The pastorate is a unique calling. While there are similarities to other callings or jobs, there are qualifications for the position that other callings don’t have. To become and remain a pastor, your wife and children (in your household) must be in proper order. If your wife is rebellious, you are unqualified. If the children in our household reject the faith, you are unqualified (1 Tim 3:1-7; Ti 1:5-9). What other “job” has these qualifications? If you are in IT or on the line at the factory, if you perform well on the job, it matters not what your home life is like. Your family can be a mess, but that doesn’t affect your job qualifications. You can have several baby mamas and be the wealthiest man in the world, running multi-billion dollar companies. You can have been married three times and been a philanderer even apart from marriage and still become president of the USA. However, according to Scripture, these lifestyles would disqualify you from being a pastor.
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Baptism: Spirit v. Water?
Baptism debates are constantly rumbling through the Christian church. Who are the proper recipients of baptism? Should baptism be performed by total submersion, or is pouring water over the head a proper baptism? Does God genuinely do something in baptism, or is it a wet testimony of the faith that I have professed in Christ that accomplishes anything regarding forgiveness of sins, union with Christ, or the reception of the Spirit? Is baptism the work of God or the work of man?
Another debate that sometimes arises when discussing baptism is whether genuine baptism is visible or invisible. Some will say that real baptism is the invisible baptism of the Spirit. Visible water baptism is only an inert witness to this invisible baptism. Scriptures such as Romans 6 are approached with presuppositions that deny the possibility that in water baptism, we truly are buried with Christ into his death and are raised by the glory of the Father (Rom 6:4). “Water can’t do that. Paul is referring to a “spiritual baptism,” by which they mean an invisible baptism, a baptism performed by the Spirit in conversion apart from water.
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St. Patrick’s Baptismal Theology
Today is St. Patrick’s Day, and so it seems appropriate to offer a brief defense of St. Patrick’s hymn as a baptismal exhortation in three short points:
First, baptism is Trinitarian. The Great Commission affirms this truth in Matthew 28 (“Baptizing them into the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit”), and Patrick’s hymn reflects this in the opening and closing verses: “I Bind Unto Myself Today the Strong Name of the Trinity.” The Triune God is the alpha and the omega of baptism.
Second, baptism is protective. It is the armor’s helmet in Ephesians 6, the Christian’s clothing in Galatians 3, and a sign of new life in Romans 6. Baptism protects. Patrick’s hymn reflects this: “Against the death-wound and the burning, the choking wave, the poisoned shaft, protect me Christ till thy returning.” Baptism signifies Christ’s protection over us.
And finally, baptism is fidelity. There is a rhythm to this great hymn. There is a logic to it all the way through verse 7, and then something dramatically happens in verse 8. The cadence changes, the rhythm is modified, and the central figure comes to the scene. Patrick puts Christ everywhere—above, within, behind, before, and in all places. And the allegiance is not ours to Jesus, but for Patrick, it’s Jesus’ fidelity to us to be with us from font to grave. Christ is ever faithful!
As we bring young and old to the font, let us remember our baptisms also, for in it, the Trinity is displayed, our lives are protected, and Christ surrounds us with his fidelity.
John & The Jews
Immediately following the Apostle John’s Prologue (Jn 1:1-18), he begins filling out the historical witness of the characters and narrative he introduced in his Gospel. As in any good story, there are good guys and bad guys. These two groups have been alluded to in the Prologue, but at the beginning of the body of the Gospel, the Apostle names names.
The heart of the battle concerns who has the right to be called “Son of God.” Since at least the time of their bondage in Egypt, Israel has been called “son of God.” When Yahweh sent Moses to Pharaoh, he commanded Moses to tell Pharaoh, “Israel is my son, my firstborn. So I say to you, let my son go they he may serve me…” (Ex 4:22-23).
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Deconstruction & Reformation in the Church
In the times in which we live, deconstruction has driven many away from the church.
Deconstruction is not always a bad thing. If you are seeking to deconstruct plausible arguments (Col. 2:4), philosophy and empty deceit according to human tradition (Col. 2:8), asceticism and the worship of angels (Col. 2:18), or anything that has the appearance of wisdom in promoting self-made religion and asceticism and severity to the body (Col. 2:23), then have at it.
But in order to do so properly, you must have an objective standard to deconstruct those systems by. You need the confession in your mouth that Jesus is Lord (Col. 1:15-17). You need His Word in hand (I Corinthians 4:1-7). You need to be united to His Church (Col. 1:18-23). You need to recognize the authority of Jesus Christ, who saves men from their sins and is Lord over all.
People are wandering to and fro. Sheep without a shepherd. Boats tossed about on the waves of false & errant doctrine and human philosophies and self-made religion. It is easy in such an ecclesiastical environment to turn to the state as a god, to turn science into a religion, to trust in the strength of man. A culture unmoored from the truth about God and man is fertile ground for cults, false religion and ultimate disaster.
In a time of deconstruction, we must turn to the Lord and His Word. There are many churches of many different denominations seeking to reform their churches according to His Word. This gives me a renewed hope for ecumenicity among Christian Churches that really believe this Word and subject their traditions to its authority. Wherever men are seeking after the Law and the testimony (Isaiah 8), there the Spirit of God is working to form a new Creation.
This means that Reformation, widespread Reformation is possible, wherever men are opening their Bibles and pointing to the glory & majesty of Jesus Christ.
Reformation is simply “the re-forming of the church according to the principles of Scripture.” This means that where idolatry has crept in, we must purge it. Where the justification of immorality has crept in, we must contest it, and win in the strength of the Spirit of Christ. Where the church has become silly & shallow, we must pursue maturity and discernment in Christ.
Where churches disagree, we can and must appeal to the Holy Scriptures. Where practices or forms or traditions differ, with no substantial disagreement on the principle of truth, we find unity in Christ and His Word.
One of the pivotal points of Scripture is how pastors & preachers handle the Word of truth (II Tim. 2:15). A pastor may say true things in a sermon, but does he open the text and go where the text leads him? Both in his exegesis and his application? If a lady pastor is opening the Bible in such a way, then why is she still pastoring?
Expository preaching in the power of the Holy Spirit, pointing to Christ, according to the rule of Scripture will indeed start to split open the idols in our hearts and in our churches. But it must first split open the idols in the pastor’s heart. Is the pastor willing to preach things that make you feel uncomfortable if that is where the Scriptures lead him? Is the pastor willing to preach things that make him feel uncomfortable if that is where the Scriptures lead him?
It was one of the theses of Berne that the church is born of the Word of God. This is true (I Peter 1:22-25).
If we would reform the modern day church then we must open and thunder from the Scriptures again, always pointing to Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world and opens up the way again into fellowship with the Triune God.
Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash
Healing Forgiveness: A Lenten Exhortation
Why doesn’t God complete the work of our salvation in one fell swoop? When we are baptized, when our sins are declared forgiven because we have died and risen again with Christ, why don’t we experience all that salvation will ever be? In our baptism, we are declared forgiven, but we continue to dwell in a mortal body and battle with sin and its effects until the day of our death. Then, our bodies are held in death, waiting for the final resurrection, the fullness of our salvation. Why not do it all immediately?
Salvation is progressive. We have been saved, we are being saved, and we will be saved. That is all true. In one sense, we are as forgiven and saved as we will ever be. However, in another sense, we wait for the fullness of our forgiveness and salvation to be realized in the resurrection of our bodies.
Tellingly, the family of words usually translated as “saved” or “salvation” are associated with the medical field and deal with healing. That is appropriate because our salvation is the complete healing of our entire being, body and soul. Every aspect of our humanity that has been affected by sin—and that is every aspect of our humanity—is being healed in our salvation. But our healing is progressive and waits for the fullness of our salvation to be revealed at the last day.
God has his reasons for this. He trains us through this life so that we become more mature and, thus, able to handle whatever responsibility he gives us later in his kingdom. But the fact that we don’t realize the fullness of our salvation until the end is a fact.
The way God deals with us in forgiveness as it relates to healing is instructive for the relationship between forgiveness and healing in our relationships now. The major emphasis of Lent that is crucial in our discipleship is for us to meditate on our sinfulness and plead for God’s mercy for ourselves and others. Lent is a journey with a destination. It is not a perpetual state of being. Lent gives way to Easter when God fully and finally declares the forgiveness of our sins through the resurrection of Jesus from the dead.
Jesus demonstrates the connection between forgiveness and healing when he heals the paralytic by telling him his sins are forgiven in Mark 2:1-12. Matthew says that the prophecy of Isaiah 53 is fulfilled as Jesus cast out evil spirits and healed the sick: “He himself took our infirmities and bore our sicknesses” (Isa 53:4). Jesus’ death and resurrection secure the forgiveness of sins and the healing of our bodies (Rom 4:25). Sin brings about sickness and death. Forgiveness brings about healing and resurrection.
The healing stories of Jesus are not all the same. Undoubtedly, the point made in Mark 2 is that healing is always tied to the forgiveness of sins, but Jesus’ healings take different shapes. Some are immediate, as it is with this paralytic in Mark 2. Others are delayed. The ten lepers Jesus heals at one point must start their journey to show themselves to priests. They are healed along the way (Lk 17:11-19). In another healing, Jesus touches a blind man’s eyes, and he first sees men as trees. He was partially healed. Jesus touches him a second time to restore his sight completely (Mk 8:22-26).
The healings aren’t all the same, nor are they all complete. Even Lazarus was raised from the dead to die again and wait for the final resurrection. Forgiveness is granted, but the healing power of forgiveness is experienced differently in various situations. Furthermore, the fullness of our healing will only be experienced in our final resurrection.
We should expect this to be the case as we practice forgiveness with one another. Healing looks different depending on the situation. This is important to remember as we work through issues of forgiveness and reconciliation (healing) when sin has maimed a relationship. Forgiveness can be real, but healing takes time, which means the complete healing of the relationship may be in the future.
If, in anger, I punch you in the jaw and break your jaw and realize immediately my sin and ask for forgiveness, you can forgive me on the spot. However, the healing of your jaw and possibly the trust between us may take some time to mend.
Sin has degrees of seriousness. Every sin is worthy of death and punishment from God, but not all sins are created equal. Some sins have a deeper impact and more serious consequences than others. Your toddler disobeying you and snatching a cookie before supper is not the same thing as a spouse committing adultery. Telling a lie to get out of trouble when you are a teen is not the same thing as walking into a public place and opening fire on innocent people.
All sins need to be dealt with seriously before God, but all sins are not the same in their effects on our souls and in our relationships. Acting as if your adultery requires the same type of response of forgive-and-forget as swiping a cookie doesn’t appreciate the seriousness of the damage caused by adultery and the relative lack of damage caused by swiping a cookie. In both cases, genuine forgiveness can and should be granted, but in one case, the healing can be immediate, while in the other, the healing will take time. Ripping a one-flesh relationship is not the same as ripping off a cookie.
Delayed healing doesn’t mean that real forgiveness hasn’t taken place. God declares his forgiveness of us in baptism and absolution, but we don’t enjoy all the healing benefits of forgiveness in the present. We are at genuine peace with God in Christ, but the relationship is not all it will be. Forgiveness has not done its complete work.
There are instances, depending on the nature of the sin involved, that a relationship can be at genuine peace through forgiveness, but the relationship will never be exactly the same. A man who cheats on his wife, leading to divorce, may later seek and receive forgiveness from his ex-wife, but remarriage may never and, in some cases, cannot occur. Friendships can be radically changed through sin. That may be part of the harvest that is reaped through the sowing of sin. But there can be genuine peace even while the friendship is different. It may come back to a more intimate place in the future, but healing takes time. Just because others don’t meet your expectations of “perfect reconciliation” doesn’t mean a person hasn’t forgiven you and is not at peace with you.
Many of us have sinned against others. Many of us have been sinned against by others.
Forgiveness should be sought when there is genuine sin.
You may need help from outside the relationship to determine if it is a “genuine sin.” Just because you got your feelings hurt doesn’t mean that the other person sinned against you. You may be overly sensitive and have higher expectations of others than God himself. People not living up to your unrealistic expectations doesn’t equate to being sinned against. If those in authority judge that you haven’t been sinned against, then you need to get over yourself and live at peace.
However, you may have been sinned against, and that needs to be dealt with. Showing mercy if you have sinned against others is not saying, “I asked your forgiveness. It’s all over. Everything should be back to normal.” Showing mercy is asking for forgiveness and then giving time for the relationship to heal, not demanding what others should do by bludgeoning them with Scripture verses as if your actions should have no lingering consequences and treating others as if they are now in sin because they can’t just get over it.
The person who insists that everything goes back to the way it was immediately, not accounting for the sin he has committed and its consequences, doesn’t want to accept responsibility for his actions. His asking for forgiveness is his get out of jail free card. He doesn’t want to deal with his own actions in genuine repentance and have to do the hard work of rebuilding what he has damaged. He walked into the house and set off a grenade but then expects everything to be back to normal because he asked for forgiveness. It doesn’t work that way. There are bodies to be healed and structures to rebuild when a grenade goes off. Further, your actions have created a precedent for how people expect you to act in certain situations. Because of your history, people will “flinch” around you, expecting you to act a certain way in particular situations. Trust takes time to rebuild.
So it is with some of our sins.
Demanding that the other person absorb all the consequences of your sins while all you do is speak a few words is not showing mercy. I’m not saying that you must live a life of groveling, but to treat the words “Please forgive me” as some magic incantation that instantly heals completely in all situations shows a remarkable lack of understanding of the nature of sin and a slothfulness in wanting to take up your responsibilities of repentance.
Showing mercy when you’ve been sinned against by others is granting forgiveness, choosing not to take revenge in thought, word, or deed against the person. But showing mercy does NOT mean that you must act as if there are no consequences to the other person’s actions.
You should take into account the seriousness of the sin. Did they break something you loaned to them, or did they physically or sexually abuse you? Those two sins aren’t on the same level. The healing for breaking something that you have loaned can be healed relatively easily by forgiving and/or the person asking forgiveness and making restitution. Abusive situations and sexual sins wound the soul in deep ways that need care and time for healing. While you shouldn’t use the sins and the healing process as a manipulation tool to selfishly control the other person, making him grovel so that it is never-ending, neither are you obligated to act as if no real damage was inflicted that needs time, space, and proper care to heal.
Forgiveness is absolutely essential to healing for everyone involved, but healing takes time. Everyone involved needs to show the proper mercy.
This Lenten season, as we focus on our own sins and those committed against us, let us all consider the different forms mercy and healing take.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Instead of Working for a Living, Take Dominion
“Then God blessed them, and God said to them,
‘Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it;
have dominion over the fish of the sea,
over the birds of the air,
and over every living thing that moves on the earth.’”
Genesis 1:28
Ultimately, the Dominion Mandate from Genesis 1:28 defines what is economically valuable and what is not. Value comes from ruling the earth and subduing it, from being fruitful and multiplying. Conversely, activity that does not preserve or increase dominion isn’t economically valuable. The topic for this article is economic value and intends to speak to providers, those responsible for creating economic value to sustain themselves and others in their household.
Christian providers must understand that value is measured in dominion. Knowing this changes your entire approach to work. Of course you must work for a living, but if your work is not steadily taking dominion, you will soon find yourself “out of work.” This biblical wisdom for work as taking dominion directs and motivates us in our labors away from just being active toward a truly productive work ethic.
Work Ethic from a Dominion Mindset
While you can be active in many good things, only activity that rules and subdues is economically valuable to human existence. You are a creature, not self-existent like God, so you continually spend down resources in order to exist, and you will only thrive in your work if you obey the Lord’s Dominion Mandate to rule and subdue the earth. Thus, every day when you go to work, go to take dominion. This cultivates a work ethic from a Dominion Mindset.
Keeping a Dominion Mindset about your work points you to value and it exposes how many things can pass for work that are not truly valuable. For Christian providers, advice to“Work while you’re working” translates to: Make sure everything you do as “work” contributes toward taking dominion. If you do not keep a Dominion Mindset about your work, you will end up active, but not valued. You will be spent, yet have nothing to spend. If your business is not to be busy solving problems for your neighbors on a daily basis, your problems as a provider will be multiplied.
Valuable Work
A workplace adage says, “You get paid for the value you create.” A variant adds, “You get paid in proportion to the problems you solve.” Taken together with the Dominion Mandate, value is something created by the worker who takes dominion over problems. If your work provides relief from problems or advantage over chaos, then it is valuable because it grants the economic benefit of taking dominion over what was previously unruly. Thus, when you turn unruly, complicated, problematic situations into a benefit for your community, the economy rewards these actions in proportion to the benefit you offer.
Whether working for yourself or someone else, the value of your work corresponds to the benefit it yields your neighbor. Self-employed business owners know you cannot just set any price for your labors in the marketplace. It doesn’t matter what the work costs you in effort and energy expended. The only thing that matters is whether what you do benefits your neighbors. If your work helps them solve problems, they will pay you for that benefit. The bigger the problem solved, the bigger the payday, because solutions to big problems are more beneficial, more economically valuable, than solutions to small problems. It is also true that solving a small problem for many people can be more economically valuable than solving a big problem for a few people. The value of your problem-solving skill all depends on how much dominion your solution can offer.
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What Happened on the Mount of Transfiguration?
In the Transfiguration of our Lord, Jesus takes the disciples to the mountains. Mountains are places of worship in the Bible; they are types of the heavenly city.
The Father invites the saints of all ages to this glorious gathering of the saints. He brings Moses, who defeated and broke the false idols and delivered God’s people from tyranny, and Elijah by divine power manifested Yahweh’s authority over Baal, yet, Moses and Elijah are not the ones chosen to bring light to the world; they are not the ones chosen to reveal Yahweh to the nations; they are not the ones chosen to destroy the devil and death and they are ultimately not the ones to whom we must listen.
The Gospels say: “He (Peter) was still speaking when, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.”
Jesus is Creation’s light-bringer. He is exalted above every name and above all gods. He is the greater iconoclast and the greater Moses and Elijah, transfigured to bring his dazzling glory to the nations. We heed his call and listen to his voice!
On Transfiguration Sunday, the Church ascends to that holy mountain to join angels, archangels, and all the company of heaven to hear from the Son of God. Come, let us adore him!
The “Narrow Way” Becomes The “Broad Way”
When Jesus spoke of the narrow way that leads to life and the broad way that leads to destruction (Matt. 7:13-14), He was not freezing the Kingdom of God into an eternally fixed condition—where the faithful would always be a pitiful, struggling minority, and the wicked would always be the triumphant mass. No, He was speaking to His own generation—a generation that, by and large, was about to rush headlong into destruction.
And what was that destruction? The same one He had been warning about all throughout His ministry—the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70 (Matt. 24:2, Luke 19:41-44). In that first-century moment, the way of life was indeed narrow—so narrow that only a handful of disciples, a remnant within Israel, were truly finding it. The vast majority of Jesus’ contemporaries—especially the religious leaders—were on the broad road, the well-worn path of rebellion against God, and it would lead to their ruin.
But was Jesus saying that the Kingdom itself would always be like this? That His way would always be small, unnoticed, and weak? Not at all! He explicitly tells us that the Kingdom starts small but does not stay that way:
The mustard seed begins as the smallest of seeds, but it grows into the largest of garden plants (Matt. 13:31-32).
The leaven is hidden in three measures of flour, but over time, it leavens the whole lump (Matt. 13:33).
The rock cut without hands in Daniel 2:34 starts small but becomes a great mountain that fills the entire earth.
Think about the history of Christianity.
In the first century, the narrow way was scarcely more than a footpath. A few hundred believers, most of them persecuted, clung to Christ in the midst of a hostile Roman and Jewish world.
By the second century, the way had widened. Thousands upon thousands were coming into the faith, even while emperors raged against them.
By the time of Constantine, Christianity had so thoroughly spread that the great empire which once crucified our Lord now professed Him as King. The narrow way had now become a highway.
By the Middle Ages, Christendom was no longer a fringe sect among the myriad of larger peoples; Christians were ruling on thrones, governing Kingdoms, writing laws, building cathedrals, and being the leaven that was spreading through the lump. The narrow way had become an interstate.
And what about today? The narrow way has become broader than it has ever been. Christianity, far from being a fringe sect, is the largest religion on earth, stretching across continents, time zones, latitudes, and longitudes. More people have found life in Christ today than at any other time in history, which means the narrow way is not so narrow anymore.
And, frankly, why should we believe that this broadening will not continue? The narrow way has been becoming the broad way for 20 centuries and counting so far. Why should we think that the narrow way will always be narrow when Jesus Himself taught that His reign would increase (Isaiah 9:7), that all nations would be discipled (Matt. 28:19) and that the knowledge of the Lord would cover the earth as the waters cover the sea (Hab. 2:14)?
In the same way that the narrow way is broadening, the broad way is shrinking and becoming narrower.
There was a time when nearly the entire world lay under the grip of paganism, where child sacrifice was common, human life was cheap, and demonic idolatry enslaved the nations. But as Christ’s Kingdom has advanced, the old ways have been beaten back.
The pagan temples of Greece and Rome have fallen into dust.
The Norse gods have been abandoned.
The human-sacrificing religions of the Aztecs and Canaanites are no more.
The nations that once walked in darkness have seen a great light (Isaiah 9:2).
Yes, wickedness still exists. But we cannot deny that it is now confined to smaller corners of the earth than it used to be. We must not be blind to the fact that the broad way is not as broad as it once was—and it is growing narrower still!
Why is this important? Well…. Too many Christians have embraced a pessimistic eschatology that cannot tolerate success. We want to believe that Christianity is destined to fail, that the remnant will always be the smallest group, and that Satan will always have the upper hand in history.
But Jesus did not teach that. Jesus taught a victorious kingdom. A Kingdom that He Himself will build and the gates of hell will not prevail against it (Matthew 16:18). A Kingdom that will come on earth as it is in heaven (Matthew 6:10). And a Kingdom that will baptize the nations and teach them how to obey everything Jesus commanded (Matthew 28:18-20).
This does not sound like a perpetually narrow way.
It sounds like the broad way is shrinking, the narrow way is widening, and under the Lordship of Jesus, all the nations will eventually come to know our Lord Jesus Christ!
The narrow way will become the broad way before it is over, and for that, we must SHOUT ON, PRAY ON, AND KEEP ON GAINING GROUND. GLORY HALLELUJAH!
Law & Grace
“And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace. For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.” John 1:16-17
Are Moses and Jesus at odds with one another? Does the Law have no grace, and does the gospel have no law? Does the Law only serve to condemn us, driving us to the gospel, or is there any salvation “under Law?”
When you read John’s words toward the end of his Prologue, these questions might begin to pop up, especially with the theological influences we have had in American culture over the past one hundred fifty years or so. Law-Gospel dichotomies can be sharp in some Christian circles. If the dichotomies become antitheses, all sorts of errors crop up. Because the Law only serves to condemn and drive us to the gospel, now, under grace, we live without any specific laws governing us. We live “by the Spirit,” which many take to mean, “I do what I feel is right,” or to put it more spiritually, “I will do what I believe the Spirit is leading me to do.” It is quite shocking at times what “the Spirit” leads people to do. They believe the Spirit leads them to leave their spouse for another person of the opposite or same sex. They believe the Spirit is leading them not to be a part of Christ’s church. No one can tell them what to do because that is ungracious legalism.
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