Exposition of Hebrews Part 5

Doug Searle over at Taking Up Space is teaching through the book of Hebrews and posting the audio from his classes online. Click here for the study notes to lesson 5. Click here for the audio.

II Peter 2 :17 Part III They’ll Get What’s Coming To Them

I knew a pastor of a local church who is paid, for the size of the church, an exorbitant salary and feels that he deserves it. The man literally reeks with greed. Furthermore, recently, a news station in Dallas reported a story which alleged that Ed Young, pastor of Fellowship Church, owned a 10,000 square foot home, was being paid a $1,000,000 salary, and that the church owned, unknown to most church members, a private jet to fly this man around to speaking engagements so that he could sell his materials to other like minded pastors at conferences all over the globe. As it turns out, he announced to the congregation that he did not make one million dollars a year, that his house was “only” 7,800 square feet (which in auditing we would call an immaterial difference), and that the church “leased” the jet it didn’t own it. The only real difference between these two charlatans is the size of the congregation that they are able to bilk out of money. Their heart attitude is the same—they believe they deserve to be wealthy and they will peddle the word of God to do so. These guys are just like the false prophets Peter talked about in the 2nd chapter of his 2nd epistle. One thing is for sure, false teachers may be able to live in comfort by fleecing the Lord’s sheep in this life, but there is a future, terrible judgment that is awaiting them.

Notice that this judgment is personal. When God judges, it will not look like a child pitching a temper tantrum nor will there be collateral damage with God’s children being wounded in friendly fire. The wicked will be signaled out for judgment. These are the people “for whom” God’s wrath is being saved up. Men such as the false teachers in Peter’s day and the false teachers living today may not acknowledge the judgment of God. They may mock it and dismiss it but the fact is this judgment is very real and those who do not know Jesus as their Savior will experience this personal judgment along with the false teachers.

Further, Peter describes a terrifying picture of judgment for these false teachers. All sinners will be punished but as we see in Luke 12:47-48 that punishment will not be equally severe. These, who presumed to speak for God and who led people astray with their empty words, will receive a particularly harsh punishment. In fact, it is referred here as “the black darkness”. The word translated “black” can also be translated “gloom” so, in a sense, the phrase Peter uses here could be understood as “darkness upon darkness” or “the darkest darkness”. Peter was trying to paint a picture of how bleak the picture is for these false teachers. Those who have claimed to speak for God but spoken their own words will suffer a special kind of torment when God pours out His wrath.

Finally, the judgment is assured. This is not just a suggestion of a possible outcome or some sort of idle threat. It is in fact a settled matter that their doom is sure. It’s just a matter of time before they are judged by a righteous and holy God for their sins. This black darkness, Peter writes, “has been reserved”. This phrase in Greek is written in the perfect tense and it is passive. In other words, this is a settled matter—it has been done. The reservation has been made and it didn’t have to be guaranteed with a credit card. Further, the false teachers are not the ones who made it. This judgment is something that is going to be done to them. As Psalm 1 says, they will not stand in defiance before the judgment of a holy God who has been offended and blasphemed by their sin.

False teachers, in their greed and rebellion against God, may appear to escape judgment from God. However, as we read this epistle, as well as the whole Bible, we see that God will be vindicated. Sin will be punished and done away with. Evil will not win the day in the end. God will truly be glorified and worshiped by all the saints but the wicked will perish, particularly those who deceive people in the name of God.

An Exposition of Galatians

Mark Mann, pastor of Grace Bible Fellowship in Mt Juliet, Tennessee, recently finished his exposition of Galatians. Having heard the man preach, I highly recommend the series to you. I can't seem to figure a way to link to individual sermons here but you can listen for free and download the sermons here.

Enjoy!

So, there were no liberals in the SBC??

Those who decry the Conservative Resurrgence in the Southern Baptist Convention often claim that there were no liberals in the seminaries. Perhaps they forget about someone like Professor John Durham. You see, in the Summer 1984 copy of The Review and Expositor (Vol. LXXXI, No. 3) published by the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville there was an article written by John I. Durham who was, at that time, Professor of Hebrew and Old Testament at the Southeastern Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, North Carolina titled "The King as 'Messiah' in the Psalms.".

In the article, the oh so well educated Dr. Durham said "Few biblical concepts have fallen prey to this tendency [the tendency of 'discrediting of an ancient idea by imputing to it a meaning it did not have in its own plane of existence any more frequently than has the Old Testament concept of messiah, particularly in its occurrences in the Psalms...To deal with the most frequent misunderstanding first, the one connected with the 'width' of the concept of messiah in the Psalms, we must first note that messiah in the Psalms refers always and only to the ruling king, the 'Davidic' king who was Yahweh's appointed and so anointed messiah representative. These references are not intended as predictions of Jesus who is the Christ (Cristos, which also means anointed), though they have very often been taken as such, beginning as early as the New Testament period." In other words, Mr. Durham says that when the New Testament writers say that the Psalms are referring to Jesus they are WRONG.

Further, he says that any such intepretations are based on "ignorance, prejudice, eisegesis, undisciplined piety, and over-used imagination, and so are wrong and unjustifiable reasons." In other words, if you believe that the Psalms are talking about Jesus when they mention the Messiah, you're stupid.

Although I no longer go to a Southern Baptist Church, I am thankful as a conservative, Bible believing Christian that there were those in that denomination who were willing to stand up to the liberalism that was running rampant in the seminaries at the time.

Different Types of Antinomianism

A friend of mine, Les Puryear, has written a post on his blog titled Different Types of Antinomianism. I think it is in response to different conversations in the blogosphere about the nature and purpose of the Old Testament law in the lives of Christians. In one camp are those who correctly recognize that while dietary law (i.e. don't eat pork or shellfish) and ceremonial law (i.e. the OT sacrifices which Calvary did away with) are no longer in force, the moral law revealed in the Old Testament is still the standard of what is pleasing to God in the life of His children. I humbly suggest that you get over there right now and read this fairly short post which describes several different types of this concept of antinomianism. You'll be glad you did.

Sermon-An Introduction to I Corinthians

A friend of mine, Byron Yawn, is the pastor of Community Bible Church in Nashville. He started this past Sunday to preach through the book of I Corinthians. Since, as you know, my philosophy on this blog is "You cannot get too much verse by verse Bible exposition", I wanted to post the link to the sermon so you can listen to it. I believe you will be greatly encouraged by this godly preacher.

You can click here to listen to the sermon. If you subscribe by email or RSS you may have to go to the blog to get the link.

II Peter 2:17 Part II-Empty Words

Have you ever known someone who was all talk and no action? They would sound impressive and make a big spectacle of themselves but they had not the slightest clue how to deliver on their promises. You can apply the same sort of title to false teachers—both in Peter’s day and today. They make nice, pretty, pleasant sounds with their voices. They’re attractive and charismatic. However, they have nothing to offer people who are searching for real answers and real truth.

Peter described these people as “springs without water” in the beginning of this verse. Here, he applies the metaphor that these false teachers are “mists driven by the storm”. Now, these “mists” (or “clouds” depending on the Greek text you use—by the way, if you have the time or inclination to fight about this textual variant, you have way more time on your hands than I do. I’m just saying.) might cloud the sky and make things somewhat grey, but they are void of any real substance. However, they are “driven by a storm”. There is a lot of sound and fury behind them. As J. Vernon McGee writes about these “mists driven by a storm”:

"As a boy I lived in West Texas. We left there in the third year of a three-year drought. I can remember when we would go into the fields and chop cotton—believe me, in those days cotton didn’t grow well in that country even if there was rain. But sometimes late in the afternoon big thunderheads, big clouds, would gather overhead, and there would be lightning. We’d think, My, we are going to have rain —but we didn’t have rain. How dry it was! Many people are following false teachers who are like that. They are “wells without water.” They are like clouds, beautiful clouds. Oh, how tremendous it is to see and hear these folks. They are very impressive, but there is no water in the well, and there is no rain in the clouds. People are thirsting today for the Word of God, and yet it is not being given to them."

These false teachers look impressive. They tout their years of experience, their education, and their spiritual gifts. In fact, there may be evidence of some fruit in their ministry. They may exposit some scriptures, pray great prayers, visit the sick in the hospital, and minister to people in great and wonderful ways. But in the end, they are in the ministry for what they can get out of it—and by golly they deserve what they get as they will be the first to tell you so. They seek power, acclaim, money, possessions and ultimately it is this greed that corrupts their ministry. They have no integrity because they preach truth when it suits them and bend the truth when the situation demands it. Or they may, as is the case with prosperity gospel preachers, completely twist and distort the gospel, promising God’s blessing in exchange for money. In either case, the doctrine of false teachers is ultimately empty and worthless.

These men, driven by immoral lust, reject the truth and sell a perversion of the truth as a commodity. Like Simeon in Act 8:18, they look to use the gospel as a means to an end—that end being the acquisition of wealth. As we will see in the latter part of this verse, what these false teachers will actually obtain is a final doom from which they will never recover.

Mathew 7:15 Who’s Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf

It is important for all Christians to always be on guard for false teaching. We need to be Bereans and constantly test all things against the truth of God’s word. And praise God that He gave us a written word that never changes so that we always have a plumb line to measure what people teach against. As Peter warns us in II Peter chapter 2, false teachers are going to come, not from without the church (which could happen), but from within—from among folks who call themselves Christians. How should believers guard themselves against false teachers and false teaching? Jesus, in this verse, gives us some practical guidance as to what our mindset should be as we interact with people who claim to teach God’s word.

First of all, we need an attitude of vigilance. Jesus tells His audience to “Beware of the false prophets”. The word “beware” was used literally to mean “bring near” and was used to describe anchoring a ship in a harbor. In this sense, it figuratively meant to pay close attention to something or constantly call something to mind. Jesus’ point, then, is that we need to always be watching out for those who claim to be speaking for God but are not in fact speaking for God. As opposed to true prophets, who preach the truth of scripture faithfully, these “false prophets” speak out of their own imaginations. Their words are empty and lead to destruction (II Peter 2:17) as opposed to the words that lead to eternal life that a preached by true prophets, apostles, and, today, preachers of the word of God. In fact, though it is not explicitly stated here, there is a contrast between these “false prophets” and true prophets and we can safely assume that everything that Christ says about false prophets is not true about faithful, honorable prophets who preach the word of God faithfully. In any case, our attitude should be one of constant vigilance. We need to perpetually be being aware.

Christ gives further instructions on how to identify these false prophets in the subsequent verses saying that we will know them by their fruits. However, we will also know them by the disparity between what they profess and what they are. You can take a dog, wash him, put a new collar on him, and get him as clean as fresh snow. However, as soon as you’re done, that dog will invariably go “woller” in some pile of something and get all dirty again. They will not stay clean for long. They can’t hide their true nature forever—eventually it will show. In just the same way, these false teachers, if you look long enough will show their true colors. They will come at first playing the part of a true shepherd wearing “sheep’s clothing”. They will present themselves as a man of God who seeks to faithfully teach God’s word. From the outside, they look innocent and harmless, like a sheep. People will notice their humility and laud their faithfulness in teaching the truth of scripture. However, it’s all an act.

Their inward character will eventually shine through and if you’re looking, you’ll see them for what they are—“ravenous wolves”. The word “ravenous” could also be translated “swindlers” (I Corinthians 5:10) and has the idea of someone who snatches what they want without regard for whether they deserve it or not. Or perhaps it’s better to say they believe they deserve it whether they do or not. They have a mindset that says “If I see it and I want it, by golly gum, I’m going to take it so you better not have your hand in my way or you’re going to pull a bloody stump back”. They have a bottomless pit for a stomach and have an endless appetite for stuff—money, possessions, praise, power. When you see someone like that, no matter how well they may have taught or how orthodox their doctrine is, Christ advises us to beware of them. Ultimately, since their “god” is their stomach (desire), they will eventually abandon the truth for convenience sake when it suits them (i.e. when donations are down). Their convictions are only strong when it is expedient for them to have strong convictions and those shift with the wind. These false prophets are dangerous and greedy, seeking only to fleece the sheep and enrich themselves.

False prophets did come to the early church. False prophets are still among us today. I recently had to pull my family out of a church that we attended for 3 years because I discovered the avarice of the senior pastor and his lack of integrity. It was a hard decision to make but it was the right one. It is important for us to examine the doctrine and the character of teachers in the church. They are to be held to a high standard. True, godly, teachers of the bible should be honored. We should beware of false teachers because of the damage they can do.

Exposition of Hebrews-Part 4

A good friend of mine, Doug Searle, has been teaching verse by verse through the book of Hebrews. The notes for the study are on his blog here. I have been greatly encouraged and hope you will be too.

Part four of the lesson was in two parts but only one got recorded. You can get the lesson notes for both parts at the link above and listen to part one of the lesson here.

II Peter 2:17 Part I-Empty Words

Truth is discriminating. That is an uncomfortable concept in this day and time when the very idea that all things and people are not always equal all the time is considered grounds for excommunication from polite society. And even though some people have the insane idea that we just need to worry more about letting go of our differences in theology and just getting along because unity and love are the highest virtues, the fact is that you can’t have real unity unless your unity is grounded in truth and real love is only love with it is grounded in truth. The fact is people who compromise on the clear truths of God’s word, as Peter says in this verse, have nothing real to offer those searching for truth. They make a lot of sound. Their tongues wag around in their mouths and there’s a lot of sound coming out, but in the end, they’re not saying a cotton picking thing.

As Peter says here, false teachers such as these are “springs without water”. Now, living as he did in the Middle East, Peter would know something about the need for water. If you were in a dry, arid place such as Palestine, you would need to have a source of water to survive. The word translated “springs” refers to something like a river, a source of water (or it could be used for some other liquid) that was gushing and flowing not stagnant like a well. These false teachers have the appearance of being a source of water. I can imagine this as being a picture of the constant flow of words coming out of their mouth. They talk and talk, always promising but never delivering. People come to them, their souls thirsty for the truth. These false teachers have all the attributes one would look for when looking for a spring. They look like the real deal.

In the end, however, they fail to yield what you’re looking for—just like a mirage. Instead of being springs of living water (John 4:14), these spring are waterless. The Greek word “anhudros” (504) is translated “without water”. Such is the teacher who offers false teaching—they offer nothing that quenches the thirsty soul because the soul of man needs the truth and they don’t have it because, as we’ve seen, they reject the word of God. They lead people astray with the promise of life giving truth. However, when that truth does not come from scripture it isn’t truth at all. In much the same way as cotton candy melts in your mouth before you even have a chance to really taste it, there is no substance to their teaching.

False teachers reject, dismiss, or downplay the truths of the Bible. Those who hold fast to these truths are mocked as being “fundamentalists” and even compared to Islamic terrorists. However, the fact remains that there can be no true unity until we separate truth from error. As Christians, we must discriminate—we must reject falsehood and hold fast to the truth. In the end, the truth of the gospel is not ours to edit but rather to proclaim boldly. In contrast, the boldness of the false teachers may look impressive but their empty words only lead to spiritual death.

Albert Mohler-Air Conditioning Hell

On his blog, Albert Mohler writes an essay examining theological liberalism. You should read the whole thing, but I found the following to be probably the most thought provoking portion of the piece:

A new apologetic move is now evident among some theologians and preachers who do affirm the inerrancy of the Bible and the essential truthfulness of the New Testament doctrine of hell. This new move is more subtle, to be sure. In this move the preacher simply says something like this:

"I regret to tell you that the doctrine of hell is taught in the Bible. I believe it. I believe it because it is revealed in the Bible. It is not up for renegotiation. We just have to receive it and believe it. I do believe it. I wish it could be otherwise but it is not."

Statements like this reveal a very great deal. The authority of the Bible is clearly affirmed. The speaker affirms what the Bible reveals and rejects accommodation. So far, so good. The problem is in how the affirmation is introduced and explained. In an apologetic gesture, the doctrine is essentially lamented.

What does this say about God? What does this imply about God's truth? Can a truth clearly revealed in the Bible be anything less than good for us?

Matthew 7:13-14 Two Roads

One of my favorite poets is Robert Frost. His poem “Two Roads” is really beautiful and in my opinion deeply profound. As we live our lives we make choices and those choices have consequences. Now, some of those choices are pretty mundane and immaterial—Do I wear a bow-tie to work or not? The consequence to that might be that I look like a geek. However, some choices we make have eternal consequences. Jesus, in these last verses, makes plain from the imagery He uses that He has presented His audience with a choice. Will they follow God, recognizing their spiritual bankruptcy and desperately cry out for the righteousness that only comes from faith or will they try the Pharisees brand of “do it yourself” religion and try to make it to God on their own terms.

The scenario couldn’t be more clearly marked out than the choices Christ lays out in these verses. There is a “narrow gate” and a “wide gate”. Christ commands His listeners to enter by the narrow gate. The path to salvation through faith in Christ is narrow. Now matter how many people want to be ecumenical and open minded about how a person can get saved by claiming “It doesn’t matter what you believe”, Christ declares the way to salvation to be narrow. It is narrow because there is one God, one Savior, one Way for a person to be right with God, and one gospel. People do not decide what truth is—God has revealed truth in the pages of scripture. Truth, by it’s very nature, is narrow and specific. If something is true, then anything that does not match that truth is by definition false. Since there is only one truth that saves, the way is salvation is very narrow.

In contrast, if one chooses to go on the other road, they will have plenty of company. This gate is “wide” and the way is “broad”. It’s an easier path and a popular one. There are “many who enter through” this gate. If someone wanted to go along with the crowd and be accepted, this would be the way to go but there is a catch. While the road is easy since it is unencumbered by all that sticky doctrine and truth, the final destination is “destruction”. The word “destruction” does not mean annihilation or that the person is going to cease to exist. Rather, it is the same word that is translation “perdition” when speaking of Judas Iscariot—it means “ruin” or “waste”. There is a final destination for those who choose to reject the narrow path offered in the Bible that leads to salvation. It is to be utterly ruined with no hope of recovery. It is a sad state where a person suffers forever and ever with no relief for all eternity. The way looks easy and comfortable. In truth, it is easier and more comfortable than taking up a cross daily to follow Christ and choosing to work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. However, the wide road must be rejected. To choose that path has eternal, soul damning consequences.

In contrast, the road that leads to life is “narrow”—there isn’t a lot of wiggle room. This will not be the popular path because there are only a “few who find it”. However, this way leading to life includes days of persecution, grief, testing, ridicule, and mistreatment—and that’s just from the folks who call themselves Christians to say nothing of how the world will react.

However, the choice Christ makes is clear. Choose the easy way. Relax if you want to. Take it easy, friend, and you will seal your eternal doom. If you want to save your life, if you want to follow Christ as a disciple be prepared for a hard road. The perils of the life of faith are not for the faint of heart and they are certainly not for those who refuse to enter eternal life by the only means possible—faith in the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

II Peter 2:15-16 …and my money on my mind

When I was a child, I used to watch the show Bewitched. One of the characters on there was Darren’s boss, Larry Tate. Sometimes Darren would come in with an advertisement for a client and after the presentation Larry would say “That is the worst idea I’ve ever heard.” The client, however, would say he really liked it and immediately Larry would change his tune to something like “That’s just what I was thinking, sir”. For Larry, his only concern was getting the client to sign an advertising contract and he would say whatever was necessary to get it. Now, Larry was a harmless comedic character but in church you can and sadly do see people who will sell their integrity to say what some people want to hear. They will compromise on what God’s word teaches or what is right and prudent in order to tickle peoples ears to keep the dollars flowing in. In much the same way, Peter warns the believers to whom he wrote about false teachers and the natural outcome of their greed.

First of all, observe that their greed has caused them to abandon sound, biblical doctrine. At some point, they made a decision in the past to hold to beliefs and practices that contradicted the clear teaching of God’s word. This choice they made now has lasting effects on their lives because they have “forsaken the right (straight, morally correct) way”. There is true doctrine and false doctrine. These men chose to reject true doctrine for reasons that we will see soon. The effect of this choice is for them to have abandoned the way of salvation and righteousness and turned to the way of damnation with eternal consequences for their soul.

Secondly, notice that their greed has corrupted their ability to discern. Peter writes that they have “gone astray”. The verb is in the passive voice in the Greek which means, essentially, that these men were led astray—by their lusts, their greed, and ultimately by Satan. The lure of worldly acclaim and wealth are powerfully attractive. Given the choice between service to the one true God and the abuse and persecution that goes along with that, these men chose the easy way. They decided to say things that people wanted to hear to attract a fawning and well paying crowd. Instead of a life of integrity standing for the truth, they chose the life of a sell out. They chose to follow the money and, in their mind, they may not even realize their error.

God, however, knows their error and, as Peter points out, it’s not one that He hasn’t seen before. Peter compares these men to Ballam who “received a rebuke [from] a mute donkey, speaking with the voice of a man”. We read this story in Number 20 where Ballam was approached by enemies of the children of Israel who wanted him to curse them. Some have questioned what exactly this way of Ballam that the false teachers have followed was. I believe, because Peter mentions the episode with the donkey, we should think carefully through that episode.

Ballam agreed to go, but only speak the words that God gave him concerning Israel as he was instructed by God. However, on the way the next day, his donkey began to behave strangely and injured Ballam. When Ballam began to beat the donkey, the donkey spoke (notice Peter affirms this not as metaphorical but actual speech) and tells Ballam there was an angel of the Lord blocking the way that would have killed him. Since Ballam had been told to go, the angel of the Lord must have been sent because Ballam had purposed in his heart overnight to say what the enemies of Israel wanted him to say rather than what God wanted him to say. He repented and of course we read of the blessing he pronounced on Israel later in Numbers. I believer the point Peter makes here is that these false teachers are motivated in what they say by what the people want to hear.

We see that all the time in churches today. The largest church in America is “pastored” by a man who tells the tens of thousands of people there every Sunday that the Christian life is about living with a positive attitude and that God will only do good things for His children. Christians need only to “name it and claim it” to have health, wealth, and success. Persecution is not part of the equation and repentance is not needed. Other pastors may boldly claim from their pulpits “This church stands on the teaching of the Bible. We will never have a woman in a leadership position over a man” and then turn around and have a woman lead music because they don’t have anyone else handy. They may say with pride how folks used to be in the building but skipping out on teaching ministries in the church by hanging out elsewhere on campus but they put a stop to it. However they may turn a blind eye to it when people with influence do the same thing so as not to upset folks who might in turn leave the church and take their money with them

The fact is, when a pastor is more concerned about money that he is integrity, he can and often times will bend rules and ignore biblical doctrine. This can lead as Peter addresses here someone who commits wholesale treason and abandons the faith, thereby demonstrating they were never truly redeemed in the first place. Just as in Peter’s day, it is imperative that we as true believers hold to solid biblical doctrine and demand that those who teach and preach do the same. While faithfulness to the word of God will bring persecution, it will lead people to a saving knowledge of Christ. The salvation of souls and the glory of God is worth a little persecution in this life, wouldn’t you agree?

Exposition of Hebrews: Part 3

A good friend of mine, Doug Searle, has been teaching verse by verse through the book of Hebrews. The notes for the study are on his blog here. I have been greatly encouraged and hope you will be too.

Part three can be heard in two parts: (1) and (2)

Matthew 7:13-28 Make Your Choice

I used to love Choose Your Own adventure books when I was a kid. For those not familiar with them, they were books that would present a choice for you to make in the book that would affect the story. For instance, they might say something like "If you choose to stay with the princess turn to page 74. If you choose to chase the villain, turn to page 32." You would turn to those pages and continue reading from there. In a very real sense, we're faced with those kind of decisions everyday and the choices we make affect our lives. Of course, we have to consider the providence of God and the fact that He knows the end from the beginning yet somehow we are responsible for the consequences of our choices. As we begin to study this last section of the Sermon on the Mount, I believe it would be a good time for us to consider the choice that Jesus presents here in what is essentially an invitation at the end of this masterful sermon.

Observe, in verse 13 and 14, we see two gates (small/wide) and two ways or paths (broad/narrow). In verses 15 through 20, Jesus says there are two trees and two different kinds of fruits. As we read on in verses 21 through 23, we notice that there are two responses by people to Jesus, those who insincerely call Him "Lord" as opposed to the unmentioned but implied group who are sincere in their affirmation of His Lordship. We see, in verses 24-27, that there are two builders, two houses, and two different results of the storm on the two houses.

Do you get the feeling that Jesus was trying to make a point?

The specifics of each of these situations are worth studying on their own but it is instructive to note that the general theme of this section is that there is a choice to be made and there is not an equal outcome to each of those choices. There is a good and a bad--a right and a wrong and we are responsible for what we choose. You can't escape the fact that being a Christian, choosing to follow Jesus as a disciple, means choose to not follow you own will, ideas, and feelings. In fact, a disciple of Christ denies himself or herself and follows the Lord.

There are not many ways to heaven. There are not many truths. You and I have, in these verses, a choice to make. Shall we be faithful to Him who called us, or try to get to heaven our own way?

Make your choice.

Phil Johnson-The Neo Liberal Stealth Offensive

Phil Johnson has an article published over at the 9Marks blog that you simply MUST read called The Neo-Liberal Stealth Offensive. I'm giving you a short preview below but you have to click here and read the whole bloomin' thing. It's that good.

The gospel's most dangerous earthly adversaries are not raving atheists who stand outside the door shouting threats and insults. They are church leaders who cultivate a gentle, friendly, pious demeanor but hack away at the foundations of faith under the guise of keeping in step with a changing world.

Historic evangelicalism has two clear distinctives. One is a commitment to the inspiration and authority of Scripture. The other is a conviction that the gospel message is clear and non-negotiable.

With the advent of the seeker-sensitive movement, however, evangelicals began to be influenced by a new species of entrepreneurial leaders who marginalized those core doctrines by neglect. Most of them didn't overtly deny essential biblical truths; but neither did they vigorously stress or defend anything other than their own methodology.

FOUR LIBERAL TRENDS EVANGELICALS MUST RESIST
1. They recklessly follow the zeitgeist.
2. They want the world's admiration at all costs.
3. Their "faith" comes with an air of intellectual superiority.
4. They despise doctrinal and biblical precision.

Now, go read the whole thing. You won't be sorry.

Exposition of Hebrews-Part 2b

A friend of mine, Doug Searle, who is the Director of Administration at Community Bible Church in Nashville, is teaching a study through the book of Hebrews called Privilege & Perseverance-A Study of the Book of Hebrews. That link to his blog has all the handouts used in the class as well as the MP3's of the lessons. Let me encourage you to take advantage of this excellent series of verse by verse studies in the book of Hebrews taught by someone who really loves the Lord and is a great encouragement to me.

The audio for part 2 of this lesson is here. I posted part 1 of this lesson yesterday.

I pray that you are encouraged.

Exposition of Hebrews-Part 2a

A friend of mine, Doug Searle, who is the Director of Administration at Community Bible Church in Nashville, is teaching a study through the book of Hebrews called Privilege & Perseverance-A Study of the Book of Hebrews. That link to his blog has all the handouts used in the class as well as the MP3's of the lessons. Let me encourage you to take advantage of this excellent series of verse by verse studies in the book of Hebrews taught by someone who really loves the Lord and is a great encouragement to me.

Lesson two was taught in two parts. Part 1 is here. I'll post part 2 tomorrow.

Matthew 7:12 Keeping It Simple

I was a band director for about 5 years. For two of those years, I had a marching band. Now, most band directors will stay up late during band camp writing their drills for the half time show. They’ll try to show how creative and innovative they can be. Many times, the first song will consist of 20 or 30 sets that the kinds have to march to on the field. In any of the shows that I charted, I don’t think we had twenty sets for all 4 songs combined. I had a philosophy called “KISS” which stood for Keep It Simple, Stupid and the “Stupid” was me. Sure, people wrote more complicated and interesting shows but the kids in my bands didn’t have to work nearly as hard and the show was much easier to clean without all of the clutter. In theology, we can get very cluttered sometimes. Does regeneration precede faith? Is the gift of tongues still in operation today? These and other important questions can and should be wrestled with but not at the expense of living as God has called us to live as salt and light in this world. To that end, Jesus gives us very simple, very directed instruction here in this verse that we should all take to heart.

Observe that this teaching in verse 12 is comprehensive. Jesus says “In everything”. He doesn’t say “When at church” or when “When you’re around your friends”. Christians who only behave as Christians when they’re being watched are called hypocrites and rightly so. I was working at a Sears once and a pastor of a local church came in to buy a dryer. He was quite simply very rude to me. I asked him “Aren’t you the pastor of suchandsuch church?” Almost immediately, his demeanor changed. I imagine that you would probably have stories that are similar that you have seen as well. If we are truly new creatures in Christ it should affect every area of our lives. We should live differently. What Jesus has described in the Sermon on the Mount is a supernatural righteousness that can only be explained by the indwelling, transforming power of the Holy Spirit. When Jesus says “In everything, therefore” what He means is “Based on the truths I’ve revealed that a person cannot produce true righteousness themselves but must beg God to transform them, you must realize that the evidence of a transformed life will be total. Since you’re going to be a new creation with a living heart of flesh replacing your dead heart of stone you will live differently all the time. The fruits of this transformation will be evident if you are truly transformed”.

Also, we should take note that what Jesus prescribes here for believers is preemptive. You see, the teachers of the law taught that you should treat people the same way they treated you. In fact, most of us have that as an instinct within us, don’t we? If someone is rude or hateful to us, we naturally want to respond in kind. However, Jesus teaches just the opposite here. He teaches us that we should “treat people the same way [we] want them to treat [us]”. If we want people to be kind and patient with us, then that is how we should treat other people. Children are taught a version of this in elementary school—“To have a friend, be one”. If we are unkind, unloving, and un-Christlike in our dealings with people, not only are we not living as a true witness to the love of God who, despite our sinful heart, is infinitely loving and patient with us, but we also can expect that same kind of treatment from others. Of course, we can expect persecution when we witness for Christ so obviously this doesn’t guarantee that we will be treated well. What it does guarantee is a faithful, consistent Christian witness.

In fact, if we truly wish to live a life pleasing to God, Jesus give us in this verse a simple, easy to remember, way to do so. We don’t have a list of rules that we have to memorize. If we are treating people the way we want them to treat us, we will not sin. In fact, we will be living completely consistent with God’s entire revelation in scripture. Jesus says if we do this, we will be living as revealed in “the Law and the Prophets”—the Old Testament. Of course, since nothing in the New Testament contradicts the Old Testament, our lives will be consistent with that revelation as well. If we live as Jesus called us to in this verse, we won’t violate the commands of God in scripture.

Of course, we know we won’t live that way all the time. We’re going to sin and as Christ has taught in the Sermon on the Mount, God’s demand for perfect righteousness isn’t graded on a curve. What this teaching should do, therefore, is not just inform us as to how we should live but it should also drive us to our knees in repentance when we fail. Thankfully, we serve a God who is merciful and forgives us when we sin.

II Peter 2:14 “Got my mind on my money…”

One of my favorite pastors was Dale Haynes at Dutton Baptist Church. I served under him as minister of music for about a year and was constantly amazed at what a humble man that he was. He didn’t view the ministry as something that the church owed him but rather was a true servant and always seemed to me to be cognizant of the privilege he had of serving the body of Christ and studying the word of God. However, I can’t say that every pastor I’ve ever known has been like that. I’ve known a pastor who lives a very extravagant lifestyle on the backs of hardworking people and feels that he, by golly by gum, deserves what he’s being paid. His attitude is contemptible and in my opinion makes him unfit for the pastorate. In much the same way, we see in the last part of verse 14 that Peter tells us about the all consuming covetousness of the false teachers he has been warning about. To be sure, they don’t serve the people in sincerity but rather they see the ministry as an easy way to make a buck.

First of all, observe with me that the problem is one at the core of their very beings. Peter says the issue runs as deep as their “heart”. Now, when Peter or other folks living when he did talk about the heart, they don’t mean the thing in your chest that pumps blood. Greek speaking people thought of the heart as the seat of the intellect. We would probably use the term “mind” if we were to make the same sort of statement today. This is willful behavior, in other words. They can’t claim “What was I thinking” because the fact is they are thinking while they sin—it comes from their heart.

Notice further the extent to which they sin has corrupted them. Peter tells us that they have taken their heart (mind) and that it is now “trained in greed”. The word translated “trained” is the root of the word “gymnasium”. It meant to exercise vigorously and is in the perfect tense which means it denotes an action that has been completed in the past with ongoing effects. The false teachers made a conscious choice and exerted effort to commit to the path they are on. It was not coincidence or accident that led them to where they are but rather they made the choice and put forth the effort to “train” their heart.

Now, those who have put forth the effort to train themselves to teach and preach God’s word are to be commended and it is right for us to share material blessings with our pastors. Certainly there are occasions where a pastor can and should be allowed to devote his time to full time study and ministry. However, that is a privilege, not something the church owes someone. Further, it should always cause a minister to feel a great sense of gratitude and thankfulness for the privilege to serve full time. That thankfulness is the exact opposite of the attitude that Peter records here in this verse. As we see, these false teachers have a “heart trained in greed”. The word greed signifies that they are interested in acquiring more and more without regard to what they need. They seek to enrich themselves on the back of those who work hard for their money. Again, the attitude is what Peter points out that is contemptible here. A person being paid a large salary is not in and of itself wrong. I mean, there are rules as to what a church can pay its pastor set by the IRS. But within reason, it’s not the amount of money that creates the problem but rather the heart attitude that says “I deserve what I’m being paid and I want more regardless of what I actually need”. These false teachers have a sense of entitlement and are greedy—always wanting more.

Finally, we see what this wicked attitude reveals about these men. Peter tells us they are “accursed children”. They may live high on the hog now, prepaying their mortgage, driving fancy cars, living in houses far nicer than the homes of any of their congregants, all the while teaching false doctrine and living sensual lives of sin. There will be a day of reckoning, however. God may be mocked for a time but He will not be mocked forever. There will come a day where it will be clear to everyone that these false teachers did not speak for God and are not His children but are rather “accursed children” who will be punished in the fires of hell.

Many men serve the church faithfully and serve out of a love for God and for His people. However, there are those who bring shame to the cause of Christ by using the church as nothing more than a get rich quick scheme. Those who do so and peddle false doctrine will not escape the punishment of God—count on it.