Friday, August 31, 2012
Dan Phillips' book "God's Wisdom in Proverbs" - or - How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Proverbs
Here's a the first of a series of short reviews I intend to write for Dan Phillips' "God's Wisdom in Proverbs" that originally appeared on my Facebook wall:
In his book "God's Wisdom in Proverbs" Dan Phillips remarks how Henry Virkler makes a "startling insight" into proverbs: a simile, if extended, becomes a parable; and metaphor, if extended, becomes an allegory; then if the resultant allegory or parable is compressed, it becomes a proverb. He notes the genius and the peril of this, and here is an excerpt from pg 25 of his book:
"... But this compression factor is PERILOUS to the interpreter, too. If we try to force the compressed form to say everything, we miss the point. A proverb is not always intended to be a guarantee, or an exhaustive statement on any given subject. Rather, it is a pithy pointer, usually designed to drive one truth into the mind. Ryken says it well: "The aim of a proverb is to make an insight permanent." Note well: AN insight; not ALL insight." (caps mine, originally italics, used with permission)
I've been excited to learn how to read Proverbs, a book that for many years has escaped me, and Dan spends an entire chapter teaching how to do just that. Even in the few chapters I've read, it's come to be a valuable tool. Pick one up at Kress or Amazon and support the hard work of a fellow brother and learn something valuable. - 8/14/2012
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Still trucking through "God's Wisdom in Proverbs", and being greatly encouraged, convicted, and educated in the Word. In Chapter 2 Dan Phillips begins to explain what Solomon means by "wisdom" in 1:2a when he says "For becoming acquainted
with wisdom and discipline" and after explaining much on what the Hebrew idea of wisdom is gives this little nugget at the end of pg 39 to the beginning of pg 40:
"The wisdom with which Solomon proposes to acquaint us, then, is SKILL FOR LIVING IN THE FEAR OF YAWEH. It subsumes all under the Godhood of God (Prov 1:7; 9:10; 31:30) and casts every bit of life within that framework. This God-centered wisdom will encompass all our endeavors, including excellence in relationships, in personal pursuits, finances, child-rearing, the "whole shooting match." But the constant backdrop of these living skills will be the imperative of a life lived in reverence for God, in conscious application of His revealed wisdom, and dedicated to promoting His glory." (caps mine, originally italics)
If you have ever been intimidated by Proverbs, or just didn't know how to read the book, this will be a great help to you, and I greatly encourage you to get a copy. Just like his first book "The World-Tilting Gospel" Dan encourages you to open up your Bible beside the book and walk with him through the scriptures (and there are plenty per page, including footnotes at the bottom - I've been 2 weeks in the book and am only on page 42), making God's Word, not his word, the foundation and authority and carefully explains things in a way that's easy to understand. -
8/21/12
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Proverbs has really began to stick to my ribs lately now that I've gained understanding on how to read the book. Honestly I'd read Proverbs, see the wise sayings and go "yeah, but what do I DO with that?" But thankfully our good brother D
an Phillips
has toiled to make a tome to help us understand that's EXACTLY what Proverbs was meant to do - make us think!
Here's another nugget from pg 47, speaking on the 3rd benefit from reading Proverbs from 1:3, namely, receiving intelligent discipline:
"So ask yourself this: Why would Solomon write a book to give us something we could get easier and better by mystical channels? If the formula for wisdom is "just add prayer and mystical openness, and pop! wisdom!" - then why wast all the quills and papyrus? Just tell us to go mentally limp, and you will save a few trees... or, rather, reeds.
This "intelligent discipline" will not come to the intellectually lazy. Intelligent discipline becomes our only as we DILIGENTLY APPLY OURSELVES TO OBTAINING WHAT YAWEH HAS OBJECTIVELY GIVEN, ONCE AND FOR ALL TIME, IN SCRIPTURE. To access it, we must open up, bear down, and accept instruction. Fox well says that the phrase here means "to take it to heart, to absorb it and change one's ways."" (caps mine, Fox reference from his book "Proverbs" 1:59) -
8/27/12
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I intend to write all my subsequent reviews on this blog, and I'll link it at my Facebook wall as well. My hope is that I'll talk enough about it between the two places and folks will begin to catch onto this great help. Proverbs has been so abused by folks trying to justify all manner of unbiblical ideas that, for me at least, it was intimidating. I'm glad that our fellow laborer Dan Phillips has condensed his years of study into this work so that those of us who are young and dumb and immature can see the jewel that the book of Proverbs is and see the intended effect laid out by Solomon, namely that those who are immature would gain wisdom (skill for living in the fear of Yaweh) to the glory of God in Christ.
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
Why 2 Little Girls Need to Know God is Sovereign and How Ligon Duncan Helped Me Teach Them That
Last night at dinner we had our family worship time - yes, at the dinner table - and my teaching came from 1 Kings 19 (inspired a great bit by this sermon by Ligon Duncan (http://t4g.org/media/2012/04/the-underestimated-god/) which would be well worth your time to listen to). In the chapter before, Elijah had just been used mightily by God to strike down the priests of Baal after God showed Himself to be the One and Only God by devouring Elijah's sacrifice, while the priests of Baal were left hanging by their idol of a god. As Ligon explains in his sermon, Elijah's greatest desire was to see God glorified, and in that, to see all of Israel turn away from the mute, lifeless idols they worshiped and to the Living God - Elijah wanted to see a nationwide revival so that God would be worshiped as he ought to. And so when we get to 1 Kings 19, and Jezebel threatens Elijah, there's a plot twist - Elijah runs for his life. He just witnessed the power of the LORD God as He sent fire from heaven to devour the sacrifice, the water in the trench around it, the stones, the wood, and even the dust; he had just put to death the priests of Baal; he had just outrun a chariot across the desert; he was vividly familiar with the power and faithfulness of God. But in the face of a threat from a mere woman (a vicious woman, but still a woman) he runs for his life. Why? Again, as Ligon points out, Elijah ran away and wanted to die a discouraged man. God's fierce power hadn't melted the heart of Jezebel and Ahab, the killing of the priests had only enraged them further, and Israel remained faithful to their idols. God hadn't worked the way Elijah wanted Him to. Elijah desired a good thing - to see God glorified in the faithfulness of Israel - but he was disintegrated when it didn't happen as he imagined it.
How does this make any sense to 2 little girls 1 and 2 years old? Am I throwing seeds on unfruitful ground?
Let me show you why it matters that my daughters learn this story and it's application:
Their mommy is sick with a disease she'll be fighting the rest of her life, unless the Lord decides to heal her. She'll have good days, for sure. But it's the bad days that will be trying - and the bad days will be equally as bad as the good days are good. She'll be tired alot. She may pass out. She may go to the hospital. They may be displaced from us again. She won't be able to do all the things that other mommies do with their little girls. They'll have to rely on their daddy - who has to go to work and spends maybe 2 hours in the evening with them 5 days a week in addition to the weekends - to make up for all the things mommy can't do on her sick days. Since most of their time will be spent with mommy in a days time, they'll have more disappointments than met expectations. To little girls who are still too young to understand even the simple things of the goodness of God in suffering, this gives lots of opportunity for their sinful hearts to justify their rebellion against God - and it's here where it matters most.
They're going to see me love my wife, their mommy, and they're going to see me doing my best - but they won't see me be able to fix mommy's problem. They're going to see us pray, hear us read the Scriptures, sing with us extolling the goodness and majesty of the Triune God; they're going to hear us go on and on about the goodness of God expressed in Jesus Christ, His son, and the wonder of the Holy Spirit's work in the Christian's life. And then they're going to see mommy not being well all the time. They may see her get worse. I know my own heart and how I struggle with suffering and the goodness of God, so multiply that in relation to their limited understanding and lack of the Holy Spirit, and we have a problem. This is why they need to know this story. They need to know that God isn't going to always work the way they want Him to - even if it's a good way. God loves their mommy, but He loves His glory more - and there's a relationship between those two that I'll get to in a moment.
And it's also why they need to know it's application. Elijah, after having seen the glory of God displayed before the "prophets" of Baal, runs into the desert at the threat of Jezebel and wants to die. Instead of allowing that, God feeds him by way of an angel with some bread and water (twice), and sends him on his way to Mt. Horeb. It's here where, contrary to the way this scripture has been abused to justify listening for that "still small voice" of God, Elijah again encounters the glory of God in a way he doesn't like very much. God passes by the mountain and causes a catastrophe - an earthquake, a fire, a great wind that causes the mountains to crumble - and it seems that Elijah looks for God in those awesome displays of power, as the scripture recites that "God was not in" any of those. But then a low whisper comes, and it seems that God is there because Elijah goes out of the cave, albeit with his cloak wrapped around his face (and as Ligon pointed out, it's hard to see anything with your cloak wrapped around your face). God then rebukes Elijah, gives him assignments - one which includes his succession - and effectively ends Elijah's ministry after which he takes him up in a chariot of fire before Elisha, his replacement. And then, oh boy then, a thousand years later, God sends Elijah down the the mountain whereupon stands 3 ordinary men with the Glorious One, Immanuel, Jesus Christ and Elijah gets to see him! Jesus' face is transfigured and a vision of His glory displayed before the men and before Elijah who comes from heaven with Moses (Luke 9:28-36) - God reveals His glory to Elijah, His Son Jesus Christ who would atone for all who repent and believe the gospel. Elijah got to see the glory of God as he never imagined it! How God chose to glorify Himself was infinitely greater than what Elijah expected or desired, and how God chose to give his servant the very joy of his heart, the very thing Elijah truly longed for, was a far greater joy than what Elijah would have experienced had God done it his way!
Remember how I said that our girls need to know this story and it's application, and that I'd connect the dots between my wife's suffering, God's love for her, and His love for His own glory? My girls need to know that although what they desire is good, and that although they love their mommy, and I love my wife, that God, her Father loves her so much more than we do, and He loves His glory too and desires a better thing than we do because of those two facts. And how those two meet is that if God loves their mommy way more than we do, and he's allowing her to suffer with this illness, then His love is expressed in that her illness will glorify Him in a way that her wellness never could, and that it will make her to enjoy Him more than her wellness ever did. We teach our daughters what the Westminster Catechism sums up from Scripture: that God created us to glorify Himself and that we may enjoy Him forever. And contrary to us glossing over her illness with happy platitudes and smiles in a varnish that will collapse when their sinful hearts bear more fruit, I am convinced that we need to reinforce the truth that our God, the God of the Bible, our Father in Heaven, His Son and Holy Spirit, our Triune God is working all things together for their mommy's good and His glory - and by extension, their good too.
So here's what I told our girls last night to apply what they'd heard in the life of Elijah (and again, it was a variation of what Ligon had preached, so go listen - it's an hour, but an hour worth your time):
"You know how mommy is sick, and that sometimes she's in the hospital?" Ayrie shook her head, and Naomi shoved a handful of rice in her mouth (gotta work on that one, Naomi), "And you know how when you pray for dinner and you pray to "God our Father?" Ayrie shook her head again, and Naomi was still stuffing her face. "Ok. And you know how daddy loves mommy? Well, God, mommy's Father in Heaven, loves her way more than daddy does. And He's got a plan to use mommy's sickness to glorify Himself, and to make mommy enjoy Him even more than she does now."
They may not completely understand now, but I want to plant the seed there and continue to water it, trusting our Father to give the growth. It may be that she will continue in her rebellion and grow to hate God because of an unrepentant heart, in which case I can praise God that He gave me the knowledge to teach my daughter the truth about who He is, though I will mourn my daughter's rebellion. But the flip side of that scares me more: gloss over the truth, which may be hard to understand, with rainbows and unicorns and cute puppies telling her that everything will be OK - and when things get as bad as they possibly could, be left with my hands in the air, full of broken promises, having provoked my daughters to sin against the Lord and be a cause for their rebellion. No thanks; I'll go with the former.
Relatedly, if this is the means by which God intends to be glorified in the salvation of my daughters as they learn that God is sovereign over suffering and sickness and uses those things for their good to His glory in Jesus Christ, then praise God for answering our prayer to raise up Godly girls for His kingdom. Amen.
How does this make any sense to 2 little girls 1 and 2 years old? Am I throwing seeds on unfruitful ground?
Let me show you why it matters that my daughters learn this story and it's application:
Their mommy is sick with a disease she'll be fighting the rest of her life, unless the Lord decides to heal her. She'll have good days, for sure. But it's the bad days that will be trying - and the bad days will be equally as bad as the good days are good. She'll be tired alot. She may pass out. She may go to the hospital. They may be displaced from us again. She won't be able to do all the things that other mommies do with their little girls. They'll have to rely on their daddy - who has to go to work and spends maybe 2 hours in the evening with them 5 days a week in addition to the weekends - to make up for all the things mommy can't do on her sick days. Since most of their time will be spent with mommy in a days time, they'll have more disappointments than met expectations. To little girls who are still too young to understand even the simple things of the goodness of God in suffering, this gives lots of opportunity for their sinful hearts to justify their rebellion against God - and it's here where it matters most.
They're going to see me love my wife, their mommy, and they're going to see me doing my best - but they won't see me be able to fix mommy's problem. They're going to see us pray, hear us read the Scriptures, sing with us extolling the goodness and majesty of the Triune God; they're going to hear us go on and on about the goodness of God expressed in Jesus Christ, His son, and the wonder of the Holy Spirit's work in the Christian's life. And then they're going to see mommy not being well all the time. They may see her get worse. I know my own heart and how I struggle with suffering and the goodness of God, so multiply that in relation to their limited understanding and lack of the Holy Spirit, and we have a problem. This is why they need to know this story. They need to know that God isn't going to always work the way they want Him to - even if it's a good way. God loves their mommy, but He loves His glory more - and there's a relationship between those two that I'll get to in a moment.
And it's also why they need to know it's application. Elijah, after having seen the glory of God displayed before the "prophets" of Baal, runs into the desert at the threat of Jezebel and wants to die. Instead of allowing that, God feeds him by way of an angel with some bread and water (twice), and sends him on his way to Mt. Horeb. It's here where, contrary to the way this scripture has been abused to justify listening for that "still small voice" of God, Elijah again encounters the glory of God in a way he doesn't like very much. God passes by the mountain and causes a catastrophe - an earthquake, a fire, a great wind that causes the mountains to crumble - and it seems that Elijah looks for God in those awesome displays of power, as the scripture recites that "God was not in" any of those. But then a low whisper comes, and it seems that God is there because Elijah goes out of the cave, albeit with his cloak wrapped around his face (and as Ligon pointed out, it's hard to see anything with your cloak wrapped around your face). God then rebukes Elijah, gives him assignments - one which includes his succession - and effectively ends Elijah's ministry after which he takes him up in a chariot of fire before Elisha, his replacement. And then, oh boy then, a thousand years later, God sends Elijah down the the mountain whereupon stands 3 ordinary men with the Glorious One, Immanuel, Jesus Christ and Elijah gets to see him! Jesus' face is transfigured and a vision of His glory displayed before the men and before Elijah who comes from heaven with Moses (Luke 9:28-36) - God reveals His glory to Elijah, His Son Jesus Christ who would atone for all who repent and believe the gospel. Elijah got to see the glory of God as he never imagined it! How God chose to glorify Himself was infinitely greater than what Elijah expected or desired, and how God chose to give his servant the very joy of his heart, the very thing Elijah truly longed for, was a far greater joy than what Elijah would have experienced had God done it his way!
Remember how I said that our girls need to know this story and it's application, and that I'd connect the dots between my wife's suffering, God's love for her, and His love for His own glory? My girls need to know that although what they desire is good, and that although they love their mommy, and I love my wife, that God, her Father loves her so much more than we do, and He loves His glory too and desires a better thing than we do because of those two facts. And how those two meet is that if God loves their mommy way more than we do, and he's allowing her to suffer with this illness, then His love is expressed in that her illness will glorify Him in a way that her wellness never could, and that it will make her to enjoy Him more than her wellness ever did. We teach our daughters what the Westminster Catechism sums up from Scripture: that God created us to glorify Himself and that we may enjoy Him forever. And contrary to us glossing over her illness with happy platitudes and smiles in a varnish that will collapse when their sinful hearts bear more fruit, I am convinced that we need to reinforce the truth that our God, the God of the Bible, our Father in Heaven, His Son and Holy Spirit, our Triune God is working all things together for their mommy's good and His glory - and by extension, their good too.
So here's what I told our girls last night to apply what they'd heard in the life of Elijah (and again, it was a variation of what Ligon had preached, so go listen - it's an hour, but an hour worth your time):
"You know how mommy is sick, and that sometimes she's in the hospital?" Ayrie shook her head, and Naomi shoved a handful of rice in her mouth (gotta work on that one, Naomi), "And you know how when you pray for dinner and you pray to "God our Father?" Ayrie shook her head again, and Naomi was still stuffing her face. "Ok. And you know how daddy loves mommy? Well, God, mommy's Father in Heaven, loves her way more than daddy does. And He's got a plan to use mommy's sickness to glorify Himself, and to make mommy enjoy Him even more than she does now."
They may not completely understand now, but I want to plant the seed there and continue to water it, trusting our Father to give the growth. It may be that she will continue in her rebellion and grow to hate God because of an unrepentant heart, in which case I can praise God that He gave me the knowledge to teach my daughter the truth about who He is, though I will mourn my daughter's rebellion. But the flip side of that scares me more: gloss over the truth, which may be hard to understand, with rainbows and unicorns and cute puppies telling her that everything will be OK - and when things get as bad as they possibly could, be left with my hands in the air, full of broken promises, having provoked my daughters to sin against the Lord and be a cause for their rebellion. No thanks; I'll go with the former.
Relatedly, if this is the means by which God intends to be glorified in the salvation of my daughters as they learn that God is sovereign over suffering and sickness and uses those things for their good to His glory in Jesus Christ, then praise God for answering our prayer to raise up Godly girls for His kingdom. Amen.
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Without Complaining - Philippians 2:14 - 16
"14Do all things without grumbling or questioning, 15that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, 16holding fast to the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain."
It was hot, I was sweaty most of the time, the rides were long, the seats uncomfortable, and I couldn't hardly understand half of what anyone was saying - yet I woke up without fail at the crack of dawn to meet the Lord in prayer and in His Word to prepare for a joyous day of service and travel to people I didn't know and couldn't understand. And for the whole 10 days it was truly joyous. I was doing what I loved.
Fast forward to this week. It's back to the job Monday, back to the mundane, the comfortable, the busy, and the known and understood - and I can hardly crack open my eyes and slam the snooze button like a lifeline until the very minute I HAVE to get up and be to work on time. I haven't spent time with the Lord all week in His Word as I did in the foreign land. My heart is downcast and I'm complaining. In fact, just last night I was heartbroken to learn that my wife thought that I'd rather be away from her and my beloved daughter and in Honduras - this is how bad that sour attitude has been coming out.
Do I have a good excuse?
When I was in Honduras, I saw that the Lord does what He pleases, just like the Scripture says. I saw that it pleases the Lord to save people and conform them to His image. I saw that it pleases the Lord to exercise His grace in restoring one of His own who had fallen into sin. I saw that it pleases the Lord to teach His people to chew on the meat of His word and grow in holiness as they are conformed into the image of His Son, the Lord Jesus. I saw Him answer prayers to help us make the most of our time while we were there, and we completed what we came to do; He answered prayers to soften our hears, and soften the hearts of the Hondurans to receive the teaching we'd give them; He answered prayers to make us bold in sharing the Gospel, which many who had been timid did despite language barriers. In short, our Lord is not hindered by anyone or anything - just like the scripture says, He does what He pleases. What does this have to do with Philippians 2:14-16 and me complaining?
Philippians 2:14-16 commands us to do all things without grumbling or questioning (both imply a negative sense). "But my life is so busy and mundane here! I wasn't hindered there like I am here, and I did what I loved there - here I have to do what I need to do!" So? Has God somehow changed the way He operates just because I have to live life here in the USA? My Lord conforms the Hondurans - who have busy, mundane, need-to-do-this kind of lives like me - into the image of His Son amid and using all of those things to glorify Himself in all of those things - am I so arrogant to say that He is hindered by me? Certainly NOT! But isn't that exactly what I say when I walk according to my flesh and grumble, and not according to the Spirit, seeking love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control to the glory of Jesus Christ?
So, do I have any excuses at all? Seems like Jesus defeats them all. So what now? I repent. If I'm to be an approved workman, my heart's desire should be to seek the will of my Master over my own. And at the end of the day, my love should be for my Master, and not just the work I do, true?
It was hot, I was sweaty most of the time, the rides were long, the seats uncomfortable, and I couldn't hardly understand half of what anyone was saying - yet I woke up without fail at the crack of dawn to meet the Lord in prayer and in His Word to prepare for a joyous day of service and travel to people I didn't know and couldn't understand. And for the whole 10 days it was truly joyous. I was doing what I loved.
Fast forward to this week. It's back to the job Monday, back to the mundane, the comfortable, the busy, and the known and understood - and I can hardly crack open my eyes and slam the snooze button like a lifeline until the very minute I HAVE to get up and be to work on time. I haven't spent time with the Lord all week in His Word as I did in the foreign land. My heart is downcast and I'm complaining. In fact, just last night I was heartbroken to learn that my wife thought that I'd rather be away from her and my beloved daughter and in Honduras - this is how bad that sour attitude has been coming out.
Do I have a good excuse?
When I was in Honduras, I saw that the Lord does what He pleases, just like the Scripture says. I saw that it pleases the Lord to save people and conform them to His image. I saw that it pleases the Lord to exercise His grace in restoring one of His own who had fallen into sin. I saw that it pleases the Lord to teach His people to chew on the meat of His word and grow in holiness as they are conformed into the image of His Son, the Lord Jesus. I saw Him answer prayers to help us make the most of our time while we were there, and we completed what we came to do; He answered prayers to soften our hears, and soften the hearts of the Hondurans to receive the teaching we'd give them; He answered prayers to make us bold in sharing the Gospel, which many who had been timid did despite language barriers. In short, our Lord is not hindered by anyone or anything - just like the scripture says, He does what He pleases. What does this have to do with Philippians 2:14-16 and me complaining?
Philippians 2:14-16 commands us to do all things without grumbling or questioning (both imply a negative sense). "But my life is so busy and mundane here! I wasn't hindered there like I am here, and I did what I loved there - here I have to do what I need to do!" So? Has God somehow changed the way He operates just because I have to live life here in the USA? My Lord conforms the Hondurans - who have busy, mundane, need-to-do-this kind of lives like me - into the image of His Son amid and using all of those things to glorify Himself in all of those things - am I so arrogant to say that He is hindered by me? Certainly NOT! But isn't that exactly what I say when I walk according to my flesh and grumble, and not according to the Spirit, seeking love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control to the glory of Jesus Christ?
So, do I have any excuses at all? Seems like Jesus defeats them all. So what now? I repent. If I'm to be an approved workman, my heart's desire should be to seek the will of my Master over my own. And at the end of the day, my love should be for my Master, and not just the work I do, true?
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Approved Workmen - 2 Timothy 2:15
"15Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth."
While we were in Lemon (Lim - ohn') doing the first two-day conference on Hermeneutics (a five dollar word that means "how to study the Bible" - that's a Mr. Paul-ism so far as I know, although he may have gotten it from Neal Creecy) we had a pastor address us on a passage in 1 Peter 3 (and it's funny: Mr. Paul and I both thought that the scripture they were in reference to was about the doctrine of election, which usually causes a great deal of controversy, and would consume more time than we had to address the issue). The passage referred to women and had a mention about the way they dressed. The pastor said, convicted by what we had taught about looking at the Bible in context, that he had been teaching this scripture wrongly, and that he had not considered the verses before and after - focusing on the outward apparel of women instead of the inward holiness, which is what the thrust of that section of the Word is really about. The man confessed openly before a group of about 20 of his peers that he had done wrong - this man showed his heart's desire to be an approved workman. I'll explain what I mean.
In 2 Timothy 2, Paul tells Timothy in verse 15 to strive to be approved in God's sight as a workman. In the verses before and after, Paul is explaining and giving examples of what an approved workman seeks and looks like - he seeks holiness, righteousness, love, and peace, and looks like a good soldier serving his enlister, an athelete striving for the goal according to the rules of the race, and a hard-working farmer who will receive his due choice of first-crops - and also what the approved worker avoids - foolish arguments that cause controversies, quarrels about words that lead hearers astray, youthful passions, and anything dishonorable. The man who openly confessed that his teaching was wrong revealed a heart more concerned with handling the Word of God properly to the honor of his Lord and Master (and we can only serve one - and it will either be the Lord Jesus or something/someone else) than protecting his own honor - he wanted to do the will of His Master. Perhaps he taught in ignorance before, but he now held himself openly accountable before God and those peers - and it's my hope and hunch that the confession he gave will be followed through with repentance, as he listened intently to Frank Monteroso explain the context of that passage.
The Lord was working there in Honduras long before we showed up, pricking the hearts of His people and getting them ready to receive good training on how to handle His Word, and I'm so thankful that He let me see that and be apart of it. He didn't need us, but He decided to use us.
So now that I'm back home, it's my desire to be an approved workman who rightly handles the Word. I don't want to be teaching in ignorance when God has provided the means and the will for me to study His word (which would honestly amount to negligence - the difference is the act of will) - I've learned a valuable skill, and now I'm accountable for it, just like that pastor realized he was. I also want to encourage you who are Lifegroup leaders/leaders-in-training (like me) to read 2 Timothy 2 and see the implications is has on us who have a heart to teach the Word of the Lord - and let us do it in love for our Lord, our brothers/sisters, and the lost (our Christian family and our Adamic family).
While we were in Lemon (Lim - ohn') doing the first two-day conference on Hermeneutics (a five dollar word that means "how to study the Bible" - that's a Mr. Paul-ism so far as I know, although he may have gotten it from Neal Creecy) we had a pastor address us on a passage in 1 Peter 3 (and it's funny: Mr. Paul and I both thought that the scripture they were in reference to was about the doctrine of election, which usually causes a great deal of controversy, and would consume more time than we had to address the issue). The passage referred to women and had a mention about the way they dressed. The pastor said, convicted by what we had taught about looking at the Bible in context, that he had been teaching this scripture wrongly, and that he had not considered the verses before and after - focusing on the outward apparel of women instead of the inward holiness, which is what the thrust of that section of the Word is really about. The man confessed openly before a group of about 20 of his peers that he had done wrong - this man showed his heart's desire to be an approved workman. I'll explain what I mean.
In 2 Timothy 2, Paul tells Timothy in verse 15 to strive to be approved in God's sight as a workman. In the verses before and after, Paul is explaining and giving examples of what an approved workman seeks and looks like - he seeks holiness, righteousness, love, and peace, and looks like a good soldier serving his enlister, an athelete striving for the goal according to the rules of the race, and a hard-working farmer who will receive his due choice of first-crops - and also what the approved worker avoids - foolish arguments that cause controversies, quarrels about words that lead hearers astray, youthful passions, and anything dishonorable. The man who openly confessed that his teaching was wrong revealed a heart more concerned with handling the Word of God properly to the honor of his Lord and Master (and we can only serve one - and it will either be the Lord Jesus or something/someone else) than protecting his own honor - he wanted to do the will of His Master. Perhaps he taught in ignorance before, but he now held himself openly accountable before God and those peers - and it's my hope and hunch that the confession he gave will be followed through with repentance, as he listened intently to Frank Monteroso explain the context of that passage.
The Lord was working there in Honduras long before we showed up, pricking the hearts of His people and getting them ready to receive good training on how to handle His Word, and I'm so thankful that He let me see that and be apart of it. He didn't need us, but He decided to use us.
So now that I'm back home, it's my desire to be an approved workman who rightly handles the Word. I don't want to be teaching in ignorance when God has provided the means and the will for me to study His word (which would honestly amount to negligence - the difference is the act of will) - I've learned a valuable skill, and now I'm accountable for it, just like that pastor realized he was. I also want to encourage you who are Lifegroup leaders/leaders-in-training (like me) to read 2 Timothy 2 and see the implications is has on us who have a heart to teach the Word of the Lord - and let us do it in love for our Lord, our brothers/sisters, and the lost (our Christian family and our Adamic family).
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
The Aim of Our Charge - 1 Timothy 1:5
"5The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. 6Certain persons, by swerving from these, have wandered away into vain discussion, 7desiring to be teachers of the law, without understanding either what they are saying or the things about which they make confident assertions."
It seems like the first thing that the Lord did in me when I arrived in Honduras was set my aim right.
In my first quiet time on Friday morning in La Ceiba, what convicted me was verse 5. In the context of the book, Paul is warning Timothy about certain teachers who had "swerved away" from teaching out of love from a pure heart, good conscience, and sincere faith, and had swerved to teaching on genealogies and myths; thus promoting speculation rather that stewardship. What was so convicting about this scripture was that I had done this very thing. Rather than making my aim love, my aim was information exchange, and so I became a clanging cymbal rather than an instrument of the beautiful message of the Gospel. I repented and was determined to have my aim be love from the appropriate charge, and I sought the Lord daily in light of this scripture; this set the tone for how I would serve the rest of the trip.
In Lemon, the first town we served at, I saw this scripture in action. John Edmonds, whom I have grown to love deeply in the Lord as though he was my own blood brother, had planned a sermon to preach that night to the company in the Baptist Church in Lemon. But after worship, as he got up to preach, he instead told the people that he would address them as brothers and sisters rather than a congregation to be preached at - that he would encourage them in love. He talked to them like a father and a brother, encouraging them from the book of James to resist temptation, and explained what temptation is. When it was done, I was greatly encouraged myself because I saw practically how someone looks when they speak with the aim of love from a pure heart, clean conscience, and sincere faith.
With the conviction of scripture and the physical example laid before me, my heart changed from desiring to merely exchange good information, to desiring to see those whom I shared with to be conformed to Jesus, reproved of sin, and taught the truth of the Word of God. I addressed the congregation at the Church ouside of Lemon pastored by a wonderful brother in the Lord, Modesto (whom I will write of soon), as my mothers, elders, brothers, and sisters as I expounded on Isaiah 6 and the majesty of the Lord as revealed to Isaiah. My aim was love, and although there was a bit of work to be done concerning the way I communicated (another post coming soon), that is what I delivered to them, with the help of Frank Monteroso who translated for me (and bless his heart, I gave him a time that night). The difference wasn't the information, but the aim of my heart, and that is the point of this post.
2 Timothy 2:15 tells us that we are to seek to be approved workmen who aren't ashamed and who handle the word of truth accurately. The apostle Paul said elswhere that if he knew all mysteries but lacked love, he'd be nothing more than a resounding gong, a clanging cymbal, much like I was for awhile there. If the aim of our charge is simply to convey information, the only thing we'll strike at is the mind, and while the mind DOES need to be renewed, only filling the mind will puff us up and make us arrogant. But when the aim of our charge is Godly love, given from a pure heart - made pure by the Lord, because He is the ONLY one able to purify the heart - a good conscience yeilded to Christ, and a sincere faith in the Lord, we may manage to strike at the heart by the ministry of the Spirit of God through that Word we preach. And isn't that what makes a workman approved - to seek the will of His master over his own will?
Oh, and here's a freebie: notice the series in 1 Timothy 1:5 - love from a pure heart (begins at the seat of the will), good conscience (since only God is good, a conscience that is good has been submissive to the will of God, which begins in a man's heart as the man's will is conformed to God's will), and a sincere faith (the heart, mind, and soul working in one accord, humbly submitted to the Lord Jesus Christ).
It seems like the first thing that the Lord did in me when I arrived in Honduras was set my aim right.
In my first quiet time on Friday morning in La Ceiba, what convicted me was verse 5. In the context of the book, Paul is warning Timothy about certain teachers who had "swerved away" from teaching out of love from a pure heart, good conscience, and sincere faith, and had swerved to teaching on genealogies and myths; thus promoting speculation rather that stewardship. What was so convicting about this scripture was that I had done this very thing. Rather than making my aim love, my aim was information exchange, and so I became a clanging cymbal rather than an instrument of the beautiful message of the Gospel. I repented and was determined to have my aim be love from the appropriate charge, and I sought the Lord daily in light of this scripture; this set the tone for how I would serve the rest of the trip.
In Lemon, the first town we served at, I saw this scripture in action. John Edmonds, whom I have grown to love deeply in the Lord as though he was my own blood brother, had planned a sermon to preach that night to the company in the Baptist Church in Lemon. But after worship, as he got up to preach, he instead told the people that he would address them as brothers and sisters rather than a congregation to be preached at - that he would encourage them in love. He talked to them like a father and a brother, encouraging them from the book of James to resist temptation, and explained what temptation is. When it was done, I was greatly encouraged myself because I saw practically how someone looks when they speak with the aim of love from a pure heart, clean conscience, and sincere faith.
With the conviction of scripture and the physical example laid before me, my heart changed from desiring to merely exchange good information, to desiring to see those whom I shared with to be conformed to Jesus, reproved of sin, and taught the truth of the Word of God. I addressed the congregation at the Church ouside of Lemon pastored by a wonderful brother in the Lord, Modesto (whom I will write of soon), as my mothers, elders, brothers, and sisters as I expounded on Isaiah 6 and the majesty of the Lord as revealed to Isaiah. My aim was love, and although there was a bit of work to be done concerning the way I communicated (another post coming soon), that is what I delivered to them, with the help of Frank Monteroso who translated for me (and bless his heart, I gave him a time that night). The difference wasn't the information, but the aim of my heart, and that is the point of this post.
2 Timothy 2:15 tells us that we are to seek to be approved workmen who aren't ashamed and who handle the word of truth accurately. The apostle Paul said elswhere that if he knew all mysteries but lacked love, he'd be nothing more than a resounding gong, a clanging cymbal, much like I was for awhile there. If the aim of our charge is simply to convey information, the only thing we'll strike at is the mind, and while the mind DOES need to be renewed, only filling the mind will puff us up and make us arrogant. But when the aim of our charge is Godly love, given from a pure heart - made pure by the Lord, because He is the ONLY one able to purify the heart - a good conscience yeilded to Christ, and a sincere faith in the Lord, we may manage to strike at the heart by the ministry of the Spirit of God through that Word we preach. And isn't that what makes a workman approved - to seek the will of His master over his own will?
Oh, and here's a freebie: notice the series in 1 Timothy 1:5 - love from a pure heart (begins at the seat of the will), good conscience (since only God is good, a conscience that is good has been submissive to the will of God, which begins in a man's heart as the man's will is conformed to God's will), and a sincere faith (the heart, mind, and soul working in one accord, humbly submitted to the Lord Jesus Christ).
Saturday, July 10, 2010
Job 1
Dr. David Jeremiah was preaching this morning on the book of Job, and he recounted the conversation that went on between God and Satan.
Scripture: Job 1:6-12:
Observations:
The scripture gives a view of what's going on in heaven. The angelic beings are presenting themselves before God Almighty, and He demands from them an accounting - and Satan is among them. In V7 the Lord asks Satan where he's been to which he gives a very general answer (and an almost smug one too). From the context of the conversation, it seems like God reveals Satan's true business - and the fact that nothing is hidden from God's eyes, even in wicked Satan - with His question about Job, and if Satan had been considering him.
Of course Satan had considered Job, and he had considered him a great deal from what is revealed in Satan's answer to God. The Devil is the accuser of the brethren, and he had attacked Job from every side he could (V10a); he loathed Job's worship of the Lord and accused him of falsehood (and implied that God had been blind to it, therefore accusing God of being naive and calling into question His sovereignty - which ironically God was putting on display by revealing Satan's true intentions) (V9); he loathed God's blessing and reward on Job's life (V10b) - he was a roaring lion who desired to devour Job and all he had. But he could not see that Job's heart belonged to the Lord God, and thought that Job's worship was a result of God's blessing on Job's life.
God's character and Job's integrity are exonerated in V20-22, in that Job's response to his suffering is to worship God and to praise Him. Job is filled with anguish (he tears his robe and shaves his head), a real anguish over great loss - so he's not ignoring the pain. Instead he meets it head-on in the only proper way - he worships God who allowed the affliction (which Job knows, as he says that it is God who gives and takes away). Job doesn't even consider that he has done anything to warrant this affliction, nor does he consider that Satan might have done it - he praises God for giving and taking away. Job worships the Sovereign God whose prerogative it is to give whatever He pleases to whomever He pleases, and take it away without explanation or warning - and he says "God you are good! What You do is good!"
Application:
Job's heart was centered on worship to the Lord, which we are privied to in the opening verses of the book - that God considered him to be a righteous man, and we see that heart dedicated to sacrifice and prayer not only for himself but for his kids too. In these opening verses, I see the outer working of an inner working of God in Job's life that I long for.
I remember a man once told me that when his newborn son was looking to be on his deathbed that he looked to this book and, like Job, although the pain of loosing his son was very real, he decided that he would worship the Lord God because He is God and not for what God did for him. Amen.
That's what I want to be my application point for this section of Scripture, as well as in light of the whole of Scripture. I want to know my God and Lord Jesus Christ, not just know about Him. I've heard it said that what we learn about God is the means to the end of KNOWING Him, and elsewhere that what good is it if I know Greek and Hebrew but don't know Him. I want to know and worship Him in the way He has prescribed (in spirit and in truth) because He is God and He is worthy.
I also don't want to forget that Satan will pursue and assail me, but that he is limited by the Lord God - so that in Christ Jesus I can withstand all temptations, and I can walk by the Spirit of God and not by my flesh.
Scripture: Job 1:6-12:
Observations:
The scripture gives a view of what's going on in heaven. The angelic beings are presenting themselves before God Almighty, and He demands from them an accounting - and Satan is among them. In V7 the Lord asks Satan where he's been to which he gives a very general answer (and an almost smug one too). From the context of the conversation, it seems like God reveals Satan's true business - and the fact that nothing is hidden from God's eyes, even in wicked Satan - with His question about Job, and if Satan had been considering him.
Of course Satan had considered Job, and he had considered him a great deal from what is revealed in Satan's answer to God. The Devil is the accuser of the brethren, and he had attacked Job from every side he could (V10a); he loathed Job's worship of the Lord and accused him of falsehood (and implied that God had been blind to it, therefore accusing God of being naive and calling into question His sovereignty - which ironically God was putting on display by revealing Satan's true intentions) (V9); he loathed God's blessing and reward on Job's life (V10b) - he was a roaring lion who desired to devour Job and all he had. But he could not see that Job's heart belonged to the Lord God, and thought that Job's worship was a result of God's blessing on Job's life.
God's character and Job's integrity are exonerated in V20-22, in that Job's response to his suffering is to worship God and to praise Him. Job is filled with anguish (he tears his robe and shaves his head), a real anguish over great loss - so he's not ignoring the pain. Instead he meets it head-on in the only proper way - he worships God who allowed the affliction (which Job knows, as he says that it is God who gives and takes away). Job doesn't even consider that he has done anything to warrant this affliction, nor does he consider that Satan might have done it - he praises God for giving and taking away. Job worships the Sovereign God whose prerogative it is to give whatever He pleases to whomever He pleases, and take it away without explanation or warning - and he says "God you are good! What You do is good!"
Application:
Job's heart was centered on worship to the Lord, which we are privied to in the opening verses of the book - that God considered him to be a righteous man, and we see that heart dedicated to sacrifice and prayer not only for himself but for his kids too. In these opening verses, I see the outer working of an inner working of God in Job's life that I long for.
I remember a man once told me that when his newborn son was looking to be on his deathbed that he looked to this book and, like Job, although the pain of loosing his son was very real, he decided that he would worship the Lord God because He is God and not for what God did for him. Amen.
That's what I want to be my application point for this section of Scripture, as well as in light of the whole of Scripture. I want to know my God and Lord Jesus Christ, not just know about Him. I've heard it said that what we learn about God is the means to the end of KNOWING Him, and elsewhere that what good is it if I know Greek and Hebrew but don't know Him. I want to know and worship Him in the way He has prescribed (in spirit and in truth) because He is God and He is worthy.
I also don't want to forget that Satan will pursue and assail me, but that he is limited by the Lord God - so that in Christ Jesus I can withstand all temptations, and I can walk by the Spirit of God and not by my flesh.
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Ezekiel 33 SOAP Bible Study
Woke up at 4:45 this morning and had an hour of study in Ezekiel 33 using the SOAP method (S - scripture; O - observation; A - application; P - prayer).
S - Ezekiel 33:1-20
1The word of the LORD came to me: 2(A) "Son of man, speak to(B) your people and say to them, If(C) I bring the sword upon a land, and the people of the land take a man from among them, and make him their(D) watchman, 3and if he sees the sword coming upon the land and(E) blows the trumpet and warns the people, 4then if anyone who hears the sound of the trumpet does not take warning, and the sword comes and takes him away,(F) his blood shall be upon his own head. 5(G) He heard the sound of the trumpet and did not take warning; his blood shall be upon himself. But if he had taken warning, he would have saved his life. 6(H) But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet, so that the people are not warned, and the sword comes and takes any one of them, that person is taken away in his iniquity, but his blood I will require at the watchman’s hand.
7(I) "So you,(J) son of man, I have made a watchman for the house of Israel. Whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you shall give them warning from me. 8(K) If I say to the wicked, O wicked one, you shall surely die, and you do not speak to warn the wicked to turn from his way, that wicked person shall die in his iniquity, but his blood I will require at your hand. 9(L) But if you warn the wicked to turn from his way, and he does not turn from his way,(M) that person shall die in his iniquity, but you will have delivered your soul.
Why Will You Die, Israel? 10"And you,(N) son of man, say to the house of Israel, Thus have you said: 'Surely our transgressions and our sins are upon us, and(O) we rot away because of them.(P) How then can we live?' 11Say to them,(Q) As I live, declares the Lord GOD,(R) I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live;(S) turn back, turn back from your evil ways, for why will you die, O house of Israel?
12(T) "And you, son of man, say to(U) your people,(V) The righteousness of the righteous shall not deliver him when he transgresses,(W) and as for the wickedness of the wicked, he shall not fall by it when he turns from his wickedness, and the righteous shall not be able to live by his righteousness[a] when he sins. 13Though I say to the righteous that he shall surely live, yet(X) if he trusts in his righteousness and does injustice, none of his righteous deeds shall be remembered, but in his injustice that he has done he shall die. 14Again,(Y) though I say to the wicked,(Z) 'You shall surely die,' yet(AA) if he turns from his sin and does what is just and right, 15if the wicked(AB) restores the pledge,(AC) gives back what he has taken by robbery, and walks(AD) in the statutes of life, not doing injustice, he shall surely live; he shall not die. 16(AE) None of the sins that he has committed shall be remembered against him. He has done what is just and right; he shall surely live.
17"Yet(AF) your people say,(AG) 'The way of the Lord is not just,' when it is their own way that is not just. 18(AH) When the righteous turns from his righteousness and does injustice, he shall die for it. 19And(AI) when the wicked turns from his wickedness and does what is just and right, he shall live by this. 20Yet you say, 'The way of the Lord is not just.' O house of Israel,(AJ) I will judge each of you according to his ways." ESV from http://www.biblegateway.com/
Key verses: vv11, 12
"Say unto them, 'As I live,' saith the Lord God, 'I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wiched turn from his ways and live; turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways, for why will you die, O house of Israel?' Therefore, thou son of man, say unto the children of thy people, 'The righteousness of the righteous shall not deliver him in the day of his transgressions; as for the wickedness of the wicked, he shall not fall in the day that he turneth from his wickedness; neither shall the righteous be able to live for his righteousness in the day that he sinneth.'" KJV
O - Ezekiel was a prophet of the Lord. God gave him an object lesson to take to the people concerning wickness and righteousness - and first He gave an object lesson to Ezekiel. Just as a watchman is placed in a tower and is responsible to warn the people of coming judgement, so Ezekiel was responsible to warn the people of God's coming judgement upon Israel. And this was God's judgement to them: The righteousness of the righteous does them no good when they sin, and the wickedness of the wicked is forgotten when they turn away from it. In verse 10 Ezekiel is commanded to ask the question, "If our transgressions and our sins be upon us, and we pine away in them, how should we then live?" To which God answers them directly that He has no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that they should, "turn ye, turn ye " from their wicked ways and asks them in turn, "Why will you die, O house of Israel?" - why will you choose to die in your wickedness? He then spells out his charge against them - that the so called "righteous" and the wicked are all condemned in the same boat if they sin. Who among us hasn't? He speaks three times to the wicked, describes the physical signs of inward repentance from sin, and the promise that they shall live. But he speaks FOUR times to the "righteous" who turn to sin, and outlines this point in verse 13 - If I say to the righteous, that they shall surely live; IF HE TRUST IN HIS OWN RIGHTEOUSNESS and COMMITS INIQUITY all of his righteousness SHALL NOT BE REMEMBERED. God paints a very clear picture that the very moment we trust in our own right ways, we WILL sin; and therefore are counted with the wicked. He concludes by telling Israel that He will judge them "everyone after his ways".
A - I have to ask myself the question - has there been any time in my life since Jesus Christ saved me that I have trusted in my own righteousness - YES. I can think back to a week or so ago that I plainly did. That is sin against the Lord. By His grace He said, "Webster you shall live", but because I have a righteousness that God looks at and says, "That boy deserves my love and my life - look a the merit he has accomplished." NO! Instead He says, "Look at that rebel - he is a transgressor and a sinner; an enemy of mine. But because I loved the world so much and sent my Son Jesus Christ to die for transgressors and justify them by raising Him from death - for THAT merit Webster shall live. So 'turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways' Webster Hunt, 'for why shall you die?'" It is by His goodness through Jesus that I live, move, and breathe. My application to this scripture is, I think, two parted. 1) repent from my self-righteous ways and trust only in the righteousness of Jesus given to me by God's grace. 2) warn others that God will judge every one by his ways, just as He did Israel. We will either follow the way of man - which is self-righteousness, sin, and death; or the WAY who is Jesus Christ - which is self-denying, God praising, forgiving, and life.
P - Lord please give me the grace to live by Your righteousness, and not to trust in anything I perceive in myself as "good works" outside of what You've done in me. Please forgive my self-righteous ways in the past, and thank you that you cry out to us "turn ye, turn ye", and take no pleasure in the death of the wicked. Give me the boldness and the grace to tell others in care and concern for their postition with you through Jesus Christ.
S - Ezekiel 33:1-20
1The word of the LORD came to me: 2(A) "Son of man, speak to(B) your people and say to them, If(C) I bring the sword upon a land, and the people of the land take a man from among them, and make him their(D) watchman, 3and if he sees the sword coming upon the land and(E) blows the trumpet and warns the people, 4then if anyone who hears the sound of the trumpet does not take warning, and the sword comes and takes him away,(F) his blood shall be upon his own head. 5(G) He heard the sound of the trumpet and did not take warning; his blood shall be upon himself. But if he had taken warning, he would have saved his life. 6(H) But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet, so that the people are not warned, and the sword comes and takes any one of them, that person is taken away in his iniquity, but his blood I will require at the watchman’s hand.
7(I) "So you,(J) son of man, I have made a watchman for the house of Israel. Whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you shall give them warning from me. 8(K) If I say to the wicked, O wicked one, you shall surely die, and you do not speak to warn the wicked to turn from his way, that wicked person shall die in his iniquity, but his blood I will require at your hand. 9(L) But if you warn the wicked to turn from his way, and he does not turn from his way,(M) that person shall die in his iniquity, but you will have delivered your soul.
Why Will You Die, Israel? 10"And you,(N) son of man, say to the house of Israel, Thus have you said: 'Surely our transgressions and our sins are upon us, and(O) we rot away because of them.(P) How then can we live?' 11Say to them,(Q) As I live, declares the Lord GOD,(R) I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live;(S) turn back, turn back from your evil ways, for why will you die, O house of Israel?
12(T) "And you, son of man, say to(U) your people,(V) The righteousness of the righteous shall not deliver him when he transgresses,(W) and as for the wickedness of the wicked, he shall not fall by it when he turns from his wickedness, and the righteous shall not be able to live by his righteousness[a] when he sins. 13Though I say to the righteous that he shall surely live, yet(X) if he trusts in his righteousness and does injustice, none of his righteous deeds shall be remembered, but in his injustice that he has done he shall die. 14Again,(Y) though I say to the wicked,(Z) 'You shall surely die,' yet(AA) if he turns from his sin and does what is just and right, 15if the wicked(AB) restores the pledge,(AC) gives back what he has taken by robbery, and walks(AD) in the statutes of life, not doing injustice, he shall surely live; he shall not die. 16(AE) None of the sins that he has committed shall be remembered against him. He has done what is just and right; he shall surely live.
17"Yet(AF) your people say,(AG) 'The way of the Lord is not just,' when it is their own way that is not just. 18(AH) When the righteous turns from his righteousness and does injustice, he shall die for it. 19And(AI) when the wicked turns from his wickedness and does what is just and right, he shall live by this. 20Yet you say, 'The way of the Lord is not just.' O house of Israel,(AJ) I will judge each of you according to his ways." ESV from http://www.biblegateway.com/
Key verses: vv11, 12
"Say unto them, 'As I live,' saith the Lord God, 'I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wiched turn from his ways and live; turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways, for why will you die, O house of Israel?' Therefore, thou son of man, say unto the children of thy people, 'The righteousness of the righteous shall not deliver him in the day of his transgressions; as for the wickedness of the wicked, he shall not fall in the day that he turneth from his wickedness; neither shall the righteous be able to live for his righteousness in the day that he sinneth.'" KJV
O - Ezekiel was a prophet of the Lord. God gave him an object lesson to take to the people concerning wickness and righteousness - and first He gave an object lesson to Ezekiel. Just as a watchman is placed in a tower and is responsible to warn the people of coming judgement, so Ezekiel was responsible to warn the people of God's coming judgement upon Israel. And this was God's judgement to them: The righteousness of the righteous does them no good when they sin, and the wickedness of the wicked is forgotten when they turn away from it. In verse 10 Ezekiel is commanded to ask the question, "If our transgressions and our sins be upon us, and we pine away in them, how should we then live?" To which God answers them directly that He has no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that they should, "turn ye, turn ye " from their wicked ways and asks them in turn, "Why will you die, O house of Israel?" - why will you choose to die in your wickedness? He then spells out his charge against them - that the so called "righteous" and the wicked are all condemned in the same boat if they sin. Who among us hasn't? He speaks three times to the wicked, describes the physical signs of inward repentance from sin, and the promise that they shall live. But he speaks FOUR times to the "righteous" who turn to sin, and outlines this point in verse 13 - If I say to the righteous, that they shall surely live; IF HE TRUST IN HIS OWN RIGHTEOUSNESS and COMMITS INIQUITY all of his righteousness SHALL NOT BE REMEMBERED. God paints a very clear picture that the very moment we trust in our own right ways, we WILL sin; and therefore are counted with the wicked. He concludes by telling Israel that He will judge them "everyone after his ways".
A - I have to ask myself the question - has there been any time in my life since Jesus Christ saved me that I have trusted in my own righteousness - YES. I can think back to a week or so ago that I plainly did. That is sin against the Lord. By His grace He said, "Webster you shall live", but because I have a righteousness that God looks at and says, "That boy deserves my love and my life - look a the merit he has accomplished." NO! Instead He says, "Look at that rebel - he is a transgressor and a sinner; an enemy of mine. But because I loved the world so much and sent my Son Jesus Christ to die for transgressors and justify them by raising Him from death - for THAT merit Webster shall live. So 'turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways' Webster Hunt, 'for why shall you die?'" It is by His goodness through Jesus that I live, move, and breathe. My application to this scripture is, I think, two parted. 1) repent from my self-righteous ways and trust only in the righteousness of Jesus given to me by God's grace. 2) warn others that God will judge every one by his ways, just as He did Israel. We will either follow the way of man - which is self-righteousness, sin, and death; or the WAY who is Jesus Christ - which is self-denying, God praising, forgiving, and life.
P - Lord please give me the grace to live by Your righteousness, and not to trust in anything I perceive in myself as "good works" outside of what You've done in me. Please forgive my self-righteous ways in the past, and thank you that you cry out to us "turn ye, turn ye", and take no pleasure in the death of the wicked. Give me the boldness and the grace to tell others in care and concern for their postition with you through Jesus Christ.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
