Characteristics of Genuine Saving Faith part 2

The Activity of Genuine Saving Faith

Christianity is not a spectator sport. We, when we gather as the body of Christ for worship, are not an audience being treated to a free show. As Christians, we are called to service. Paul teaches the Philippians this when he tells them that they are the circumcision “who worship God in the Spirit”.

The English word worship is used to translate several Greek words in the New Testament. Sometimes, worship is used to translate the Greek word proskuneo (4352) means to prostrate oneself or fall on your knees and touch the ground with your forehead in reverence. In other words, it means to bow. For instance, in 1 Corinthians 14:25, Paul writes “…falling down on his face, he will worship God…” Also, in Matthew chapter 2, when the wise men came from the East, they stated they had come to worship (proskuneo) Jesus. However, the word translated worship here is the Greek word latreuo. The root word of this word is the word latris which means “a hired servant”. The word latreuo is usually translated as serve. In fact, Jesus Himself uses this word when being tempted by Satan. In Matthew 4:10, He says “Away with you Satan! For it is written ‘You shall worship (proskuneo) the Lord your God, and Him only shall you serve (latreuo)’.” Certainly, worshipping our God corporately and singing praises to Him is proper and edifying. Corporate worship is important and God certainly deserves the praise of our lips. I was personally drawn into the church through children’s choir and youth choir. However, if that is the only way we worship our God, something is missing. In fact, the Bible makes it clear that true saving faith will change the way we live and give us a desire to serve our God. Romans 12:1 tells us that presenting our bodies as living sacrifices to God is our “reasonable service”. The word service is the translation of the Greek word latreia (2999) which is similar to latreuo. In the NASB, this verse calls our sacrifice our “spiritual act of worship”. We do not serve in order to obtain salvation. Rather, we serve because we are so thankful for what Christ has done for us.

Our worship as service comes from heart that is thankful. The power that enables us to serve is spiritual. In the New King James version, the text reads that we “worship God in the spirit.” Other versions read that we “worship in the Spirit of God.” In either case, our service is not just something we do but it is rather action that is the overflow of the effect of the Holy Spirits presence in our lives. The action of service is physical but the motivation behind it is spiritual. In fact, Jesus said in John 4:24 that the worship of God must be in “spirit and in truth”.

Paul says in Philippians 3:3 that true believers “rejoice in Christ Jesus”. The word that is translated rejoice is the Greek word kauchaomai (2744). The word means to boast or to glory. Therefore, Paul is saying that Christians should boast in Christ. Why? Obviously it is because we have nothing to do with our salvation. Romans 8:29-30 tells us that He foreknew, predestined, called, justified, and glorified us. Ephesians 2:8 tells us that even the faith we have to believe was not ours but that it was the gift of God. Boasting in Christ Jesus and recognizing the miracle of salvation is a humbling activity. It is also exclusive in the sense that proclaiming salvation through Christ alone means that there is no salvation available anywhere else. In this day and time, people don’t like absolutes. Even people who call themselves Christians appear squeamish when faced with the possibility of proclaiming Jesus as the only way. Our culture of “tolerance” loves to talk about spirituality and even God. However, when you bring up Jesus people are ready to argue that point to the end.

II Peter 2:12-13 False Teachers-Their Condemnation

I have very little tolerance for false doctrine. I do understand that there are some things about which men and women of good conscience can disagree on because they are not central to the gospel. However, in a recent blog thread, I was responding to someone who made the claim that homosexuality is not a sin because Jesus never called it a sin. This individual went on to make other claims such as parts of the Bible are not inspired or that Paul’s writings reveal his own personal agenda and prejudice. Now, I’m no pugilist but I have to admit, when I hear stuff like that and then I refute it with the truth but the person still won’t back down, I want to pop them in the mouth. However, I’d settle for a good ol’ fashioned round of Rock ‘em Sock ‘em Robots.



When my God and His precious word are slandered, it gets my blood boiling. However, one day there will be a payday for all those who presume to speak for God but spread falsehood. Those people who pretend to be true teachers of the word will have their day in the court of heaven with the Judge who can’t be fooled or bribed. They will be justly condemned and eternally punished.

First of all, their condemnation will come because divine judgment will come on this sinful world. In Genesis, we read how the serpent, Satan, will have his head crushed. In Revelation, we read how Christ will come on a white horse with a sword to exact vengeance on this sinful world, thereby crushing Satan’s head. Peter tells us, continuing his description of these false teachers, that just as the animals he compares them to will be destroyed, these false teachers will also suffer destruction in divine judgment. The word translated “destruction” is a Greek word that describes something that is rotting. Just as the Pharisees in the time Jesus lived were called white washed tombs full of dead men’s bones, these false teachers put up a good front on the outside but on the inside rotting. The spiritual cancer of sin is eating them up slowly because they have rejected Jesus Christ. Someone diagnosed with cancer often times is given a pronouncement of how long they can expect to live. This world is rotting in sinful filth. All of creation is tainted by sin and will be destroyed. In that destruction, which has been predicted, these false teachers will also suffer personal divine judgment.

This divine judgment will deliver to these false teachers what they finally deserve. As Psalm 1 describes the wicked, they will be driven like straw in the wind—just blown all over the place. They will be helpless and hopeless in the face of almighty God. It will, in face, be exactly what they deserve. They will, as Peter writes in verse 13, find themselves “suffering wrong as the wages of doing wrong”. They will have sowed into their life evil and rejected God and His word. They thought they could con people out of their money and gain fame and applause for themselves. They had positions of power and prestige. People looked up to them and they were for a time famous. However, this life is short and eternity isn’t. When it’s all said and done, they will know what Romans 6:23 means by “the wages of sin” because they will receive the wages they have earned. The harm and pain their false teaching caused will come back to them. They may have mocked God and His word for a time but He will have the last laugh in the end.

One life lesson I constantly try to reinforce with my children is that “Choices have consequences”. When false teachers choose to reject the truth and teach what they want they may have success for a while. The money may flow into their coffers and for a while, at least, they may live “high on the hog”. In the end, however, they will be judged. Their condemnation is certain and they will get exactly what’s coming to them.

Characterisitics of Genuine Saving Faith Part 1

The Identity of Genuine Saving Faith

Paul, in verse 3 of chapter 3 in the book of Philippians, tells the believers that “we are the circumcision”. The emphasis in the phrase is on the word we in the Greek. Paul wants to stress to the believers that it is they who are the true circumcision as opposed to the Jewish legalizers who are in fact the false circumcision or “mutilation” as he calls them in the previous verse. As we noted last week, the Jews were proud of their circumcision and felt that it gave them a spiritual advantage before God. However, scripture has a different testimony regarding circumcision.

First of all, we should realize that circumcision itself was not a Jewish invention. It was actually practiced by other people before Abraham was told to do it as the sign of the covenant. The spiritual significance of the procedure was totally missed by the Jews. God required a spiritual purity. No physical procedure could provide that. However, the physical here is used to point to a spiritual truth. In fact, the Old Testament records that God in fact revealed this truth about circumcision to the Jewish people. For instance, in Deuteronomy 30:6, scripture records that “the Lord your God will circumcise your hearts and the hearts of your children to love the Lord your God with all your heart and all your soul, that you may live.”

Also, Moses called the people to “circumcise the foreskin” of their hearts in Deuteronomy 10:16. To have their hearts circumcised means to have their sin nature put off so that they would be clean before God and able to serve Him with a pure heart. Paul also wrote about this truth in the New Testament. In Colossians 2:11, Paul refers to this spiritual circumcision as “putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ.”

Finally, in Romans 2:28-29, Paul writes, “For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is in the outward flesh but he is a Jew who is one inwardly and circumcision is that of the heart, in the Spirit, not in the letter, whose praise is not from men but from God.” Therefore, the title Jews claimed for themselves in a prideful way actually belonged to Christians because the Jews missed the true spiritual application.

Matthew 7:3-5 Judgment—Where to begin

As we have seen in our study of this chapter thus far, not to mention the whole Sermon on the Mount, Jesus does not forbid Christians in all instances from judging. However, He does tell us how not to judge. We are not to use human wisdom or our own personal preferences. The judging we do should be based on God’s word and the truth’s it contains. If we are going to proclaim something (a law, for instance) to be sinful like legalized abortion or if we are going to come alongside a fellow believer and exhort them to repent of their sin, we should look to these verses so that we do so in a God honoring manner.

First of all, Jesus asks a question that my mother might have summed up this way “Rake around your own door and keep it clean before you come raking around mine.” The Lord asks us, basically, to consider our perspective. In short, the question asks why we are focused on someone else’s condition while not evaluating our own. The terms used in verse 3 (“speck” “log”) are metaphors that reflect a spiritual truth. If we take the time to “look at the speck that’s in [our] brother’s eye” then we have missed the point of our responsibility to speak the truth of God in love. The verb “look” is in the present tense in Greek which means the act of constantly looking at something—in this case a speck in our brother’s eye. This isn’t a passing glance but rather we are constantly directing our attention to the speck. We are actively examining this problem. However our Lord says that is not the first thing we should do.

He chides us for paying such close attention to this speck while not giving much needed attention to the “log” in our eye. I would submit, based on the context, that the log represents the sin of pride. Here, Jesus shows someone assuming that their poor brother needs help. He has seen the speck in his brother’s eye and knows the he can help him remove it. The problem is he has not examined himself first. He sees his brother’s needed to be cleansed of sin but does not recognize his own need. We will never, while living in the world, be free from sin. We will all have specks in our eye with which we need godly men and women to come alongside us and help us remove. But we cannot help anyone without examining ourselves first. As Paul says in Romans 1, we cannot go to someone who is dealing with sexual sin if we’re dealing with that as well. The church’s witness to the world regarding sexual morality would be much less hypocritical if we didn’t say “Homosexuality is sin” with the same mouth that we say “I want a divorce” just because we’ve decided that our spouse gets on our nerves or we fell “out of love”.

This does not preclude us from proclaiming biblical morality. It does put a high standard in front of us that we must reflect upon because, brothers and sisters, we are called to live holy lives. If we are going to witness to the world that God calls men and women everywhere to repent and believe in Jesus Christ, we must live lives consistent with our proclamation that we have done just that. We have a huge responsibility to live what we believe. If we do not examine ourselves in the light of scripture and, as David said, pray that God would show us any of our faults, there is no way we can say to the world or our fellow Christians “Let me take the speck out of your eye” when, as Jesus says in verse 4, we have a big, honkin’ huge log stuck in our eye. That log says “My sin is not as bad as your sin”. Without dealing with that self righteous attitude, we will be of no help to anyone.

In fact, Jesus commands us to drop our self righteous act (“You hypocrite”) and examine ourselves. Where are we falling short of living as God has called us to live? Is it at home? At work? We can put up a good front some of the time but there is no one who can keep it up all of the time. Our hypocritical mask of being Super-Christian is just that—a mask like a child might wear on Halloween. We are commanded to take out this log immediately. The tense of the verb gives the sense of “Do it now. Don’t delay. Quickly!” When we have done that, we are in a position to go to our brother and help him. When we have allowed God’s Holy Spirit to lead us in self examination and we have confessed our sins we are able to help others deal with theirs.

Does this sound like a tall order? I think it should. I don’t think nearly as many Christians are spiritually mature enough to help others as this verse instructs us to do. We certainly have a responsibility to speak biblical truth to people, but we must be sure that we are doing so with the proper perspective. It is imperative for us to seek to be right with God before we can help others do that.

The Reliability of the New Testament

On a blog comment some time back, an individual alleged that the cannon of the New Testament was not agreed upon until very late in church history and that the Bible was little more than a collection of human documents written by men. His allegation further suggested that there was little agreement as to what books were in the Old and New Testaments and some people left books such as the Apocrypha out of the canon in some cases but not in all and therefore the canon could not be replied upon as authoritative. It was as much chance as anything else that led us to getting the books in the Bible that we have now. In the case of the Old Testament, we have a statement from the Jewish historian Josephus. He lived at the time of Christ and says

“We have not a countless number of books, discordant and arrayed against each other; but only 22 books, containing the history of every age, which are justly accredited as divine. Of these, FIVE BELONG TO MOSES, which contain both the laws and the history of the generations of men until his death. This period lacks but little of 3000 years. From the death of Moses, moreover, until the time of Artaxerxes, king of the Persians after Xerxes [to the time of Ezra and Nehemiah], THE PROPHETS, who followed Moses, wrote down what was done during the age of each one respectively, in thirteen books. The remaining four contain HYMNS TO GOD, and RULES OF LIFE for men. From the time of Artaxerxes, moreover, until our present period, all occurrences have been written down but they are not regarded as entitled to the like credit with those which precede them, because there was no certain succession of prophets. Fact has shown what confidence we place in our own writings. For although so many ages have passed away, no one has dared to add to them, nor to take anything from, nor to make alterations. In all Jews it is implanted, even from their birth, to regard them as being the instructions of God, and to abide steadfastly by them, and if it be necessary, to die gladly for them.”

Now, these we have 39 books in our Old Testament. Josephus mentions 22 because, at that time, some of them were combined together. For instance, Joshua and Judges were one book and the twelve minor prophets were collected in one book called the Twelve. Therefore, on the witness of a recognized historian from the time that Jesus lived on this earth, I’ll go on record as saying the OT canon was fixed as of the time of Jesus’ birth.

Now, as to the New Testament cannon, I did a little analysis. Examining a list of 16 early sources on the development of the New Testament Canon spanning from about 110 AD to the compilation of the Latin Vulgate Bible in 400 AD revealed some pretty interesting facts.

1) The average percentage of acceptance for the 27 books of the New Testament used today between these 16 sources was 73.84%. Oh, what did you expect from me, a ROUND number? Hello. I am an accountant. To have agreement on an average of almost 12 of the 16 people surveyed is pretty decisive.

2) Of the 27 books, 19 of them (70.3%) were accepted as inspired scripture by 11 of the 16 sources. Again, pretty convincing numbers.

3) Of the 27 books of the NT, only 4 of them (14.8%) were accepted by fewer than 8 of the 16 sources. So, 23 of the books of the NT (85%) were accepted by 8 of the 16 sources over a span of nearly 300 hundred years.

Needless to say, it is pretty obvious that most of the NT books were overwhelmingly recognized as inspired by God. Now, the other gospels and books written that some tried to add to the word of God (see here for a list of NT books and pseudographical books that were not part of the New Testament) there was little support at all among the sources.

1) The average acceptance of the 19 false gospels and epistles among the sources was 6.58%.

2) The highest level of acceptance among any of the 19 was 25% (Shepherd of Hermas).

3) 9 of them were not accepted by any of the sources. A big fat goose egg is a pretty poor score.

Now, bear in mind that these were men who were independent of each other and came to these conclusions. The weight of their evidence seems pretty convincing. The New Testament as we know it was overwhelming affirmed as authentic. The pseudographical books were soundly rejected as not inspired.

Now, you have the evidence. You make the call.

II Peter 2:12 False Teachers-Their Communication

I remember taking French in high school as a foreign language. While in class, one of my classmates astutely asked the teacher “Are you going to teach us to cuss in French?” I’m sure he expected a giggle from his classmates, which he got. But we were all somewhat surprised by the teacher’s response—she said she wanted us to know those sorts of things. She explained that knowing stuff like that about the French language would you us gauge the character of people we were around if we were ever in a French speaking area. It’s true that you can tell a lot about someone by the kind of language they use and the topics they bring up in a conversation. As we study this verse, we see Peter describe the false teachers who had infiltrated the church by telling us about their communication.

First of all, he tells us about the quality of their communication. Peter writes in verse 12 that these false teachers spend time “reviling”. The word that is translated “reviling” is the root of the English word “blasphemy” (blasphemo-987). The verb is in the present tense and therefore indicates this is a continuous activity of these false teachers. This is the quality of speech that characterizes these men. We all know or have known someone about whom we could say “They can’t say a nice word about anything.” They grumble. They complain. These men, who purported to be leaders in the church and teachers of God’s word, spend their time not leading or teaching but rather speaking evil. This should be a red alert for any Christians to take note of in a person’s life. All Christians, but especially Christian teachers, are called to speak truth for the purpose of building others up in Christ. As Paul writes in Colossians 3:8 “But now you also, put them all aside: anger, wrath, malice, slander (blasphemian-988), and abusive speech from your mouth.” In other words, these men are known, as a pattern and habit of their lives, to speak in a manner directly opposite of the way Paul says we as believers are called to speak. Also, he writes in chapter 4 verse 6 of that book “Let your speech always be with grace, as though seasoned with salt, so that you will know how you should respond to each person.” Clearly, the quality of speech of these false teachers is in stark contrast to the kind of speech a believer is called to be known for in their lives.

However, it’s not just the quality of their speech that characterizes these false teachers, but also the substance of what they say. In short, they make a lot of noise and presume to speak for God. In the end, though, they “have no knowledge” of what they’re talking about. The word used here can mean not only that they are ignorant and don’t know what they’re talking about, which is most certainly true, it can also mean they refuse to think about something as if they ignore it. I suspect Peter had both views in mind. These false teachers are ignorant of what the scriptures truly teach and they refuse to study the scriptures so they could see what it really says. The pastor of America’s largest church has said something along the lines of “There are a lot of people who know more about the Bible than me and can teach it better”. I believe this gentleman is saying that he disdains to study the Bible—he doesn’t really believe it has a lot to offer people and he thinks his advice on becoming a better you or being a champion in your life (whatever that is supposed to mean) is more useful and edifying than the life giving, powerful, word of God. In like manner, these false teachers that Peter speaks about have a habit of beating their gums together and making sounds come out of their mouths, but in the end they haven’t said a thing. Their words are useless.

As Christians, we should make sure we speak the truth. The Bible is God’s revealed word and should be the substance of our teaching and preaching—not our own ideas or whims. We must study to know the truth. Then we must speak the truth in love with the goal in mind of building others up in the faith and proclaiming the good news Jesus Christ to all men and women.

Matthew 7:2 To Judge or Not To Judge

As we have seen in the study of this chapter in Matthew, Jesus did not intend in chapter 7 verse 1 to forbid Christians from all judging. The immediate context demonstrates this pretty clearly. The broader context of the New Testament also proves this unquestionably. We are left then with the question “How are we to judge?” I believe, as we look at chapter 7 verse 2, we can see a clearer picture of the kind of judging Jesus is talking about.

First of all, observe that Jesus tell us that we will be judged. He says in this verse “…you will be judged…” and “…it will be measured to you.” Now, He doesn’t say who is going to do this judging. Obviously, He may have had two things in mind—the judgment of God and the judgment of man. Perhaps He intended both here.

Now, He further clarifies not only that we will be judged but how we will be judged and in so doing gives us our parameters for judging, if you will. We see here that the kind of judgment we will have applied to us is the same kind of judgment that we use. Now, the question then becomes “What kind of judgment do we want applied to us?” Let’s look at some examples from scripture and see.

• Psalm 139:23- Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me and know my anxious thoughts;
• Job 31:6- Let Him weigh me with accurate scales, And let God know my integrity.
• Psalm 26:2--Examine me, Lord, and try me. Test my mind and my heart.

I could go on, but I think we see a pattern developing here. If our desire is to live a life that pleases the Lord, we invite the judgment of our heavenly Father. When He judges, He does so according to perfect righteousness and that perfect righteousness is revealed in scripture. Therefore, when we judge, it should be according to scripture. However, we must be humble and bear in mind that we are not omniscient (we don’t know the minds and hearts of people) and therefore must be cautious in any judging that we do.

Jesus is not issuing a blanket prohibition on judgment by Christians but rather giving us guidelines in exercising that judgment. As we apply those guidelines, we should bear in mind that it is God alone that judges perfectly and while we should never bend or waver on defending the truth of scripture and of the gospel, we must remember that there are some battles worth fighting and some where we must agree to disagree.

Can Someone Be Too "Edu-ma-cated"??

Gerd Lüdemann, Professor of History and Literature of Early Christianity at University of Göttingen and a visiting professor at Vanderbilt University, wrote an article called Liberated from the Christological Madhouse where he postulates that Christians today try to read too much into the Old Testament regarding Christ. Now, I'd personally like to challenge him to a fight with Nerf N-Force swords even though that wouldn't do anything.

He offers up this little jewel though related to Matthew and his use of Isaiah 7:14-

The evangelist Matthew would have us believe that Isaiah 7:14 foretold the virgin birth of Jesus; but since the announcement of this forthcoming birth refers to an event during the reign of king Ahaz (741-725 BCE), Jesus cannot have the child referred to.

Would have us believe indeed?? Yeah, because surely God couldn't have meant for it to say that and mean that. I mean, He just INSPIRED the text to be written the way it was written. I am not nearly as learned (pronouned "learn" "ed"--two seperate words) as the distinuguished professor but I am just foolish enough to believe that when a New Testament author interprets the Old Testament that the New Testament writer got it exactly right because God inspired him to do just that. I guess I'm kinda silly that way.

II Peter 2:12 False Teachers—Their Classification

Did you ever use an acrostic to try to remember something for a test? I’ve always found those to be helpful. For instance, in 8th grade science, we learned the scientific classification for living things: kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus, and species. I still remember it like it was yesterday because of a simple acrostic my teacher taught us—Keep people clean or forget good smells. Anyway, as we begin to look at this verse, we will see that Peter teaches us what class the false teachers of the day should be listed under.

In other words, what are these people who have crept into the church and begun teaching false doctrine? Peter says in verse 12 that they are “animals”. Now the Greek word for animals basically means something that is alive and doesn’t really have any sort of negative connotation. Without taking this into context, someone might say “Well, man is just an animal”. Peter goes on to clarify then what kind of animal these false teachers are by calling them “unreasoning”. The Greek word (alogos-249) comes from “a” which means “without” and “logos” which means “reason” and is the root of a good deal of words in English that will help us understand what Peter is saying here: logarithm, and logic just to name a few. Therefore, Peter is not talking about someone who looks at information, analyzes it, and is able to come to an appropriate conclusion (Romans 12:1-where Paul calls a believer’s sacrificial worship “reasonable (logikos) service”). These animals are not driven by thought or the rational, logical exercise of their mental faculties. It’s like the old joke “Where does an 800 pound gorilla sit? Anywhere he wants.”

In fact, Peter further drives this point home by indicating how these false teachers live. He describes them as “creatures of instinct”. The word translated “instinct” is the Greek word “phusikos” (5446) and it basically means to do something by nature. Like the Buck Owens song, the word describes someone who will just “act naturally:” In scripture, the same word is used in Romans 1:26 and 27 to describe natural function with regards to human intimacy. Now, we can train ourselves to do things by nature. I played saxophone for many years and I did not have to pull out a chart every time I played a piece of music to see how to position my fingers. I had “muscle memory”—I had trained myself or developed an instinct to be able to do something (look at symbols on a piece of paper and translate that into muscle movements and control of my breathing) to produce music. Now, that didn’t happen overnight. When I started in 5th grade, it was not instinct for me to play the saxophone. However, by the time I was in college a few years I could almost play the thing in my sleep. However, these false teachers did not practice this pattern being described but rather they were “born as creatures of instinct”. They didn’t develop the sinful instincts they follow. They are simply following the nature the inherited from their spiritual father—Satan.

So where does this path of sinful disobedience to God lead these false teachers? Peter has said these men were dangerous to the people of God bringing in “destructive heresies” and he reinforces that point here by saying the path they follow leads them to be “captured and killed”. Now, the word translated “killed” doesn’t mean that Bubba walks up with his Remington pump and says “I got you now, varmint”. It really has the idea of decay or rotting. I think the idea is more that they are captured and then they rot in their own filth. The fact that Peter says they would be captured and killed reminds us once again that false teachers are dangerous and cannot be allowed to spread their false doctrine.

We could picture a tiger roaming a stage. Now, you can have a tiger and you can think you’ve tamed it and got it under control. However, all it takes is one time for that bad boy to say “I got you where I want you” and to get hold of you by the neck, drag you off of that stage (just ask Siegfried and Roy) and end up telling his friends something like “It was great. No fur. No claws. Just soft and pink. I would have preferred it with a mango salsa, but you can’t always get what you want, right?” The fact that Peter stresses here and other places is that these false teachers are depraved (following their own sinful lusts) and dangerous (like wild animals) and are to be avoided at all costs.

The Security of Sound Doctrine Part 3

Paul’s Caution

Paul, when writing to these believers, gives them a word of caution in verse 2. Even with the safety provided by his God inspired epistle, Paul instructs the believers to “Beware” three times. As Christians, we should beware of false doctrine. It promotes disunity, causes confusion, and undermines evangelism. Quite frankly, it is a spiritual poison and must be avoided along with anyone who teaches it. The Greek word Paul uses which is translated here as “Beware” is blepo (991), which is translated elsewhere as take heed (Mark 4:24, Luke 21:8). In Greek, the sense of the verb is that the believers should keep being aware. They should be vigilant and always on guard. There is no room for middle ground. False doctrine cannot be tolerated or permitted in the church. Compromise is not an option.

In identifying those who would corrupt the church and lead people astray with false doctrine, Paul uses three different terms. First of all, Paul calls these people “Dogs” which is kind of funny because Jews used this term for Gentiles. Here, Paul takes their own slur and turns it around on them to describe their character. We must remember that these are not cute little furry pets that sleep at your feet at night and play fetch with you when you’re playing in the front yard. These are snarling, vicious, carnivorous, disease ridden, filthy, nasty, mean creatures. They were quite dangerous. In Vincent’s Word Studies, the author writes about these animals that “[t]hey lie about the streets in such numbers as to render it difficult and often dangerous to pick one's way over and amongst them - a lean, hungry, and sinister brood. They have no owners, but upon some principle known only to themselves, they combine into gangs, each of which assumes jurisdiction over a particular street; and they attack with the utmost ferocity all canine intruders into their territory. In those contests, and especially during the night, they keep up an incessant barking and howling, such as is rarely heard in any European city.” They roamed in packs and were guided by their own hungers. In much the same way, a false teacher is more dangerous than any foamy mouthed dog. The false teaching they spread is worse than any disease spread by these mangy mutts, and they also follow their own lusts. As Peter notes in 2 Peter 2:12, these false teachers are “like natural brute beasts made to be caught and destroyed, speak evil of things they do not understand, and will utterly perish in their own corruption.” These people lead others astray for their own selfish gain. They truly are vicious “dogs”.

Paul also tells these believers to “beware of evil workers”. If you were to look at the website for the National Council of Churches, you would find that they have lots of activities going on. They work to feed starving children. They work to bring disaster relief to storm damaged areas. These are worthwhile activities. Certainly meeting people physical needs is one way to minister to them. I would have to imagine if you asked most of the people involved in these activities why they were doing them, their answer would be something like “For Jesus, of course.” However, the NCC represents churches that deny the virgin birth of our Lord, the inspiration of the Word of God, and they allow homosexuals and women to serve in pastoral roles. These people are doing things that they call ministry. They are quite active and work hard at what they do. However, since their heart is not right with God, they are not good workers but “evil workers”. The word “evil” translates the Greek word kakos (2556) which can mean worthless, injurious, or evil. The Greek word ergates is translated “workers” and literally means a toiler. When Jesus Himself spoke of these people in Matthew 7:22 that “Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, “I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.” In much the same manner, Paul reminds the Philippian church that these people, because of the wrong condition of their heart, are not actually performing good works but evil works. We must remember, as Paul here warns these Christians, that activity is never a substitute for a relationship.

Finally, Paul tells the Philippians to “beware the mutilation”. Jewish people placed great spiritual significance on circumcision. They are even called the Circumcision by Paul in Ephesians 2:11. According to rabbinical tradition, for a Jew to go to hell, his circumcision would have to be undone as John MacArthur notes in his commentary on the book of Romans. Some false teachers taught that a Christian had to convert to Judaism before they could become a Christian. Therefore, these Jewish legalizers taught that Christians had to agree to become circumcised. However, they failed to see that the circumcision that God would perform would be a circumcision of the heart (Deu 30:6). Paul uses a Greek term here katatome (2699) that is translated as mutilation. The same word is used in the Septuagint in Leviticus 21:5 when the nation of Israel is forbidden to make any cuttings in their flesh. Paul was probably using a play on words here by calling them the mutilation (katatome) and in the next verse referring to those who are truly saved as peritome (the circumcision). Paul realized by attempting to require these believers to be circumcised, the false teachers were actually trying to force them to submit to their legalistic observance of Mosaic code and their tradition rather then relying on faith in Jesus Christ to save them and transform them. In Galatians 4:10, Paul writes that those Christians were attempting to follow Jewish law in regards to feasts. Paul admonishes them that they were leaving their faith in Christ to turn to “weak and beggarly elements” in order to be saved (Galatians 4:9). Paul says they should not do this. In fact, in the book of Galatians, Paul goes further and says he wishes that those false teachers who troubled those believers with their insistence on ritual circumcision for salvation would simply go ahead and cut themselves off (Galatians 5:12). These false teachers had completely misrepresented the truth of salvation and were attempting to compel others to follow their legalistic standard of righteousness.

Even as they did in Paul’s day, we still encounter false teaching today. The only sure defense that we have against false teaching and false teachers is the truth. The only source we have for divine truth is the Word of God. Let us faithfully and boldly proclaim God’s powerful truth in this dark, perverse world.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version Copyright 1979, 1980, 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc Used by permission All rights reserved

Matthew 7:1 This verse ain’t just for libs Pt III

We have seen in the previous two posts on this verse what it does not mean—namely, that it does not mean a Christian is forbidden from judging. We’ve seen that in the immediate context it does not mean that a Christian cannot judge. Further, the larger context of scripture shows that it doesn’t mean that a Christian is forbidden from judging. So, we have established from scripture beyond the shadow of a doubt what this verse does not mean. Therefore, since it does not mean we are categorically forbidden from judging ever, but it does say “Do not judge” we are left with the question “What kind of judging is it talking about?”

The kinds of judging that we saw in the previous two posts (Matthew 7:3-6, Matthew 7:16, I Corinthians 5:3, 5, 9-12) have something in common. They all involve a Christian judging using biblical criteria. Those who pronounced religious judgments during the time when Christ walked the earth did so using their own doctrines, not scripture. That is why they could say “Well, yeah sure, I’ve never committed adultery” but they had lusted after a woman in their heart. That was the criteria they used—man made, powerless, hypocritical, easily manipulated measuring sticks that they could measure up to very easily but suddenly use to make other people feel very small because they weren’t as good as the Pharisee’s were. However, as the scriptures above indicate, when we judge we are to use God’s standard—not ours. We are to use the scriptures as the criteria by which we determine if something is sinful or if someone is committing sin. Then, just like a doctor would diagnose a patient, we are to loving call fellow Christians to repent of their sins and call unbelievers to repent of their sins and trust Christ. Sin is a spiritual cancer and we are commanded to share the truth of what scripture says about it. However, we must never judge with a hypocritical, unbiblical standard as the religious leaders of the day did. That is the kind of judging that is being prohibited.

We can see that Jesus had this kind of judging in mind when He says “so that you will not be judged”. The purpose, then, of abstaining from a hypocritical type of judging is that we avoid that kind of judgment possibly from men but definitely from God. The world is very quick to point fingers at the church and accuse of us being narrow minded, prejudiced, and uncaring. May I suggest to you that one reason the world is so quick to judge us is because some in the church have lived contrary to their professed faith but have been very vocal in calling the world to account for its sin. The sad fact is, brothers and sisters, we have judged not with the Bible but too often with our own standards. We must lovingly confront sin where we find it, be it in the church or in the world, but we must always be mindful that if we want to avoid being judged in a harsh and unjust manner we must be willing to judge using the standard God has given—His word.

Theological Rap?? Word up, yo!!!

Happy Reformation Day (Ok, one day early, but still....)!!!!

The Security of Sound Doctrine Part 2

Paul’s Concern

As Paul writes asking these believers to join with him in rejoicing, he also writes to reaffirm doctrine he has taught them before. With the heart of a true pastor, he writes these believers in verse 1 that “For me to write the same things to you is not tedious, but for you it is safe.” Paul, in all his epistles, wrote a consistent doctrine as revealed by God through the Holy Spirit. While it is not clear if Paul is referring to another letter he may have written the Philippian church (not a lost book of the Bible, just possibly another letter he wrote) or simply other epistles that he had written that they had obtained copies of, Paul includes doctrine in this epistle that is found in other of his epistles. However, at no time does he feel like “Here we go again. I thought I had already taught you this. Haven’t you already learned your lesson by now?” Paul tells them that writing them about doctrines he has already written about is not “tedious” or tiresome. The word that is translated “tedious” is the Greek word okneros (3636). According to Vincent’s Word Studies, this word reflects “the vexation arising from weary waiting”. When I read that, I got the picture in my head of a person waiting for another person to get ready to go somewhere. Because he loves these people and wants to help them grow and mature in Christ, Paul brings the Word of God to the people of God. To do so is not a source of frustration to him nor is it the feeling of having to wait on somebody to finally catch up.

He brings God’s Word to God’s people because, as a shepherd, he is responsible for the safety of sheep. The surest protection for the flock of God from the deadly poison of false doctrine is to teach God revealed truth. Paul says to the believers in Phillipi that “for you it is safe” when he talks about writing the “same things”. The word translated “safe” is the Greek word asphales (804). This word is translated certain in the book of Acts (21:34, 22:30, and 26:26) and as sure in Hebrews 6:19. Therefore, the idea that Paul is trying to convey seems to be that he writes these same things to provide them security through a solid foundation of doctrine that they can be certain of. The churches Paul wrote to did not have a New Testament, commentaries, or seminary trained pastors. They didn’t the luxury of studying the work of great preachers and teachers of God’s Word throughout the centuries who have taught the true doctrines of our faith. They had the apostles and prophets who had been given to them and God’s Word as revealed in the Old Testament. However, as Paul and others brought new revelation that would become the New Testament that shed light on the Old Testament, believers were learning things about God and salvation that had never been revealed before. Under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, Paul continually and consistently taught these doctrines in his writings. He didn’t view it as laborious or tedious because of his love for his fellow Christians.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version Copyright 1979, 1980, 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc Used by permission All rights reserved

II Peter 2:10-11 Mr. Bigstuff, Who Do You Think You Are?

Bullies are ultimately cowards wrapped up in a blanket made of their own temper. They try to intimidate people into doing what they want and they tend to pick on people who won’t stand up to them. But make no mistake, when someone stands up to them it doesn’t take too long for their inner coward to show up. They act all “big and bad” until someone challenges them at which point they tuck their tail between their legs. In much the same way, the false teachers being described by Peter in this epistle are spiritual bullies who have no respect for those with true spiritual power.

We see Peter in verse 10 describe the attitude of these false teachers about themselves. He describes them as “daring”. Now, it is not necessarily bad or wrong for a person to be daring. In fact, that can be a heroic quality or it might lead someone to take a chance and do something like start a business or rescue a child from a burning building. The idea behind the word is that someone who is daring is bold, fearless, and doesn’t think about the consequences of their actions. Again, in some situations that might very well be a good thing. However, given the context of how Peter is describing these false teachers, this is decidedly not a good thing. Given the context, we can conclude that Peter means daring in the sense of thoughtlessness and unwillingness to be considerate of others. Their attitude, then, conveys the idea that in the end it’s all about them.

This attitude of selfishness also is evident in their priorities. These false teachers think of themselves and what they want first. They claim to be teachers of God’s word but neither God’s word nor God’s will is important to them. Rather, they are “self willed” (authades-829). Basically, they seek their own pleasure first. As one of the characters on South Park used to say “Whatever! I do what I want!!” They don’t take anyone else into account as they live their lives. Like a bull in a china shop, they go where they want and do what they please while leaving a trail of brokenness in their wake. Instead of having their priorities set on God’s will and living in a way that pleases Him, they live to please themselves and serve no God but a god of self. They behave as if they are the center of the universe and fail to have a proper perspective about themselves and their place.

For instance, these people blaspheme (“revile”) the “glorious ones” as the NET bible translates this verse. The Greek word “doxa” is not clear enough that we can be dogmatic as to who Peter was referring to in this verse. He could have meant earthly church leaders, angels (as the NASB translates it “angelic majesties”) or possibly even Christ Himself. However, it’s not really important who these false teachers are blaspheming, but rather we should note the fact that these puny, flesh and blood mortals take it upon themselves to “talk smack” about people or beings to whom they should give reverence. They overestimate themselves and underestimate the ones to whom they should give reverence. Instead of having a holy fear and respect for those who are greater than they are, these false teachers “do not tremble”. Let me tell you something, if you and I were ever to actually encounter an angelic being, we would be scared out of our wits. People in churches talk about spiritual warfare and engaging demons in battles as if they are somehow to be commended for this. I prefer to take the attitude of Martin Luther when he said “Did we in our own strength confide, our striving would be losing. Were not the right Man on our side, the Man of God’s own choosing”. As Peter says in verse 11, even angels know their place better than these clowns.

Peter writes that angels “are greater in might and power”. Make no mistake about it, angels are supernaturally powerful. They have intrinsic power (“might”) like a weight lifter. You don’t have to see a weight lifter pick up a huge bar of weights to know his muscles are powerful. They have the potential to do miraculous, awesome deeds (“power”) that no human could ever do. Even with all their supernatural might, these angels do not go to the Lord with a “reviling judgment”. As we see in the parallel passage in Jude, an archangel would not even rebuke Satan but left that judgment to the Lord. If these angels who see the face of God and are more powerful than any human ever thought about being don’t speak up against Satan or other “doxa”, then what possible justification could these false teachers have for doing so.

There is no justification. That is Peter’s point. Instead of a humble heart that seeks to follow after God, these people have a proud heart that seeks to follow after their own lusts.

The Security of Sound Doctrine Part 1

Roach poison is made of over 98 % dog food. Less than 2% of the substance used is poison. When I found that out, I was quite surprised. A little bit, so the saying goes, certainly goes a long way. In much the same way, false doctrine, if tolerated in the church, doesn’t have to rise to the level of outright heresy to be deadly. People can mix in a little pop psychology, secular business models, or culturally relevant ideas and create confusion among Christians. In the world today, it is paramount that the Bible be taught as meaning what it means and saying what it says. To fail to do so leaves people vulnerable to the trappings of false teachers who have as their goal to lead people away from the truth to destruction.

Paul’s Celebration

In verse one of chapter 3, we find Paul concluding a thought that he had begun in chapter 2 verse 18. In verse 17, Paul asks the Philippians that even if he was “poured out as a drink offering on the sacrifice and service of your faith” to “be glad and rejoice” (v.18) with him. Paul called for the believers to model Christ’s humility in serving (2:5) just as he (2:17) and his companions (2:22, 30) also serve sacrificially. Because of these examples, Paul calls them to “rejoice” with him in verse 18 and again in verse one of chapter 3.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version Copyright 1979, 1980, 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc Used by permission All rights reserved

Matthew 7:1 This Verse Ain’t Just For Libs Part II

I used to love to watch the People’s Court. I think my favorite character on there was Rusty the Bailiff. I always thought Judge Wapner had a real good sense of character and could get at the truth of what happened and make a judgment. The funny thing is, I’ve never once heard a liberal christian complain “Who is he to judge? You know what it says in Matthew 7:1.” In fact, the only time I’ve ever heard a liberal christian use this verse is when a Christian is proclaiming truth from God’s holy word that the liberal christian deems to be unloving. As we looked at this verse last time, we observed that it does not preclude a Christian from any judging given the immediate context. As we will see in I Corinthians 5, neither does the broader context of the New Testament suggest that we should not judge in some instances.

Now, just to sort of remind us here, the word in question that we’re looking at is the Greek word krinete (2919). The word can mean to judge in a positive or negative light and can also mean to evaluate or consider. In other words, it doesn’t just mean to judge in a legal or judicial sense although it is used in that context. Paul is writing in this chapter how he has heard reports of sexual immorality among them that isn’t even heard of outside of the church. Instead of recognizing this behavior as sinful, they were proud of the fact that they were such a loving church that they didn’t judge anyone but instead could love them anyway.

Paul’s response is pretty pointed and he doesn’t mince words here. He says in verse 3 that “I, on my part, though absent in body but present in spirit, have already judged (kekrika-2919) him who has so committed this, as though I were present.” Now, if Jesus in Matthew 7:1 means that we as Christians are never supposed to sin, then why is Paul not repenting of his judgment in the case of this incestuous relationship he has heard about? Why would God allow Paul to include his sinful judgment of this sin in a letter to a church where Paul was having to deal with problems anyway? The only possible reason for Paul to make this statement using the same Greek word (in a different tense, hence the suffix “ke” and a different ending on the verb) is for him to say he was judging this sin. And, notice, he didn’t just pass judgment and declare the verdict, he in verse 5 gives us his sentence. We read in verse 5 “I have decided to deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of his flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.” That isn’t the sugar-coated, cotton candy approach we find our liberal christian friends would like us to take. No, no, no, my friends, Paul didn’t say “Go set these people in the Thinking Chair over in the corner. They’ve just earned them selves a time out”. Nope, he said he has delivered them over to Satan. Now, it’s beyond the scope of this blog post to go into exactly what that means but suffice it to say it doesn’t sound pleasant. I would conclude, then, that Paul was judging in this case. But does that make it ok for us to judge?

That is a fair question. I mean, I don’t know, maybe Paul got some sort of special badge that said he could judge so that the liberal christian could say “Woah, now hoss. I’m not like Paul. I can’t go judging. I don’t have any business doing that. He was an apostle. I’m just plain ol’ Joe Schmoe over here.” However, look at what Paul writes just a few verses later.



9I wrote you in my letter not to associate with immoral people;



10I did not at all mean with the immoral people of this world, or with the covetous and swindlers, or with idolaters, for then you would have to go out of the world.



11But actually, I wrote to you not to associate with any so-called brother if he is an immoral person, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or a swindler--not even to eat with such a one.



Paul says for them to separate from someone who, through unrepentant sin, demonstrates that he is not really a Christian. In order to do that, you’re going to have to determine if the behavior is sinful which will involve judging. Then, in verse 10, he asks a rhetorical question:



12For what have I to do with judging (krinein-2919) outsiders? Do you (his audience) not judge (krinete-2919) those who are within the church?



Folks, there is nothing in the immediate context of Matthew 7:1 nor in the broader biblical context as we seen in I Corinthians 5 that would preclude our judging in appropriate times and places. Therefore, that verse does not mean that we are NEVER to judge in ANY circumstances. You might ask “Well then, what does it mean?” We’ll get into that next time.

II Peter 2:10 You Ain’t the Boss of Me!

If you’ve watched any TV lately, you’ve seen the commercials for get rich quick schemes using the internet. They show what look like average people who smile as they tell the camera how they made 16 bazzillion dollars last year working 45 minutes a week all from the comfort of their own home. They talk about how nice it is to no longer have to answer to a boss. Many people entertain fantasies of shrugging off the shackles of the workaday work week and finally being able to give their boss a piece of their mind because now they can be their own boss. Unfortunately, this desire doesn’t relegate itself to the workplace but we see in schools, in society, and in our own homes how the human heart rebels against any authority. This sinful attitude is pervasive in all of humanity and, as Peter writes in verse 10 of chapter 2, is a key factor that motivates the sinful false teachers in the church.

Continuing his description of their depraved character, Peter says these false teachers “despise authority”. The word translated “despise” is the Greek word “kataphroneo” (2706) and it means to think contemptuously or to think lowly of something. In other words, in addition to following their fleshly, sinful desires they also see themselves in a sense as being “above the law”. Now, something I’m trying to teach my child is that everyone, no matter who they are, that lives on this earth ultimately answers to someone. The President answers to the people and is checked/balanced in his authority by the legislative and judicial branches of government. A CEO of a company answers to the stockholders and the board of directors. Even within the Godhead, God the Son submitted Himself to God the Father and suffered the agony of Calvary’s cross as He bore the payment for sin. We cannot escape the fact that we are under authority. The only One who is not under authority is God. Therefore, the have an attitude of defiance toward authority is to sin. God instituted government (Romans 13) and other authorities as part of his creative order. However, these false teachers will not submit themselves to any authority.

For instance, in their living they demonstrate they will not submit themselves to the authority of God. As Peter writes in this verse, they follow their own sinful desires in their search for pleasure. While we are not saved by what we do but solely by faith in Christ, we should walk worth of our calling in Christ (Ephesians 4:1). A truly converted person will demonstrate that conversion by bearing spiritual fruit (Matthew 3:8) including a willingness to submit to God in holy living. An absence of holiness in the life of a professing Christian may not prove conclusively that they are not saved but it certainly raises the question of the authenticity of their conversion. If someone does not repent of their sin when they are encouraged to do so, if they defy the authority of God in their lives it may well be that they are not children of God in the first place.

Further, in their teaching they refuse to submit to the authority of God’s word. Rather, they try to deceive people with “cleverly devised tales” (1:16) and “destructive heresies” (2:1) rather than the truth in the word of God. In fact, we see in the ministries of some hucksters today proclamations of new truths that contradict what is found in the Bible (i.e. that Jesus was punished in hell for our sins) to claims that the miracles of Jesus are just fables and that He was not born of a virgin. Bible exposition is hard work but if someone is willing to do the work they can understand God’s word by following a well worn path that has been walked by many men and women over the centuries. These false teachers either ignore the word of God or twist it till it cries “Uncle” to try to make it say what they want it to say. Then if all else fails, they claim that the text is speaking to another time and another culture. The think lowly of the Bible and what it reveals and even now just as they did in Peter’s day suggest that truth must be found somewhere else. They do this because they don’t want to submit to the authority of God’s word.

A rejection of authority is a sure sign of something wrong in a person’s life. In the Garden of Eden, the serpent tempted Eve to question the authority God’s word. Cain was tempted to question God’s authority over life when he killed his brother. Not only should we be mindful of such sinful attitudes in ourselves but we should also be wary if we see these attitudes in other Christians, particularly ones who purport to be teachers.

The Secret to Happiness pt 4

This is an exposition of Psalm 1 I did a few years ago. I pray that your are encouraged.

I read a bumper sticker one time that said “If you’re living like there is no God, you better be right.” Proclaiming that God is righteous and holy and will judge those who do not have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ is not a popular message. As the book of Proverbs notes, most people are more than happy to proclaim their own goodness. However, regardless of how unpopular it is for us to proclaim that there is judgment for sin, the Bible is as plain and clear about that truth as it can be. People need to realize that there is a judgment day coming and that they don’t have unlimited time to get ready to face that judgment. There will be no grading on the curve. Punishment will be final and terrible. Those who reject Jesus will find that they are both helpless and hopeless before the righteous fury of a holy God.

First of all, they will find that they are helpless. We noted in the last lesson on Psalm 1 that ultimately a righteous person will prosper because he will have a home in heaven with all the saints. He will enter into the joy of fellowship with God’s people for all eternity. However, Psalm 1 verse 4 says “The wicked are not so”. There is no happy ending for them. As bad as trials may have been in their life, they are in no way prepared for the eternity that awaits them. The verse goes on to describe their helplessness. It describes them as “chaff which the wind drives away”. I am from the Gulf Coast originally. I have seen my share of hurricanes. That’s why I no longer live on the Gulf Coast. When the wind of a hurricane starts blowing, it picks up things and throws them willy-nilly. It uprooted a huge tree in the front yard of one of my aunt’s houses. That is why when people know a hurricane is coming, they tie up lawn furniture and pack up kids toys. There is no way to control where that stuff is going to go. In like manner, the ungodly will be scattered before God’s righteous judgment. They will be utterly helpless on that day.

They will also be hopeless. People who choose to reject Biblical truth and the offer of salvation from God through Jesus Christ are proud people. Basically, they are saying “I can handle this on my own” or “I will not submit to the Lord. I will not have Him as God over me.” However, verse 5 of this Psalm records that these proud, haughty people who think that they will stand up to God and show how powerful they are will in fact “not stand in the judgment”. Their defiance will eventually come to an end. They will not have the strength to face God’s judgment. He will overpower them and overcome them. He will also make a distinction between the righteous and the wicked. The wicked will be excluded and will not be found in the “congregation of the righteous”. Obviously, people who believe that everyone will make it to heaven are wrong according to this verse of holy scripture.

Someone reading this might ask “Why? Why is there a difference between the wicked and the righteous?” For all I know, someone reading this blog might have just stumbled on it and not know the reason for the distinction made in the judgment. Notice that verse 6 says that God “knows the way of the righteous but the way of the ungodly shall perish.” The ungodly perish because God does not “know” their way. The Hebrew word translated “know” is the word “yada” and it means to know in a relational sense. It is not the know of someone who knows that 2 times 2 equals 4. It’s the know of me knowing that spending quality time with my wife is one of the most important ways for her to know that I love her. That isn’t something I learned by reading a textbook. I came to know that because of our relationship. As Jesus said in John chapter 10, His sheep know Him and hear His voice. Because we are His sheep, He knows our way. The end for the ungodly, however, is a terrifying picture of judgement.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission.

Matthew 7:1 This Verse Ain’t Just For Libs Part I

One day, while driving to class during my work toward an accounting degree, I was listening to someone on a radio call in show who made the point “Now, I’m a Christian but I can’t go saying that homosexuality is a sin.” I knew what was coming next. I’m sure you do, too. “God tells us not to judge.” Of course, she couldn’t quote the verse or its associated reference, but she was dead certain that God told us in the Bible not to judge. It used to be that it was non-Christians who loved that verse because they could throw it back in the face of someone Christian who was calling their behavior sinful as a kind of almighty trump card to whatever theological argument they may have had.

The sad part is, for so long the church has suffered through biblical illiteracy where the average Joe in the pew expects the person in the pulpit to have all the answers rather than being able to give a solid testimony and a defense of his faith. However, as the caller on the radio points out, it’s not just non-Christians who quote or cite that verse. There are Christians, or those who profess to be Christians, who believe that it is not our job to call people to repentance from sin. They use this same verse to justify theological wishy-washiness or to avoid confrontation with those who oppose the Bible and its doctrine. However, if one actually studies what this verse says, it is pretty clear that we don’t have to check our spines at the door when confronting sin from a biblical perspective.

First of all, we need to think carefully about what chapter 7 verse 1 actually says and means. I suggest one way to do that is to examine what the verse does not mean. Let us observe that the word translated “judge” in this verse is the word “krino”(2919). The word means to choose, distinguish, separate between things but does not imply anything about quality. In other words, it’s not used to describe judging something as bad or wrong although it can be used for that purpose. Now, this word could be used of a judge rendering decisions in a legal matter or someone judging a work of art. It has a fairly wide semantic range. Therefore, it is imperative that we look at the context to help us interpret this correctly and, as I suggested, decide first of all what this does not mean.

Now, let’s look at the immediate context of the verse. In chapter 6, Jesus calls for His audience to judge their own motives when they fast, pray, and give charitably (6:1-18). He calls for them, after they have removed the log in their own eye, to help their brother with the speck in his eye a few verses later in this chapter (vs. 3-6). In a more abstract sense, He calls for them to judge false prophets by their fruits (v 16). Therefore, from the immediate context it seems that Jesus is not forbidding people from making judgments. In fact, in those verses, He is commanding them to do so. Now, granted it’s a different word but they will have to perform the same sort of mental evaluation to discern good from evil as they would to judge it—they would examine the evidence and draw a conclusion. I would say, then, from the immediate context we are given, Jesus is not saying that His followers are forbidden to judge.

However, what about the broader biblical context? Does the bible elsewhere tell us that we as Christians are forbidden from judging? Tune in next time.

The Secret to Happiness pt 3

This is an exposition of Pslam 1 I did about two years ago, I pray that you are encouraged.

When we look at the life of Joseph, Jacob’s son, we see a man supernaturally blessed by God. He rose from the ranks of slavery to the heights of being the 2nd in command of the nation of Egypt. Likewise, Daniel was extraordinarily successful as an administrator and adviser to the Babylonian and Medo-Persian Empire. Certainly, God allowed these men to succeed and enabled them to perform these great tasks. However, if you were to listen to most ministers on TBN, you would get the impression that success and wealth are results or even proofs of salvation. I’m afraid as much as I would like to be guaranteed success and wealth, the Bible does not promise those things to every believer as the world defines them. As we read this verse, we can get a clearer glimpse of what God does in fact promise those who have saving faith.

As we have read, persons who are true followers of Christ do not associate themselves closely with those who reject the truth. In fact, we have seen that a person who loves God also loves His word. In this verse, we see the result of this relationship. We are told this person “shall be like a tree planted”. Now, trees are completely dependant on someone else for their survival. They don’t, nor can they, work or save or exert effort to take care of themselves. Either they are taken care of by a man or by God. In much the same way, regardless of how we like to think of ourselves as self sufficient, we are totally dependant on God. God chose us before the foundation of the world. God numbered our days before we were even born. Like it or not, we are God’s property. We didn’t just happen to come into existence by chance but we were “planted”. We are where we’re supposed to be. We are tended by a loving Gardener who tirelessly provides for every need. For instance, we are not planted just anywhere. Rather, we are planted by “rivers of water”. Our loving Father wants us to be taken care of so we aren’t just planted near one stream but by “rivers” (plural). There have been times where I haven’t had everything I wanted and there have also been times where I wondered how a need was going to be met. However, my God has never once failed to provide for my or my families needs.

In addition to providing for my needs, He also provides for my growth. A person whom God has planted will, according to this Psalm, “bring forth [his] fruit in season”. Now, the last time I was around a fruit tree was the Bradford pair tree in my mother-in-law’s yard. I have never once heard that tree, or any fruit tree, strain with effort to bring forth fruit. They bear fruit because they are fruit trees. It is a result of their existence. We, as Christians, bear spiritual fruit. As Jesus said in Matthew 7 “No good tree bears bad fruit and no bad tree bears good fruit”. God may at times have to prune us to make us more fruitful, but the fact is that fruit trees bear fruit based on the kind of tree they are. Of course, none of us are on the same level of maturity spiritually. Therefore, we bring forth our fruit “in season” in keeping with the will of the Master Gardener.

Now, some people could read this Psalm and say “Hey, look at these next two verses. See. There’s proof that all Christians will have success.” However, let’s think about what these next two phrases and remember that this is talking about someone who has a right relationship with God. I live in Tennessee and here it is turning fall. Just barely but the leaves are turning none the less. I believe this is my favorite time of year because of the beauty of the falling leaves and the dead grass (I hate cutting grass). When I read this verse, I wasn’t exactly sure what it would mean that the subject of this Psalm had leaves that “shall not whither”. However, when I reflect on the fact that the leaves that are falling have died I remember that I will live forever in heaven with God and my Christian brothers and sisters. I’m going to die (or be raptured) physically but I will never die as far as eternity is concerned. Likewise, I may suffer loss and misfortune in this world. In fact, I have. Some things were due to my stupidity and some were not my fault. However, they were all in the providence of Almighty God. Even though I have had success and failure here in this world, ultimately “whatever [I do] shall proper” because I will eventually shed this mortal body and leave this sinful world for a perfect home in heaven. No matter how ugly things get here, I know that ultimately I will have true joy beyond anything I could ask or imagine when I come to live forever in heaven with Him who “planted” me in His garden not because of my worth but because of His grace and mercy.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission.