Colin S. Smith's Blog, page 55

Three Things Every Christian With Influence Should Know

I want you to meet Obadiah. He has influence. He serves as King Ahab’s chief of staff. Remember that Ahab did more evil in the sight of God than all the kings who came before him (1 Kings 16:30). And Ahab was husband to Jezebel, who “cut off the prophets of the Lord” (1 Kings 18:4). She launched a campaign of persecution and terror against those who spoke the word of God publicly. This campaign was run from the palace.

Imagine the darkness of this palace with its evil king and its wicked queen. If you have a difficult boss, imagine what it would have been like to work for Ahab! If you find that your work puts you in the middle of difficult ethical decisions, imagine what that was like for Obadiah! 

My aim is to encourage every Christian who has been called by God to serve in a dark place. The Bible speaks to every circumstance of life and the surprising testimony of Obadiah will help you today. 

I want to especially encourage younger people, as you ask the question: “What is the best that I can do for my God?” Don’t shy away from positions of influence because they are difficult. God calls his people to be lights in very dark places.

Other Biblical Examples

God puts his people in places of influence for purposes of grace. You find this all through the Bible: 

Think about Joseph: God puts him at the right hand of Pharaoh in the court of Egypt—not a comfortable place for any believer. But through Joseph, food was supplied for the family of God. Who but God would have thought of that! 

Think about Esther: God put her in the court of King Ahasuerus. It’s hard to imagine the pressures this godly woman must have been under. But through her, God’s people would be delivered from a holocaust. 

Think about Daniel: God put him in the court of Nebuchadnezzar. Imagine how difficult that was! Yet it was all in the good purpose of God. 

If you are in this position of influence in your own life, here are three things you need to know: 

Expect to Be Troubled 

“In this world you will have trouble.” (John 16:33) 

In any career you will find yourself torn because you are in the world but not of it. This world is not your home. So you are serving where you do not belong in a system that will pass away. That will always cause tension.

When you feel pressure to withdraw from your profession because it’s a dark place, please remember—God calls Obadiah’s as well as Elijah’s. He puts his light in some dark places because that’s where it’s needed most. 

The best that Obadiah can do for his God is to stand firm and stay right where God had placed him, with all its difficulties, limitations, and questions of conscience that he experiences. 

The steadfastness of Obadiah is a great means of preserving the witness of God, and it’s a warning against Christian withdrawal from the world. 

Expect to Be Misunderstood 

It is fascinating to me that some writers take a very negative view of Obadiah. They think: Elijah is the hero, Ahab is the villain, and Obadiah is the compromiser. What use is a compromiser?

Some of you may feel the same way about Obadiah. But the Bible says nothing against him, so why should you? Scripture tells us that Obadiah “feared the Lord greatly” (1 Kings 18:3) that he took a great risk to save the lives of 100 prophets, and that he played an important role in bringing Ahab to Elijah. 

Obadiah was a godly man. He might have hoped for some encouragement from Elijah, whom he obviously revered. Perhaps Elijah would thank him for what he had done at great risk to his own life in saving the lives of the 100 prophets. But Elijah shows no warmth to him at all. There is no recognition that these men are on the same side. 

Some Christians have it in for anyone who is given a trusted position at a high level, whether it be in the world of business, politics, and increasingly in the church. 

If God calls you to be an inside influencer, expect to be misunderstood. When other Christians don’t understand your influence, remember you’re not accountable to them. You’re accountable to God. So don’t be surprised or discouraged. Don’t think, “Something must be wrong with me.” 

Trust God to Keep You 

As the Lord of hosts lives, I will surely show myself to him today. (1 Kings 18:14) 

Obadiah’s great fear is that when he brings Ahab back, Elijah will be long gone. Obadiah has to trust the Word of God, just like the widow of Zarephath, and God proves faithful to his Word. 

How could Obadiah survive in the spiritually stifling world of Ahab’s palace? God can keep you wherever he has placed you. Spurgeon says: 

 “Grace can live where you would never expect it to survive for one hour.” [1] 

That’s true in a secular university, as it is true in the world of business and politics. God protected the soul of this faithful man who served in the cesspool that was Ahab’s palace.

He can do the same for you. 

This article was adapted from Pastor Colin Smith’s sermon “Your Work Matters More Than You Think” in his series, The Surprising Influence of a Godly Life.



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Key Connections: A New Documentary on Puritan Theology, and more…

Here are my favorite quotes from key Christian articles around the web, including a new documentary about the Puritans, ways you might be tempted to drift from the Gospel, and more!

Three Ways You Might Drift from The Gospel (Colin Smith, Unlocking the Bible)

Jesus died for sins in order that there might be a change in us. He bore our sins so that we might die to sins. The our whose sins Jesus carried is the we who die to sin and live to righteousness. This is very different from the casual confidence that says, “Jesus died, so I’m ok!” 

The Bible Belongs to Every Age (Stephen Nichols, Ligonier Ministries)

As Edwards noted, the Bible belongs to every age. It is not simply the true Word for the first century. It is not simply the authoritative Word for the first century. It is not simply the necessary Word for the first century. It is not simply the sufficient Word for the first century.

It is the true, authoritative, necessary, clear, and sufficient Word for all centuries, including the twenty-first

The Irony of Holding a Grudge (K. V. Paxton, For the Church)

Putting aside for a moment the graceless and gospel-less problems in holding a grudge, we will actually find, ironically, that the one who is harmed when we hold a grudge is not the one we are holding the grudge against. Rather, when we think we are executing some kind of justice by holding a grudge, we actually harm ourselves more than we harm the object of our disdain (again, set aside the massive problems in wanting someone to be “harmed” for a moment).

Three Ways to Make War on Your Sin (Jacob Leeming, TGC Canda)

Paul argues here that sanctification (the process of becoming more like Jesus) happens by the power of the Spirit as believers behold Christ!

On a practical level, what this means for us is that the way to overcoming sinful habits and desires is not merely about self-control. It is filling our minds with a deeper understanding of our Savior. It is fixing our eyes on the “founder and perfecter of our faith” (Heb. 12:2) and then running the race that is set before us in the strength that He supplies. 

‘PURITAN: All of Life to the Glory of God’—An Upcoming Documentary (Posted by Justin Taylor, TGC)

This is not a quote I want to share, but rather a video trailer of an upcoming feature-length documentary. Please take a look!

Psalm 30 Shows Us God’s Rescuing Power

Thankfulness is one of those topics where there’s almost universal agreement, between both Christians and non-Christians, that it’s good to be thankful. Even though we know how important it is to give thanks, we’re still faced with the reality that giving thanks can be hard. 

It’s hard to sort out the good from all of the bad we see in the world. It’s much easier to grumble, complain, or simply lose hope. We know that we should be thankful, but we’re often left asking the question: How? How can we be thankful people when our world is so broken? 

There is much we can learn from Psalm 30, where we see David giving thanks and praise for God’s rescue. 

God Rescues from Death 

I will extol you, O Lord, for you have drawn me up 
and have not let my foes rejoice over me. 
O Lord my God, I cried to you for help, 
  and you have healed me. 
O Lord, you have brought up my soul from Sheol; 
 you restored me to life from among those who go down to the pit.
(Psalm 30:1-3)

In these first three verses, we see that God has moved in David’s life. We don’t know exactly what has happened, but David speaks powerfully about the work the Lord has done to rescue him. And in speaking about God’s rescue, David emphasizes what he has been rescued from. 

In verse 3, David twice mentions that if God hadn’t moved, he would be in the grave. David is saying, “God’s rescuing work is the difference between life and death.” 

And this is important to point out because it shows that David understands the significance of his rescue. The good news of God’s rescue is magnified by understanding the bad news. 

In a similar way, as we desire to be thankful people, it’s important for us to think about the spiritual reality of what was true of us without Christ, before God rescued us. The Bible has lots to say about our spiritual reality before Christ. It says that we were darkened in our understanding, alienated from God, unclean, unrighteous, evil, and hostile towards God. 

When we are tempted to get caught up in the circumstances of day-to-day life, this eternal perspective drives us to thankfulness. 

God Rescues into His Eternal Favor 

Sing praises to the Lord, O you his saints, 
   and give thanks to his holy name. 
For his anger is but for a moment, 
and his favor is for a lifetime. 
Weeping may tarry for the night, 
    but joy comes with the morning. (Psalm 30:4-5)

Verse 5 mentions God’s anger and the reality of weeping still on this earth. What exactly is this doing in a psalm of thanks? 

This is the reality of living in a fallen world that is tainted by sin. Even as believers, we still receive God’s discipline as he corrects our sinful ways. And we know all too well that weeping will come in this life, suffering is inevitable, and pain is real.  

Yet, David’s focus is on eternity. He knows that God’s anger towards his saints is temporary, but his favor is eternal. And while weeping may last the night, joy will come with the morning.

In Christ, we have also received God’s eternal favor, on an even greater scale. We weren’t just close to death, we were dead and were brought back to life. And in this new life, we are promised riches that are beyond measure because we will be found in Christ.  

We should let this stir our souls to thankfulness, just like David. Even when cynicism seems to rule in our hearts, when we’re tempted to ruminate on our despair, remember that you have been given the free gift of God’s eternal favor.  

The darkness won’t endure. Your circumstances won’t last forever. God’s promises will. 

God Rescues By His Mercy 

As for me, I said in my prosperity, 
    “I shall never be moved.” 
By your favor, O Lord, 
you made my mountain stand strong; 
you hid your face; 
    I was dismayed. 
To you, O Lord, I cry, 
   and to the Lord I plead for mercy: 
“What profit is there in my death,  
if I go down to the pit?  
Will the dust praise you? 
   Will it tell of your faithfulness? 
Hear, O Lord, and be merciful to me!
   O Lord, be my helper!”  (Psalm 30:6-10)

David begins to talk about a specific season where he was in need of God’s rescue. David was in a season of prosperity, but instead of giving God the credit, David becomes prideful. And then, God withdrew, leaving David dismayed. 

David does the only thing he knows how to do. He cries out to God for help. Though David reasons with God, he knows the only way God will rescue him is by his mercy. 

David knows that his sin is worthy of punishment. It was a rebellion against a holy God, so he deserves to die. And as he recalls God’s rescue in this specific instance, he knows that God has only acted because of his great mercy. 

And this mirrors the same mercy that we have received from God in Christ. In our state of spiritual deadness, we deserved eternal punishment. But God, being rich in mercy, withheld the punishment that we rightly deserved because Jesus took the punishment on our behalf. 

Let this truth lead you to thankfulness. 

When you feel overwhelmed by sin, let the Holy Spirit lead you to remember God’s great mercy. Your sins were eternally paid for on the cross. 

God’s Rescue Leads to Weighty & Lasting Thankfulness

You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; 
you have loosed my sackcloth 
   and clothed me with gladness, 
that my glory may sing your praise and not be silent. 
    O Lord my God, I will give thanks to you forever! (Psalm 30:11-12)

David recalls God’s great rescue, and now, we see the thankfulness that it produces. His mourning has become dancing. His sackcloth has been exchanged for gladness. 

I want to point out two defining attributes of David’s thankfulness in these verses:

1.) David’s thankfulness is weighty. This isn’t the kind of thanks that’s given with normal circumstantial changes. In verse 12, David uses the phrase “my glory” to refer to his deepest, innermost being, his soul. This is one of the strongest ways of saying that David understands the gravity of his rescue. 

2.) David’s thankfulness is lasting. David ends Psalm 30 by saying “I will give thanks to you forever!” His thanks won’t end tomorrow, it won’t end in a year, it won’t even end on the last day of his life. It will go on for eternity. 

As you reflect on how to give weighty and lasting thanks to God in a dark world, don’t miss how closely David’s rescue mirrors how Christ rescued you. 

God rescued you from death by sending Jesus to die in your place. God rescued you into his eternal favor by freely giving you Christ’s righteousness.

And God rescued you by his mercy because of his great love for you.

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Why Godly Parents Should Imitate Jonathan Edwards

Words filled with biblical truth spoken into an air of uncertainty must be among the most agonizing parents can deliver to a child. Will children receive the Scriptures as foolishness or as the wisdom of God (1 Corinthians 1:18)? The answer is not always known.

As parents, if closeness with our children were the only aim when they approach us with their fears and pains, we might restrict our replies to: “God is near. He is with you” or “God aches with you.” I find momentous biblical truth about the character of God in each of these replies (Hebrews 13:5; Lamentations 3:32-33).

Yet, when in self-sacrificial love for our children we prioritize their relationships with God over and above their relationships with us, more biblical counsel emerges. This counsel potentially puts the parent-child relationship at risk for the sake of their good (Matthew 19:29) and sends us in prayer toward a God who draws people to himself.

Jonathan Edwards and His Daughter, Esther

Jonathan Edwards offered this kind of self-sacrificial love
to his daughter, Esther. He wrote the following words to her when she was ill.
His words meet the reality of the world’s sorrows:

I would not have you think that any strange thing has happened to you in this affliction: ‘Tis according to the course of things in this world, that after the world’s smiles, some great affliction soon comes.[1]  

He counsels her to make the time of illness useful within
her spirit:

God has now given you early and seasonable warning not at all to depend on worldly prosperity.

Having humility before God about her earthly illness would foster contentment in eternal rest. If she cannot improve her circumstance on this earth, Edwards advises she look to the eternal glory God might glean from her difficult season:

Therefore I would advise….if it pleases God to restore you, to lot upon no happiness here.

Labour while you live, to serve God and do what good you can, and endeavor to improve every dispensation to God’s glory and your own spiritual good, and be content to do and bear all that God calls you to in this wilderness, and never expect to find this world any thing better than a wilderness.

Lay your account to travel through it in weariness, painfulness, and trouble, and wait for your rest and your prosperity ‘till hereafter where they that die in the Lord rest from their labours, and enter into the joy of their Lord.

He encourages his daughter to give herself wholly to the Lord in suffering. He can deliver challenging, truth-focused counsel because he has already made the same commitment to the Lord in his life. As a loving parent, being at a distance from his child without hope for future visits would undoubtedly be painful.

But the exemplary nature of his contented commitment to God is on display when writing to his suffering daughter who is out of his reach, across many miles. 

You are like to spend the rest of your life (if you should get over this illness) at a great distance from your parents, but care not much for that. If you lived near us, yet our breath and yours would soon go forth, and we should return to our dust, whither we are all hastening.

‘Tis of infinitely more importance to have the presence of an heavenly Father, and to make process towards an heavenly home. Let us all take care that we may meet there at last.[2]

He delivers world-denying hope in courageous words to a hurting child. First, by speaking challenging thoughts he risks that his words might be met with disagreement causing relational distance.

Second, he speaks words for the good of his child, without thought of himself. He advises his daughter to “care not much for” being near or far from him—so long as she remains near to the Lord. Edwards clearly has no greater joy than that his daughter would walk in the truth (3 John 1:4).

My Own Parenting

I do not want any less than what Edwards exemplifies. I would not ultimately want a pleasant-enough relationship with my daughter to the detriment of considering eternity—heaven and hell—together. Truth may be agonizing, at times, to convey—but these kinds of words are good; they are love. Speaking them is the kind of risk God asks me to take for the sake of Christ and the good of my daughter (Romans 10:14).

When my daughter is grown, I want her to see parents like Edwards. I want us to be rightfully content in the Lord so that our only request and hope is that she walk with the Lord to eternity. That is where I pray her contentment is found, and it would be difficult to ask her to go somewhere I have not myself been. Edwards’s counsel is compelling, in part, because he is true to maintaining an eternal focus himself. To ask my daughter to follow me where I have never been would prove challenging!

Ultimately, Edwards and his daughter were brought closer
together through this focus. Esther would later write:

Last eve I had some free discourse with My Father on the great things that concern my best interest—I opened my difficulties to him very freely and he as freely advised and directed.

The conversation has removed some distressing doubts that discouraged me much in my Christian warfare—He gave me some excellent directions to be observed in secret that tend to keep the soul near to God, as well as others to be observed in a more publick way—What a mercy that I have such a Father! Such a Guide![3]

Every decision of faith in the Lord is solely each individual’s to make. But, parents can aid their children’s individual decisions by refusing to create a relational dynamic intent on bringing us a sense of happiness and fulfillment.

Looking to Edwards and his Esther, as a type of Christ-centered relationship, we can continue to aim higher, with prayerful hope, for the kind of rich comradery that flows when both parties, by God’s grace, love the truth and content themselves in the Lord alone.

Photo Credit: Unsplash

[1]Iain
Murray, Jonathan Edwards: A New Biography
(Edinburgh: The Banner of Truth Trust, 1987).

[2] Ibid.,
402.

[3] Ibid.,
419-420.

Five Verses from Genesis for You to Treasure

I aim to carry Scripture with me as I go through my day. I want God’s word continually on my heart because I am prone to worry throughout my day, But Isaiah 26:3 promises:  

You keep him in perfect peace 
whose mind is stayed on you, 
because he trusts in you.  

For this reason, I keep my mind on God’s Word. Some days I try to memorize certain verses, and other days I’ll write a verse on a scrap piece of paper and stick it in my pocket. Every time, then, that I reach for my phone or wallet the biblical passage re-emerges in my mind.  

Carry Scripture with you at all times. Carry it in your mind, your heart, and sometimes even your pocket. Here are some verses from Genesis for you to treasure:

1.) Genesis 1:1  

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.  

I’ve read a lot of books, and I love opening lines. In all my reading, I have found no greater opening line than this. Not just in truthfulness, of which the Bible’s opening line is supreme, but in literary beauty.

Re-readers of the Bible will think of John 1:1 when they read Genesis 1:1. The Bible beckons us to think of the incarnation of God at the creation of the world. The narrative unity of the Bible invites us to think of Jesus in Genesis:

He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. (John 1:2-3)

2.) Genesis 1:3 

And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.  

God speaking creation into existence reveals so much that is praiseworthy about him. And this verse has Jesus’s name all over it. For one, it foreshadows his spoken rebuke of the storm:

[Jesus] awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm… And they were filled with great fear and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?” (Mark 4: 39, 41) 

The answer to the disciple’s question, of course, is God himself. God commands creation with his spoken word. 

3.) Genesis 1:5 and Genesis 1:16 

God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day. (Genesis 1:5)  

And God made the two great lights—the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night… (Genesis 1:16)  

God’s glory is proclaimed not only in the historical fact he created the world but also in how he created it. On the first day, God created “Day” and “Night.” On the fourth day, God created “the greater light” to rule the day and “the lesser light” to rule the night. 

Our God is a God of order. He prepared room, then he filled it. We see this pattern with the waters/expanse in Day 2, and the fish/birds in Day 5. We see this pattern with the dry land in Day 3, and the animals, livestock, and mankind in Day 6.

God puts all things in their proper place. He is a supremely good and ordered God. Praise him!  

4.) Genesis 3:24  

He drove out the man, and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim and a flaming sword that turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life.  

In this verse, like many others, we see how the Bible fits together as one unified story. God knew his plan from the beginning. His plan was always for Jesus Christ to redeem humanity. 

Every part of Genesis 1-3 shows this truth. Here, we can see it in the cherubim who guards the entrance back into Eden. Throughout the Old Testament, Israelites were instructed to decorate the veil of the tabernacle with cherubim (See Exodus 26:31). So, when Jesus’s death causes the tearing of the veil (Luke 23:45), we see one glimpse into the narrative unity of the Bible: Jesus faced the Cherubim’s sword, took a fatal blow, but opened an entrance through him back into a relationship with God.

We will never go back to Eden, but we can now again have the relationship Adam and Eve once had with God in the Garden.

As a bonus note further displaying the unity of the Bible, consider Luke 20:15. Mary, in seeing Jesus for the first time after his resurrection, does not recognize him. Instead, she supposes him to be “the gardener.”

5.) Genesis 15:17  

When the sun had gone down and it was dark, behold, a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch passed between these pieces.  

Perhaps you’re thinking: What a weird verse to highlight by itself! And you may be right, the whole chapter in which Abram and the LORD make a covenant is what I really mean to highlight. Verse 17, though, is the plot twist.  

This is the moment where we expect Abram to walk through the two pieces, signaling he would accept the consequence of a broken covenant. And yet, it is God who does this. God reveals he himself will pay the penalty for his people, should they rebel.  

And thus Genesis 15:17 points us to John 19:30, in which Jesus paid the penalty for these sins, and says, “It is finished.”  

Why We Treasure God’s Word 

At the end of the day, it’s not about clever connections, fancy hermeneutics, or literary value. The Bible is not important to us simply because it is interesting; The Bible is God’s inerrant word that points us directly to Jesus Christ. It authoritatively glorifies Jesus Christ. That’s why we treasure it above all else.

For we treasure God’s word and we treasure Christ, “the founder and perfecter of our faith” (Hebrews 12:2). 

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Three Ways You Might Drift from The Gospel

Many of you will have a carbon monoxide detector in your home. You have it because you want to detect poison. You know that if you breathe in carbon monoxide, it will kill you. 

So, you buy an alarm, and you want that alarm to go off very loudly with that shrieking noise if there is carbon monoxide anywhere near you. My job is to be your alarm today.

I want to give you three ways you might be tempted to drift from the gospel and then to measure them against the Bible so you can steer your course. Therefore, you can come to a knowledge of the truth.

Drift #1: Jesus Died, So I’m Ok. 

He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree (1 Peter 2:24) 

So here is this wonderful gift: Jesus died for our sins. He bore them, and took into his own body the guilt of our sins. He bore the punishment of divine justice that was due to them. That’s why Isaiah says, “the punishment that brought us peace was upon him” (Isaiah 53:5 NIV). 

We hear this and it is natural to say, “Jesus died for our sins, so our sins are forgiven.” But I want to ask you this question: Whose sins are forgiven? That’s the important question. If he bore our sins, then who is included in the our? 

To answer this question, you must look at the second half of the verse: 

He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. (1 Peter 2:24) 

Jesus died for sins in order that there might be a change in us. He bore our sins so that we might die to sins. The our whose sins Jesus carried is the we who die to sin and live to righteousness. This is very different from the casual confidence that says, “Jesus died, so I’m ok!” 

Drift #2: I Believed, So I’m Ok 

…obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls. (1 Peter 1:9) 

Salvation is by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. We read from 1 Peter 1:9 that the outcome of your faith is the salvation of your souls. But faith is much more than signing off on a creed. 

Some folks have the idea that if they believe Jesus died for their sins, or if at some time in their life they said that they believed this, then their souls are saved. But there’s much more to being a Christian than believing that Jesus died for your sins: “You were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls” (1 Peter 2:25). 

What does it mean for Christ to be the Shepherd and Overseer of your soul? It means all that you are and all that you have are at his disposal. It means you offer yourself to him in total devotion of worship and service. There is a giving of yourself into his hands. 

There is a Savior, a Shepherd, an Overseer, a Guardian of souls, one to whom you can trust your soul. You can invest your soul with him. His name is Jesus Christ, and if you will trust your soul, your life, all that you are, into his hands, your soul will prosper. Your life will become more. 

There is nothing greater in this world than being able to say, “The Lord is my shepherd.” Because then you can say, “I shall not want.” You can say this because your life, death, and eternity are all in his hands 

Do you see how much more this is than merely saying, “I believe, so I’m ok”? 

Drift #3: I’m On A Spiritual Journey, So I’m Ok 

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6) 

In our culture, the spiritual journey has become a metaphor for the sum of a person’s spiritual experience: Any faith you have, any doubts you have, any experiences you have, all become the soup of your journey, and the journey becomes an end in itself. 

Here’s the problem: There is a spiritual journey on the way to being lost, as well as, a spiritual journey that ends with being saved. Your spiritual journey cannot save you. Spend your life as a wandering sheep, and you will spend eternity as a lost soul. Only the Good Shepherd, Jesus Christ, can save you. No one is saved by going on a spiritual journey. 

Jesus told a story about a lost son. The son went into a far country and indulged himself in “reckless living.” Then there was a great famine, and he said to himself, “I will arise, and go to my father” (Luke 15:18). He decided to return. And when he came back to his father, he said, “I have sinned against heaven and before you.” Returning to his father meant leaving his life of sin. He couldn’t bring it back with him. 

Returning also means submitting. I submit my life to Christ’s Word. With his strength, I can go on dying to sin and living to righteousness. 

The starting point for being a Christian is that Jesus Christ is your Lord. And when he is your Lord, you can rightly call him your Savior. If Christ is not your Lord, how can he be your shepherd? And if Christ is not your shepherd, why would you think he is your Savior? 

One of Two Things Will Happen to Your Soul 

You have a soul that is of greater value than the whole world. One of two things will happen to your soul: Your soul will be saved, or your soul will be lost. I want your soul to be saved. 

There is a Shepherd and Overseer; a Savior and Lord who is able to save your soul. He is able to do it because he died for sins. No person who comes to him will ever be turned away. No soul that is trusted into his hands will ever be lost. 

Have you returned to him? Have you forsaken your sins? And, have you crowned him as Lord of your life? 

Jesus says to you today, “The one who saves his life will lose it,” but then in love he appeals to you: “The one who loses his life for my sake will keep it forever!”

This article was adapted from Pastor Colin’s sermon, “Saving Your Soul” from his series Soul Care, Part One. 



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Key Connections: God’s Voice, Charles Spurgeon, and more…

Here are my favorite quotes from key Christian articles around the web, including Jesus in the Old Testament, how to hear God’s voice, and more!

Want to Know Jesus More? Read the Old Testament (Chad Bird, Unlocking the Bible)

The whole Old Testament is a sort of pre-biography of the Messiah. It tells us in profound detail about the Savior of the world. Martin Luther captured the essence of the Old Testament when he called it “the swaddling cloths and the manger in which Christ lies.” Wrapped up in the pages of these Scriptures is Jesus himself.

One Thing You Might Not Know about Charles Spurgeon (Michael Reeves, Crossway)

He saw humor as a potential weapon of righteousness. Humor can lance pride, gloom, religiosity. He loved to mock our religious silliness. He loved to mock our pride. More than that, he saw that humor was a manifestation of the happiness we’re supposed to have in Christ. God is a happy God and would have his people be happy, he said.

When God’s Blessing Takes You on A Different Path (Kelly Minter, Lifeway)

I didn’t want to hear Him tell me “no” like he told Abraham, even though His staying words would eventually lead me to His gracious “yes”. But that day I knew I’d heard God’s voice. He was inviting me—and I do mean it was an invitation—to step out in faith, follow Him into unfamiliar places, and obey Him in ways that would require sacrifice.

How Much Can I Forgive? (Kath Thomson, The Ploughman’s Rest)

There is something in us that sometimes just wants to sit in our anger. We hold onto it, feeling like it’ll give us something to anchor us as we struggle through our days. But in reality it is really dragging us down, deeper and deeper until we are suffocated and joy no longer has a place. 

How Does God Speak to Us? Five Glorious Ways (Stephen Altrogge, The Blazing Center)

How does God speak to us today? Through Jesus. If you want to know God and hear his voice, read the gospels. Savor the Savior. He is a window into heaven, of sorts, allowing us to get a clear, unobstructed view of God himself.

Five Clichés You Won’t Find in the Bible

“Cliché-anity” is when short sayings or clichés substitute for real theology and deep thinking. It happens like this: Christians get used to hearing a catchy phrase that may have at the time been helpful, but then uncritically adopt it longer than we should. (And in some cases, we adopt it when we shouldn’t.)  

What was once a helpful saying becomes enormously unhelpful. And when that happens, the cliché’s start to do theology for us instead of letting the Bible take our every thought captive. That’s when Cliché –anity happens. Clichés take the “Christ” out of Christ-ianity. 

So here are five of the most annoying clichés you’ll never find in the Bible. We should replace each of these with biblical wisdom instead. 

1. “God never gives you more than you can handle.” 

This is one of those phrases people reach for in difficult times so I can understand why it’s said. Trying to comfort a hurting friend, we say “God won’t give you more than you can handle.” But is that true biblically?  

In 2 Corinthians 1:8-9, the apostle Paul shares openly:  

For we do not want you to be unaware, brothers, of the affliction we experienced in Asia. For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. 

Whatever circumstances he faced had pushed him over the edge. Paul was beyond his own resources. It was bigger than he could handle.  

What we learn from Paul’s example is that sometimes, God actually gives us more than we can handle. That’s why we need him. If we could handle everything by ourselves, why would we even need to trust in the Lord to provide us with what we don’t have but can find in him? 

2. “When God closes a door, he opens a window.” 

No doubt, this is well-intended advice. But like the first cliché, it’s biblically dishonest. Sometimes God closes the door and he shuts the window. Sometimes, God doesn’t permit us to do what we want to do, go where we want to go, and be who we want to be.  

In Romans 8:38–39, Paul writes:   

For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. 

What this reveals to us is that, even if nothing goes our way and everything stands against us—every door and window is shut in our face. If even, life is taken from us, nothing can keep us from the love of God in Christ because he has conquered death.  

As true as that is and as comforting as this should be, we are nowhere promised that God will open a window once a door is shut.  

It’s possible that every option can run out and we are left with nothing but Jesus. 

3. “God helps those who help themselves.” 

Ask someone where this is in the Bible and they’ll probably take a guess. Of course, it’s not there. This cliché was coined by Benjamin Franklin, and it should never be used by Christians who believe that the Bible is God’s truth. 

We are so far from being capable of helping ourselves that the Bible says we’re not just helpless, but we are spiritually dead. What this means is that God helps us when we can’t even help ourselves. As Ephesians 2:4-5 teaches:  

But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved. 

While we were still hopeless sinners, Jesus Christ died for us. God helps the helpless. 

4. “Nobody’s perfect.” (Or “Everyone makes mistakes.”) 

When someone messes up, this is a common response that even Christians use.  And we shouldn’t, because the problem with us according to the Bible isn’t that we make mistakes—our problem is that we sin and we are sinners.

True, nobody’s perfect, but saying this implies that since nobody is perfect everyone is okay—and that everyone’s sinful behavior, thoughts, and speech should be excused.  

After telling us that the perfect law of God shuts our mouth (Rom 3:19), Paul says in Romans 3:23: “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”

What we find throughout the Bible is not an excuse for our sin and wrongdoing, but a real solution provided through the body and blood and in the life and death of Jesus (Rom 3:24-25).  

5. Hate the sin, love the sinner. 

The first time the Bible cast this saying out of me was when I was reading through the Psalms for the first time. (And by that I mean a serious and intentional reading of the Psalms—not just hopping around, picking a verse here or there).  

Early in the Psalter, we encounter some bold, and frankly, intolerant language for our tolerant age: 

“The boastful shall not stand before your eyes; 
you hate all evildoers. 
    You destroy those who speak lies; 
the LORD abhors the bloodthirsty and deceitful man.” (Psalm 5:5–6)

Here, David says of the Lord that he doesn’t just hate the evil that people commit, but he explicitly hates those who do evil—”evildoers.” In other words, God hates sin and the sinner. At first sight, this sounds awful, but it makes total theological sense. God is holy. He cannot love evil.  

What’s so outstanding about the gospel, though, is that in Christ, God hated sin so much that he became sin himself to pay the penalty for it. And in doing so, he could love and be with his people forever.  

As Christians, we do not hate people but love them. And we display love for all people when we encourage them to turn away from sin and believe in the gospel.  

Seek Christ, Not Clichés 

Instead of offering people more bad advice via Cliché-anity, let’s turn to offer them the whole truth, being fully honest so that we can always lead them toward the good news of Christianity. Let’s refrain from using clichés in our conversations with others. Let’s put “Christ” back into Christ-ianity.

This is news that you’ll always find everywhere in the Bible.

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Want to Know Jesus More? Read the Old Testament

What we today call the “Old Testament” is what Jesus simply called “the Scriptures.” During his earthly life, there were no Gospels, no letters from Paul, no Revelation. The “New Testament” was yet to be written.  

So also, for the first Christians, the Bible consisted only of the Torah, the Prophets, and the Writings. In those earliest days of the church, as believers gathered for worship, when they heard the Bible read and preached, they heard only Moses or Isaiah or the Psalms or another OT prophet or sage. 

And yet, what did these Scriptures proclaim to them? What did Genesis teach? What did 1 Samuel or Proverbs reveal to them? Whom did they see in the Psalms? Jesus the Messiah. If they wanted to know more about Jesus, they read the Old Testament. 

But for us, it’s different, right? We can read Matthew’s gospel. We can pore over Paul’s epistle to the Romans. Or, we can study Hebrews. We have the New Testament, so the Old Testament is no longer relevant or instructive or enlightening to us.  

In fact, some parts of it not only confuse us, but trouble us. Some parts even embarrass us. Better to stick with the New Testament. That’s our go-to part of the Bible for learning more about Jesus.

How Jesus Viewed the Old Testament 

If that’s your view of the Old Testament, then it’s high time to rethink that stance. To the extent that we ignore or downplay the Old Testament, we denigrate the very Bible that Jesus himself read.  

In fact, these are not only the Scriptures from which he preached and taught, but they tell us all about him. As Jesus himself said, “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me” (John 5:39).  

And again, “For if you believed Moses, you would believe me; for he wrote of me” (5:46). He fulfilled “all things which are written about [him] in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms” (Luke 24:44).  

And to the disciples on the road to Emmaus, “beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself” (24:27).  

We cannot be followers of Jesus and unfollowers of his own Scriptures.

Therefore, it’s no different for us than for those earliest believers: when we want to know more about Jesus, we read the Old Testament. 

What We Find in the Old Testament  

We read, first of all, not only the promises that the Messiah will come, but also abundant details about who he will be and what he will do for us. When parents await the birth of a child, they don’t know much about that child. A sonogram may tell them the baby is a boy or girl, but that child’s future, personality, and accomplishments are all unknown.

Not so with Jesus. In the Old Testament, we learn that his mother will be a virgin (Isaiah 7:14), he will be born in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2), God will call him out of Egypt (Hosea 11:1), he will minister in Galilee (Isaiah 9:1-2), heal the sick (35:5-6), be rejected by his people (53:1-3), be forsaken by God during great suffering (Psalm 22:1), bear our iniquities (Isaiah 53:4-6), crush the head of the devil (Genesis 3:15), be vindicated by the Lord in victory (Psalm 22:22-24), and much more!  

There’s a good reason that Isaiah, for instance, is called the “Fifth Evangelist.” Over seven centuries before Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, this prophet told us the story of Jesus in advance.  

The whole Old Testament is a sort of pre-biography of the Messiah. It tells us in profound detail about the Savior of the world. Martin Luther captured the essence of the Old Testament when he called it “the swaddling cloths and the manger in which Christ lies.” Wrapped up in the pages of these Scriptures is Jesus himself.

“Dress Rehearsal” of Jesus’s Life and Ministry 

Not only is the Messiah prophesied in the Old Testament, we see a sort of “dress rehearsal” of his life and ministry in earlier people and events:  

Melchizedek, who was a priest and king, prefigured the Messiah’s priestly service and royal reign (Genesis 14:18-20; Psalm 110:4; Hebrews 7).Jonah’s three days in the belly of the fish foreshadowed Christ’s three days and three nights in the heart of the earth (Matthew 12:40).All the animal sacrifices of the Old Testament pointed toward him who is “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29).The tabernacle and temple, as the house of God, the dwelling place of his glory, was the blueprint for the one who is the Word made flesh, who tabernacled among us, and revealed his glory (John 1:14; 2:19-21).       

The Old Testament sketches out, in black and white, what the Messiah will show in full color. By reading these ancient Scriptures in light of Jesus’s accomplished work, we see portrayed in them the pre-portrait of our salvation. 

“The new is in the old concealed; the old is in the new revealed.” 

Augustine famously described the relationship between the Old and New Testaments this way: “The new is in the old concealed; the old is in the new revealed.” In other words, the two work in tandem. They cannot be separated from one another. They must be read as one continuous story, gradually unveiling the narrative of God’s saving plan.  

As in a marriage, the man and woman become one flesh, so the Old and New Testaments are married. Their unity cannot be put asunder or put in opposition to one another. They are “one flesh,” one book, one proclamation that’s all about Jesus. 

Each page, each story, from Genesis 1 to Malachi 4, is like a jewel or precious stone. All together they form the mosaic of the Messiah. Who he is. What he’s done for us. And our hope and salvation and life in him. 

Do you want to know Jesus more? Read the Old Testament.

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Six Woes from Jesus Reveal His Perfection

It’s easy for modern Christians to scoff at the Pharisees. In the Gospels, they appear mean, petty, and vindictive. 

Let’s be careful, though. The Pharisees were the religious leaders of their day, enjoying and abusing their power and prestige. Today’s church leaders face these same temptations. 

But it’s not just leaders who need Jesus’s warnings. The Pharisees were honored in the first century, so those who weren’t Pharisees respected them. Therefore, at least some of the qualities Jesus rebuked in the Pharisees were present in the common synagogue member. If Jesus’s criticisms would have stung the average Jewish citizen back then, all Christians today should give full attention to his critiques. 

Six Woes From Jesus 

In Luke 11:37–54, we read some harsh words from Jesus. He was invited to dine at the house of a Pharisee, and the issue of pre-meal washing came up. Jesus offered this stinging rebuke. 

Now you Pharisees cleanse the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness. You fools! Did not he who made the outside make the inside also? But give as alms those things that are within, and behold, everything is clean for you. (Luke 11:39–41) 

Christians know that Jesus was perfect, but we seldom explore the details of his perfection. In this passage, Jesus levels six woes against the Pharisees and lawyers. As Jesus is the exact opposite of what he criticizes, we will see Jesus as the perfect religious leader and teacher. 

Woe #1: Tithing 

The first woe concerns the Pharisees and their tithes: 

But woe to you Pharisees! For you tithe mint and rue and every herb, and neglect justice and the love of God. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others. (Luke 11:42) 

It’s an absurd picture—these socially powerful men gathered around a scale, removing a precise portion of garden herbs. And those hearts that cared deeply about the weight of mint cared little for God or neighbor.  

Jesus was just the opposite. His entire mission was defined by justice and the love of God. His love for his Father compelled him in his quest to save sinners. Our holy God wanted to dwell with sinful people, and that could not happen without his just wrath aimed at those sins. Jesus came—as the perfect man—to solve this problem. 

Woe #2: Reputation 

In the second woe, Jesus focused on the Pharisees’ desire for acclaim and recognition. 

Woe to you Pharisees! For you love the best seat in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces. (Luke 11:43) 

As often happens with those in high positions, the Pharisees twisted the honor due to a leader into a hunger for praise. They were eager for people to flatter them and exalt them in religious and social settings. 

Though Jesus deserved the seat of honor, he faced derision and scorn. He did not seek out popularity but associated with the lowly. And his earthly life ended in the shame of a bogus trial and a gruesome death. Jesus humbled himself to the point of death (Philippians 2:8) so that his people might be rescued and exalted.

Make no mistake, one day everyone will see Jesus in the best seat—his throne—but during his earthly ministry he sacrificed his own comfort, ego, and reputation for others. 

Woe #3: Uncleanness 

Jesus’s final woe against the Pharisees was the most severe:

Woe to you! For you are like unmarked graves, and people walk over them without knowing it. (Luke 11:44) 

According to Jewish law, anyone who came into contact with a dead body or a grave was unclean (Numbers 19:11, 16). Since Pharisees were devoted to ceremonial cleanness, Jesus’s image of them was horrifying. 

The mercy and power of Jesus are seen in sharp contrast to this picture. By his touch, Jesus made unclean people clean! (See Matthew 8:1–4, for example.) 

Woe #4: Heavy Burdens 

After the first three woes, Jesus focused on the lawyers in the crowd:

Woe to you lawyers also! For you load people with burdens hard to bear, and you yourselves do not touch the burdens with one of your fingers. (Luke 11:46) 

It’s easy to see Jesus on the opposite side of this coin:

Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. (Matthew 11:28–30) 

The burden of following Jesus is one of dying to oneself. But this yoke is easy in view of the burden Jesus bore for sinners.  

Woe #5: The Blood of the Prophets 

This fifth woe is the hardest of the six to decipher (Luke 11:47–51). Jesus condemned the lawyers for building the tombs of the prophets, the same prophets whom their fathers killed. “So you are witnesses and you consent to the deeds of your fathers” (Luke 11:48).

Jesus goes on to say that “the blood of all the prophets…may be charged against this generation” (Luke 11:50). 

If the lawyers approved of the death of the prophets, then they opposed the greatest prophet ever—the one standing before them. All the law and prophets pointed to Jesus, and the lawyers, who were supposed to be experts in the Scriptures, ignored these signposts. Because they despised the Son of God, their generation was guilty. 

Woe #6: The Key of Knowledge 

What is the goal of Scripture if not to point people to God? 

Woe to you lawyers! For you have taken away the key of knowledge. You did not enter yourselves, and you hindered those who were entering. (Luke 11:52) 

Jesus called people to follow him and worship the Father. He sought his Father’s presence and wanted the door to his Father’s house flung open for many. Jesus used the key of knowledge—understanding the nature and will of God—to bring people to God. 

3 Applications 

As we move from condemning the Pharisees to commending Jesus, we must realize the demands this passage makes on us. As people who are loved, saved, and secured by God, how should we respond? 

Don’t neglect your heart. It’s tempting to focus on our appearance, but God knows and cares about our hearts. He who made the outside also made the inside. Don’t mistake religious practice for love. We are often so consumed with the details of church activities that we miss the larger point. We should be giving, praying, serving, worshiping, and reading, but we must not neglect justice or the love of God. Invite others to God. The church is not a club or secret society, and the knowledge of God should be used to gather people, not scatter them.Photo Credit: Unsplash