’s word must have be built on expository preaching.

2. Read the word (1 Tim. 4:13; Rev. 1:3). In 2 Timothy 3 Paul talks about “the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.” What power there is in God’s word! So every pastor must obey the command 1 Timothy 4:13 to devote himself “to the public reading of God’s word.” This element seems to have fallen on hard times in many evangelical churches, but I pray the renaissance of expositional preaching will soon result in a renaissance of the public reading of God’s word. There are many different ways to do this: systematically reading through a testament, systematically reading through the Psalms, or reading a portion of Scripture that corresponds to sermon text. Reading God’s word can be done congregationally or representationally (an individual reading a passage for the church).

3. Sing the word (Eph. 5:19; Col. 3:16). Saturate your church’s liturgy with the word sung. Select songs that major not simply in Scriptural truth, but in Scriptural lyrics. Singing provides a powerful opportunity to treasure God’s word. One way our church tries to amplify the word-centeredness of our singing is to have every song illuminated by Scripture during the song. Many songs have an instrumental section between a chorus and verse or chorus and bridge, so why not put Scripture on the screen while the instruments are playing? Instead of blithely watching the band perform, the congregation has the opportunity to encounter God’s word with truth appropriate to the song.

4. Pray the word (Eph. 6:18; Col. 6:2; Heb. 13:15). Prayer seems to be – to me at least – a transitional element in many liturgies. It is the evangelical oil that provides a seamless transition from song to sermon and then from sermon to song. But prayer must have more than transitional prominence in the church’s gathering. A diversity of prayers can be offered throughout the service: prayers of praise, confession, thanksgiving, and intercession. If your church hasn’t ever had extended prayer in a service I would counsel you to start slowly. Yet start nonetheless by praying for biblical priorities with biblical language.

5. See the word (Mat. 28:18-20; Luke 22:19). Through the sacraments of baptism and the Lord’s Supper we “see” the word. These ordinances are visible representations of God’s word and God’s gospel. We ought to all be consistently praying the Lord uses our church in such a way that the baptismal waters are stirred with great frequency. Although we can do nothing to guarantee weekly baptism, we can see the word each week through communion. If you need specific encouragement on this point see my post “3 Reasons for Weekly Communion.”

6. Support the word (1 Cor. 16:2; Phil. 4:15-16). Resist the contemporary practice of privatizing the offering by simply having a tithe box at the back of your meeting space. Make the offering a dedicated, ordinary element in your church’s liturgy. Through giving we support the ministry of the word, worship God, and obey His word. Depending on how your liturgy is structured, an offering can be preceded or followed by a prayer of thanksgiving or Bible reading.

A church that treasures God’s word will be a church that regularly encounters God. A simply way to do this is to saturate everything you do in gathered worship with God’s word. So build your church’s liturgy on the six ordinary elements of preaching, reading, singing, praying, seeing, and supporting the word.

  1. These sentences are adapted from Frame, Systematic Theology, 521. ↩