Category: General

General commentary

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Keeping Our Focus on Christ

“I sometimes feel as if what we need most is a sense of proportion in our presentation of the truth; a new sense of where the center of gravity in the gospel lies; a return to the ideal of Paul who determined not to know anything among the Corinthians save Jesus Christ and him crucified.”…”because in your own conviction that alone is the remedy which you can honestly offer to a sinful world.” Geerhardus Vos, in “A Sermon on 1 Corinthians 5:7” (October 1, 1902; Princeton Theological Seminary).

How often do we forget, in our teaching and preaching, that this is the only message of merit? Too often, I would venture.

We teaching and preach with good intention, about seemingly relevant and timely subjects, often well received and applicable. Yet in the real world that we belong to in the Beloved, those are just backdrops for the message of Christ and the cross.

Not to say that we should not teach and preach on every day, useful topics and applications, but the real message should always be there in the forefront, for all else rests upon it.

When we speak of life, what life is there outside of Christ? The answer, of course, is none. So all practical or topical exchanges have to lead back to the centrality of Christ and the cross.

In preparing and delivery any message to God’s people, this should be central in our thoughts and should punctuate the message. Again, though we know this and even when we see it as central to our lives, there is can creep in a tendency to get lost in another peripheral subject of interest and practical use. But there is nothing more practical that Christ and the cross.

As Christ and the cross are the central point of the both the Scriptures and of Redemptive history (past, present and future), the fulcrum of it all so to speak, let us not only live but teach with this as our center.

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Then equals now…

In Isaiah 29:13 we have
And the Lord said: “Because this people draw near with their mouth and honor me with their lips, while their hearts are far from me, and their fear of me is a commandment taught by men,”

And repeated in Matt 15:8-9
“‘This people honors me with their lips,
but their heart is far from me;
in vain do they worship me,
teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.'”

Remind you of today? Surely these are verses that could describe our times as well the times in which they were written – a people who purport to be of the Lord, yet honouring Him only in words and worldly activity. Or churches that are filled with worldly programs and concerns as first priority, rather than the fear of the Lord and the Gospel –  front and center.

Being then God’s offspring, we ought not to think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of man. The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, (Acts 17:29-30)

Notice that there is no time limit on this statement going forward. It is from that time forward, to the end (the return of our Lord). Unlike the things of men, God is not at our beck and call, available when we decide to call Him.  Nor is He conceived in terms that would imply we somehow have input to His demands upon us. The Lord is separate (outside our reality) and sovereign, demanding repentance from every single person, irrespective of their feeling or expectations in the matter.

Even aside from the fact that He is the sole creator, owner and sustainer of all, He gives another more explicit reason that should speak to every person.

“because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.” (Acts 17:31)

Christ will judge every person. Ultimate power is demonstrated in raising him from the dead, showing God’s absolute sovereignty. And since, as God, Jesus is completely righteous and holy, exactly the same as the character of the Father in all aspects, judgment can brook no compromise or excuse.

The only course of actions is clear. Repent and believe in Jesus Christ! What else can one say? The day of judgment looms for every human being, and failure to turn wholly to Jesus will bring the unthinkable to each one who does not. But then it will be too late.

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. (Phil 1:2)

This grace and peace is, as expressed through the Biblical context, only available to those who belong to Jesus, the Lamb of God.

 

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Fret not…but we do (Part 2)

The world is the creation and possession of the Lord. He and He alone sovereignly controls it in all things. As we often sing in hymn, “the battle belongs to the Lord”.

As a backdrop it is important to remember Ephesians 6:12 “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” Our reality is a reflection of much larger struggles than might be apparent on the surface. And in those struggles while viewing the world, though we are always imperfect as men (or women), intent counts. Even our intent in differing to Him and turning from fretting is a significant form of praise and worship, which is our primary purpose as His creatures.

Our purpose is to praise and worship Him. Irrespective of the world around us, our task is to preach the Gospel and to follow His commandments.

What unbelievers do is between them and the Lord. They alone answer before Him. They are not ‘of us’ and we are not ‘of them’. If they have gone out from us (or never were with us), then they were never of us. (1 John 2:19)

When someone rejects the Lord, with all that implies, they and all that they are offends God, who is holy and righteous. They may have offended us, but having offended God they have much bigger problems! It is God’s mandate, not ours, to deal with it. If we have preached the Gospel in word and deed, and are not knowingly participating in their iniquities, then we are worshiping appropriately. Their worldly iniquities may be dealt with by the state, but that also is within the mandate granted by the Lord. One way or the other, their iniquities before Him will be dealt with by Him, in His time.

The second part of Prov 24:19 tells us not to envy them. Why? Envy can be even more insidiously than fretting. In the background, it aligns one with the object envied – in this case the sinner, his activities and their worldly fruits. It draws one into the world of flesh and away from spirit. That is the antithesis of our correct alignment with the Lord.  Recall that “the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do.” (Gal 5:17). You can not serve two masters.

We must always bear in mind the real fruits of the worldly activities of the unbeliever are always bring condemnation because, in their willful rejection of the Lord they always serve Satan. This in not always apparent in any surface success we might observe. Irrespective of appearances, we have no part in that since it is not worship acceptable to God.

Prov 23:17 similarly admonishes the believer not to align with the sinner. But then we are given the correct posture. We are to continue in the fear of the LORD all the day. And what is that fear of the Lord? It is completing our duty as His people.

Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. (Eccl 12:13)

And how do we keep His commandments?

Apply your heart to instruction and your ear to words of knowledge. (Prov 23:12)

In other words, read and attend solely to the Word of God. Significantly, it does not say that we will always be successful. But again, intent counts.

And we are to do this all the day. That’s 24/7 folks.

We might even make the message clearer by somewhat boldly combining the verses to yield

Fret not yourself because of evildoers…but continue in the fear of the Lord all the day.

Along with the method we are given (keeping His commands from His Word), this presents the optimal stance for the believer striving for closeness with the Lord and holiness. Disregard the sinner and the sinful world in the sense of personal worry, and concentrate wholly on the things of the Lord.

We are, after all, not of this world. We are, to steal a phrase from the title of Robert Heinlein’s archetypal SciFi novel “Strangers in a Strange Land”.

 

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Fret not… but we do (Part 1)

Fret(ting) – an irritated state of mind; annoyance; vexation. An ongoing state that is corrosive and abrasive.

Fret not yourself because of evildoers, and be not envious of the wicked, (Prov 24:19)

Let not your heart envy sinners, but continue in the fear of the LORD all the day. (Prov 23:17)

Yet many believers that I know fret quite a bit about one thing or another. Let’s consider these two verses, with the help of the couple of others.

First, the grammar. These are not suggestions, as in “Try not to fret if you can help it..” or “It is understandable to fret but you should resist it…” etc., etc. Even though these are Proverbs and therefor somewhat general words of wisdom, these are nonetheless more that mere offhanded suggestions for optimal living. Let’s remember “which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?” (Luke 12:25). The phrase “do not be anxious” appears numerous times in the New Testament, applying to the circumstances and concerns of life. Overall, Christians are admonished throughout the New Testament to worry for nothing because our sovereign Lord has it all in hand, always.

Now, Let us narrow to a particular kind of fretting that seems to be encouraged in our day. That is, fretting about the declining state of the world and the seemingly universal actions of ungodly people. Many believers seem to spend a great amount of time in fretting about these two topics.

In Prov 24:19 we are instructed to stop worrying about the second of these – the evil being perpetrated in the world by others. The wicked cited here are unbelievers, since they are evildoers (ie. sons of disobedience – Ephesians 2:2), outside the circle of the saved (or elect).

But if we are not to fret over them, what are we to do, if anything? “Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God ” (Rom 12:19). Dealing with the wicked and their iniquity is the exclusive mandate of the Lord. Both judgment and vengeance are His alone, not ours. In fact, if we judge, we will be judged similarly (Matt 7:1), since we too are recalcitrant sinners all.

Bear in mind that this worry is different from discernment. We are not to judge, but we should be discerning and avoid willful association (aside from entering situations to preach the Gospel) with the sinful behaviours and their perpetrators. This require appropriate situational judgment and thought, which is separate from the judgment of the Lord.

This is also separate from the requirement for enforcement of law and order within society. That is separately mandated to the state by the Lord. As such, the that judgment is part of His mandate and within his sovereign plans.

Since we, having “Put on the whole armor of God” (Ephesians 6:11), are instructed not to worry, it would seem rebellious to do so. God is absolutely sovereign in all things in the world. It is His concern and not ours. We are to live in faith, within the outworking of His sovereign plans. To make the worry ours is to claim a portion of His sovereignty in ourselves.

Yet, like Paul (Rom 7:15), we often do what we endeavor not to do! Thank heavens for Grace!

With all this in mind, if we are not to fret, what are we to do?

Irrespective of the world around us, our task is to preach the Gospel and to follow His commandments.

By the way, it never says easy…

 

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A Psalm in Your Heart

Remembering that believers are to keep the Word in their hearts (Deut 30:13, Ps 119:11, and others) implies that it has been written there. To write it there effectively, rendering it available for recall by the Spirit when need be, requires effort on our part – consistent effort. That effort is greatly facilitated if the means involves rejoicing in the Word, particularly corporately.

In the past I had read of, and heart from some Reformed Presbyterian acquaintances, about the singing of the psalms in their services, usually in place of hymns or contemporary worship songs. In most of these cases it also involved singing without instrumental accompaniment.

I have to admit that I was not taken with the idea, as I dearly love singing the old hymns with traditional accompaniment. I also quite enjoy many (but not all) of the more contemporary worship songs. More significantly, I could not imagine singing most of the Psalms as written in our translations. This was especially true of the more literal translations that I feel are most accurate. It simply wouldn’t work.

Then some time ago, on a Reformed blog that I follow, one of the fellows was extolling the virtues of singing the Psalms using the Scottish Psalter of 1850. He listed numerous reasons, but the overwhelming impression that grabbed my attention was two fold : great biblical theology and great devotional character.

As we as believers yearn to draw close to the Lord, His Word is the most direct and clearly biblical route. He has recorded His thoughts in readable form in the Word. When we think those thoughts while reading it, we are thinking God’s very thoughts in the form that He provided them for us, and in the form that He intended. Therefor, when we sing the Psalms we are raising our voices in His very thoughts. What a wonderful prospect!

As for the mode of singing, I do not personally see any problem in instrumentation, with the clear provision that the accompaniment not overshadow the singing and that there be not even the hint of a transition from worship toward performance (a huge problem in the contemporary church IMO). With that in mind, accompaniment which allows God’s people to sing together more easily and enjoyably, especially the more musically challenged, is a wonderful boon.

Now to the words of the Psalms. Those that put the Psalms into metrical format (either Scottish or Geneva Psalters) realized that the original words were metered to fit Hebrew. That simply does work in English. Further, we have many traditional hymns tunes that are well know and loved, from which to form a musical base. The metrical arrangement to fit the English language and existing tune structure were the key which I was missing when I dismissed the singing of the Psalms. The blog articles and examples which I read opened my eyes to this possibility.

I tested this out with a like minded group of believers. We found that singing from the Psalter, for the reasons cited above related to the Lord’s thoughts, was convicting and wonderful.

In this age of new worship songs and modes, it would nice to see a resurgence of the Psalter.

One humorous note – the grammar for the Psalter can make some of the lines sound very much like they were written by Yoda. It can be amusing.

 

 

 

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Always a Work in Progress

A website, and particularly a Blog, is an eternal work in progress — much like life itself.

Both writing and living can at times seem like scaling the very slopes of Everest. The writing process often reminds me of a favourite rhyme of my father. “First a little; then a lottle.” (The Catsup Bottle by Ogden Nash) The writer, actually the creator of any design or content for that matter, often labours seemingly endlessly to get drips and drabs of results. Then all at once it can pour forth.

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Please explore and enjoy…