Jared C. Wilson's Blog, page 7

What the Bible Says About Itself—Book by Book

What God says about his Word is a deep, complex, and staggering thing. And each book of the written Word testifies to the wonder of his revelation. I decided to take a look, book by book, selecting a representative passage from each to highlight many of the things God’s word says about God’s words.

The Word of God is . . .

Effectual

Genesis 1:3 – And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.

Personal

Exodus 6:2 – God spoke to Moses and said to him, “I am the Lord.”

Authoritative

Leviticus 20:22 – You shall therefore keep all my statutes and all my rules and do them, that the land where I am bringing you to live may not vomit you out.

Exclusive

Numbers 15:31 – Because he has despised the word of the LORD and has broken his commandment, that person shall be utterly cut off; his iniquity shall be on him.

Necessary

Deuteronomy 8:3 – And he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD.

Rewarding

Joshua 1:8 – This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.

Singable(!)

Judges 5:11 – To the sound of musicians at the watering places,
there they repeat the righteous triumphs of the LORD,
the righteous triumphs of his villagers in Israel.

Redemptive

Ruth 4:14-15 – Then the women said to Naomi, “Blessed be the LORD, who has not left you this day without a redeemer, and may his name be renowned in Israel! He shall be to you a restorer of life and a nourisher of your old age, for your daughter-in-law who loves you, who is more to you than seven sons, has given birth to him.”

Decisive

1 Samuel 15:23 – Because you have rejected the word of the LORD,
he has also rejected you from being king.

Infallible

2 Samuel 22:31 – This God—his way is perfect; the word of the LORD proves true; he is a shield for all those who take refuge in him.

Reliable

1 Kings 17:24 – And the woman said to Elijah, “Now I know that you are a man of God, and that the word of the LORD in your mouth is truth.”

Convicting

2 Kings 22:11 – When the king heard the words of the Book of the Law, he tore his clothes.

Enduring

1 Chronicles 16:12,15 – Remember the wondrous works that he has done,
his miracles and the judgments he uttered . . . Remember his covenant forever,
the word that he commanded, for a thousand generations.

Preeminent

2 Chronicles 18:4 – And Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, “Inquire first for the word of the LORD.”

Practical

Ezra 7:10 – For Ezra had set his heart to study the Law of the LORD, and to do it and to teach his statutes and rules in Israel.

Proclamational

Nehemiah 8:2-3 – So Ezra the priest brought the Law before the assembly, both men and women and all who could understand what they heard, on the first day of the seventh month. And he read from it facing the square before the Water Gate from early morning until midday, in the presence of the men and the women and those who could understand. And the ears of all the people were attentive to the Book of the Law.

Peculiar

Esther 3:8 – Then Haman said to King Ahasuerus, “There is a certain people scattered abroad and dispersed among the peoples in all the provinces of your kingdom. Their laws are different from those of every other people, and they do not keep the king’s laws, so that it is not to the king’s profit to tolerate them.”

Miraculous

Job 37:5 – God thunders wondrously with his voice; he does great things that we cannot comprehend.

Illuminating

Psalm 119:105 – Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.

True

Proverbs 30:5 – Every word of God proves true; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him.

Wise

Ecclesiastes 12:11 – The words of the wise are like goads, and like nails firmly fixed are the collected sayings; they are given by one Shepherd.

Loving

Song of Solomon 2:10 – My beloved speaks and says to me: “Arise, my love, my beautiful one, and come away.”

Eternal

Isaiah 40:8 – The grass withers, the flower fades,
but the word of our God will stand forever.

Powerful

Jeremiah 23:29 – Is not my word like fire, declares the LORD, and like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces?

Sure

Lamentations 2:17 – The LORD has done what he purposed; he has carried out his word, which he commanded long ago.

Reviving

Ezekiel 37:4 – Then he said to me, “Prophesy over these bones, and say to them, O dry bones, hear the word of the LORD.”

Prophetic

Daniel 9:9-10 – . . . For we have rebelled against him and have not obeyed the voice of the LORD our God by walking in his laws, which he set before us by his servants the prophets.

Disruptive

Hosea 4:1 – Hear the word of the LORD, O children of Israel,
for the LORD has a controversy with the inhabitants of the land

Empowering

Joel 2:11 – The LORD utters his voice
before his army,
for his camp is exceedingly great;
he who executes his word is powerful . . .

Nourishing

Amos 8:11 – “Behold, the days are coming,” declares the Lord GOD, “when I will send a famine on the land— not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD.”

Stirring

Obadiah 1 – We have heard a report from the LORD,
and a messenger has been sent among the nations:
“Rise up! Let us rise against her for battle!”

Commissioning

Jonah 3:3a – So Jonah arose and went to Nineveh, according to the word of the LORD.

Universal

Micah 4:2 – And many nations shall come, and say: “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob, that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths.” For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.

Timely

Nahum 1:15 – Behold, upon the mountains, the feet of him
who brings good news,
who publishes peace!

Glorifying

Habakkuk 2:14 – For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD as the waters cover the sea.

Just

Zephaniah 2:5 – Woe to you inhabitants of the seacoast, you nation of the Cherethites! The word of the LORD is against you, O Canaan, land of the Philistines; and I will destroy you until no inhabitant is left.

Relational

Haggai 1:13 – Then Haggai, the messenger of the LORD, spoke to the people with the LORD’s message, “I am with you, declares the LORD.”

Chastening

Zechariah 7:12 – They made their hearts diamond-hard lest they should hear the law and the words that the LORD of hosts had sent by his Spirit through the former prophets.

Fearful

Malachi 2:4-5 – So shall you know that I have sent this command to you, that my covenant with Levi may stand, says the LORD of hosts. My covenant with him was one of life and peace, and I gave them to him. It was a covenant of fear, and he feared me. He stood in awe of my name.

Perpetual

Matthew 5:18 – For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished.

Clarifying

Mark 12:24 – Jesus said to them, “Is this not the reason you are wrong, because you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God?”

Blessed

Luke 11:28 – “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it!”

Christocentric

John 5:39 – You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me

Living

Acts 12:24 – But the word of God increased and multiplied.

Encouraging

Romans 15:4 – For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.

Consistent

1 Corinthians 15:3-4 – For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures

Perfect

2 Corinthians 4:2 – But we have renounced disgraceful, underhanded ways. We refuse to practice cunning or to tamper with God’s word . . .

Promising

Galatians 3:8 – And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “In you shall all the nations be blessed.”

Penetrating

Ephesians 6:17 – [A]nd take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God . . .

Secure

Philippians 2:16 – [Hold] fast to the word of life . . .

Enriching

Colossians 3:16 – Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God

Inspired

1 Thessalonians 2:13 – And we also thank God constantly for this, that when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of God, which is at work in you believers.

Honorable

2 Thessalonians 3:1 – Finally, brothers, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may speed ahead and be honored, as happened among you . . .

Sanctifying

1 Timothy 4:4-5 – For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, for it is made holy by the word of God and prayer.

Sufficient

2 Timothy 3:16-17 – All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

Trustworthy

Titus 1:9 – He must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it.

Liberating

Philemon 23-25 – Epaphras, my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus, sends greetings to you, and so do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, and Luke, my fellow workers. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.

Discerning

Hebrews 4:12 – For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

Doable

James 1:22 – But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.

Gracious

1 Peter 1:25 – “But the word of the Lord remains forever.” And this word is the good news that was preached to you.

Spiritual

2 Peter 1:20-21 – No prophecy of Scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation. For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.

Joyful

1 John 1:4 – And we are writing these things so that [y]our joy may be complete.

Uniting

2 John 5 – And now I ask you, dear lady—not as though I were writing you a new commandment, but the one we have had from the beginning—that we love one another.

Verified

3 John 12b – We also add our testimony, and you know that our testimony is true.

Marshaling

Jude 3 – Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints.

Complete

Revelation 22:18-19 – I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book, and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book.

The Shape of Gospel Astonishment in Psalm 24

The earth is the LORD’s and the fullness thereof,
the world and those who dwell therein,
for he has founded it upon the seas
and established it upon the rivers.

There is God. He existed before anything existed, for he has always existed and he will always exist. He created everything that exists outside of himself and therefore he owns it all, including mankind.

Who shall ascend the hill of the LORD?
And who shall stand in his holy place?

How can we enjoy fellowship with this awfully holy God? Who can justifiably enter his presence? The answer:

He who has clean hands and a pure heart,
who does not lift up his soul to what is false
and does not swear deceitfully.
He will receive blessing from the LORD
and righteousness from the God of his salvation.
Such is the generation of those who seek him,
who seek the face of the God of Jacob.
Selah

Sigh. I would love to enjoy fellowship with God, to receive his blessing and his righteousness. But I don’t have clean hands and a pure heart, and I have often lifted up my soul to falsehood and have sworn deceitfully. If that’s the standard for acceptance unto God’s favor I can only hang my head in shame and sorrow.

Lift up your heads, O gates!
And be lifted up, O ancient doors,
that the King of glory may come in.

What? What do you mean?

Who is this King of glory?
The LORD, strong and mighty,
the LORD, mighty in battle!
Lift up your heads, O gates!
And lift them up, O ancient doors,
that the King of glory may come in.

Wait, what? Christ the LORD enters the equation? Well, of course! Of course he can do it! Jesus can abide in his presence, he can receive blessing from the Lord, he has a pure heart and clean hands, he is not false or deceitful in any way, and certainly he has sought the will of the Father at all times. I don’t have to hang my head in shame any more: Christ my righteousness has entered and purchased justification before the holy God for me!

Who is this King of glory?
The LORD of hosts,
he is the King of glory!
Selah

And hallelujah!

Christ Our Ransom

Like many others, I have been moved over the last several years to repeatedly reassert the biblical emphasis on Christ’s propitiating work on the cross in what is typically called the “penal substitution” view of the atonement—for instance, devoting an entire chapter to it as the “sharp edge of the atonement” in my book Gospel Deeps and another whole chapter defending it from recent critiques in a forthcoming book (2020) with Thomas Nelson. But penal substitution is of course not the whole of the atonement. The gospel is more multifaceted than that, and one of the least considered facets is Christ as our ransom.

Psalm 49 establishes a dilemma of direst condition:

Truly no man can ransom another, or give to God the price of his life, for the ransom of their life is costly and can never suffice . . .  (49:7-8)

The condition of man since the fall is one of bondage to sin and corruption from death. Having disobeyed God, we have revolted from our insidest selves to his good order and holy decrees. Therefore, we are slaves to death and children of wrath.

The psalmists then effectively tell us that no man can rescue himself. We can’t even rescue each other. Why? Because no sinner can muster the moral currency required to pay the ransom for this rescue.

This is cause for great humility in ourselves, because those who are saved are not saved by any righteousness of their own, and for great patience and mercy with others, because those who do not believe in Christ are, biblically speaking, captives.

So there is the gospel of Jesus Christ to be carried into every dark corner of the soul and every far corner of the world! Because in the gospel comes the ransom that sets captives free. Psalm 49:15 tells of it: “But God will ransom my soul from the power of Sheol, for he will receive me.”

God will pay the ransom himself in order to receive us back to himself. He has done this through Christ, who is our ransom, as we see in texts like Mark 10:45: “For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

But this angle on the atonement has always raised the sticky question: To whom is the ransom paid?

In C.S. Lewis’s classic work of “supposal,” The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe, we see where Aslan makes the payment of his life for Edmund’s liberation in response to the White Witch’s demands. It’s a powerful scene and not without biblical resonance, but if we draw the lines too directly, we may make a theological mistake of some importance. Aslan is clearly Christ in the story, and the Witch is clearly the stand-in for our accuser Satan. But while Satan is often called the god of this world (2 Cor. 4:4), he is still subservient to the sovereign Lord of all the cosmos. So we have to be careful in how we speak of ransom, lest we lend too much power to the enemy and deflect too much glory away from God.

There is in fact a “ransom text” in the Bible that gives us a clue as to whom is being paid the ransom. In 1 Timothy 2:5-6, Paul writes: “For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time.”

The context of this passage show us Christ as the “mediator” not between men and the Devil or between God and the Devil but between men and God. It would seem from the shape of this text, that the ransom is paid by the Son of God to God the Father, as Jesus becomes the ransoming mediator between God and men, making atonement for men to God. And of course we see the foundation of this truth in Psalm 49:7, where the ransom price of man’s life is said to be owed to God.

In this sense, the ransom view of the atonement is similar to the concept of propitiation (Rom. 3:25; Heb. 2:17; 1 John 2:2), which means “to make favorable.” Who has Christ made favorable with his sacrifice on the cross? Certainly not the enemy, whose frustration is compounded eternally knowing that Jesus’s death redeems souls from sin and its punishment, and who at the cross is not paid but actually shamed (Col. 2:15), and not satisfied but actually defeated (Heb. 2:14-15).

No, at the cross, the sinless Jesus has taken the punishment owed by the Father to the sinful rebels against his holiness (Isaiah 53:4-5). The wrath of God has been satisfied at the cross of Christ (Col. 1:20). It is the Father who in holy love sends his Son to make the payment that removes his holy wrath from the children of God (1 John 4:10; John 3:36). The Father has been propitiated. Similarly, then, Christ has paid the ransom to the only one who truly holds life and death in his hands—God himself.

So in the beautiful irony of the gospel, we are effectively saved from God by God. The only security from God’s wrath, then, is found in God’s love in Christ (Psalm 2:12). The ransom now paid, we have been delivered from the domain of sin and death into perfect union with the Son of God, in whom there is therefore now no condemnation (Rom. 8:1).

Does Hebrews 6 Teach that We Should Move On from the Gospel?

Therefore let us leave the elementary doctrine of Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God,and of instruction about washings,[a] the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment.
— Hebrews 6:1-2

Doesn’t the author of Hebrews tell us to move on from elementary gospel truths (6:1-2)?

This may seem like an odd question, but it is one I get occasionally whenever I stump hard for constantly returning to the centrality of Christ’s finished work for both the lost and the found. I remember several years ago a fairly prominent evangelical scholar citing this passage in his criticism of me on this very point. Just yesterday I was reminded again by a critic online of the alleged “graduation” from the gospel encouraged by Hebrews 6.

And yet, the apostle Paul tells us in the opening verses of 1 Corinthians 15 that the gospel is of first importance. And I don’t believe he means initial importance but primary (central) importance. This is why he’s “reminding” the Corinthians about it. Over and over again, Paul instructs his readers to only hold true to what they’ve already attained, to lay hold of what has laid hold of them . . . and so forth. So I don’t believe the author of Hebrews is telling us in Hebrews 6 that we graduate from the gospel to other things.

So to what does Hebrews 6:1-2 refer?

It’s a very complex passage, but as with every text, the context helps. In Hebrews 5:12, we read, “Though by this time you ought to be teachers, you have need again for someone to teach you the elementary principles of the oracles of God.” The dilemma is seeing how the recipients of the letter would need to both re-learn the elementary principles of the oracles of God and to leave the elementary teachings about Christ (Heb. 6:1-2). Unless the author is speaking out of both sides of his mouth, these must mean two different things.

I believe the “elementary teachings” in Hebrews 6 refer to the types and shadows of the old covenant, about which Hebrews says quite a bit (e.g., 8:5; 10:1; see also Col. 2:17). So the exhortation here is not about leaving the gospel behind but leaving the shadows behind to walk in the light of Christ. And further, the admonition is to grow up in the gospel beyond initial repentance and individual salvation. It’s about following the signposts into the land of destination. It’s a call to maturity that is gospel-driven, not post-gospel or even gospel-latent.

John Calvin concurs, writing of this passage:

He bids them to leave these rudiments, not that the faithful are ever to forget them, but that they are not to remain in them; and this idea appears more clear from what follows, the comparison of a foundation; for in building a house we must never leave the foundation; and yet to be always engaged in laying it, would be ridiculous. For as the foundation is laid for the sake of what is built on it, he who is occupied in laying it and proceeds not to the superstruction, wearies himself with foolish and useless labor.

In any event, I don’t believe Hebrews 6 means the gospel is the ABC’s and now we need to buckle down and learn the hard stuff. The ABC’s of salvation are the rudiments of the “advanced linguistics” of the gospel deeps. You build on top of a foundation that remains and no matter how high and big you build your house, you never leave the foundation, or you’re experiencing some serious structural weakness.

Why Gospel-Driven Church?

I am pleased to announce today the official release of my book The Gospel-Driven Church!

Published by Zondervan and subtitled “Uniting Church Growth Dreams with the Metrics of Grace,” this work is the culmination of almost 20 years of preaching, writing, and consulting in and with church churches on the subject of gospel-centrality and its effect on evangelicalism.

A few years ago, I released a book called The Prodigal Church (with Crossway), which was largely a critique of the attractional paradigm, and since then I have heard from so many leaders who desired a follow-up, something prescriptive and practical. The Gospel-Driven Church is my best effort to provide a manual—full of application and tied together with a fictional story to illustrate a la Patrick Lencioni’s “leadership fables”—aimed at helping pastors and churches transition more thoughtfully and strategically to gospel-centrality.

If you’ve been a blog reader of mine, you’ll know this subject is near and dear to my heart. I am praying this book will serve many ministers and their churches for years to come. In the book, you will find biblical advice and counsel on the following:

– What gospel-centrality is and why it’s important for churches to embrace it.

– What gospel-centered preaching looks like.

– How gospel-centered churches ought to look at small groups, programs, membership, discipleship, and mission.

– The implications of gospel-centrality on creative elements and songs in worship services.

– Leading strategic transitions toward the gospel-centered paradigm, including with staff concerns and members who are slow to see the value of the change.

– Youth and children’s ministry in the gospel-centered church.

– and more

I even include an appendix titled “Gospel-Centered Troubleshooting,” which includes lots of Q&A about nitty-gritty details in leading and implementing gracious change in your church.

For what it’s worth, Eric Geiger says this book is “a must-read for those in ministry leadership.” Clint Pressley calls it “the magna carta for gospel-centered change.” And Matt Chandler says, “This book should soothe weary leaders’ bones and free them to point freely and passionately to the beauty of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection.”

The Gospel-Driven Church is available wherever Christian books are sold. You can find out more at thegospeldrivenchurch.com

What Does Job 31:13-15 Tell Us About the Unborn?

“If I have rejected the cause of my manservant or my maidservant,
when they brought a complaint against me,
what then shall I do when God rises up?
When he makes inquiry, what shall I answer him?
Did not he who made me in the womb make him?
And did not one fashion us in the womb?”
— Job 31:13-15

This passage tells us at least three things about the unborn, and thus about abortion:

1. The foundation of civil equality is traced to the womb.

Really, it is traced to God’s having made mankind in his image, but the well-to-do Job is asserting an equality of personhood with his servants based on their equal status as unborn children. Therefore, the unborn are persons with civil rights. This makes abortion a dehumanizing injustice.

2. The development of the unborn is a work of God.

Job says he and his servants were made in the womb, fashioned in the womb. Coupled with Psalm 139’s words on God’s creative work in the womb, we learn that abortion is therefore tearing apart what God has joined together.

3. The treatment of persons as non-persons is something for which we will give an account.

“What shall I do when God rises up?” Job asks about unjust treatment of his servants. And what will we say? Injustice of this kind will be reckoned with. We will have to give an account to our holy God for the murder of millions of unborn persons he is forming in his image.

No law can be just if its justice for one is predicated on injustice to another.

Pre-Order My New Book for FREE Bonus Resources

I’m really excited about my latest book, The Gospel-Driven Church. Yes, it’s true — I finally have a book with the same title as my blog!

This project is the culmination of years and years of study and practice, as well as almost a decade of visiting and consulting with other churches working toward gospel-centrality, and it is my attempt at offering a “leadership manual” of sorts to ministry leaders interested in transitioning their church away from pragmatism and more toward a conscientious gospel-centeredness. As such, it is full of application points and proactive pointers, and I even tell the (fictitious) story of a pastor leading such a transition in his own church throughout the chapters. (Just my little nod to Patrick Lencioni’s leadership fables.)

Published by Zondervan and subtitled “Uniting Church Growth Dreams with the Metrics of Grace,” The Gospel-Driven Church helps churches probe deeper than even the blessings of numeric and resource growth to appropriately gauge their spiritual health and work toward orientation around the work of Jesus.

Matt Chandler says, “This book should soothe weary leaders’ bones and free them to point freely and passionately to the beauty of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection.”

Eric Geiger calls it “a must-read for those in ministry leadership.”

Clint Pressley says this book is “the magna carta for gospel-centered change.”

(Read more endorsements here.)

The book officially drops March 12, but you can preorder it now through your online retailer of choice. And if you do, we have some bonus resources for you!

If you pre-order 1-4 copies of the book, you’ll receive advance access to J.D. Greear’s foreword and Chapter 1 of the book, as well as a special assessment tool written by me to help you more deeply evaluate the spiritual health of your church.

Pre-order 5 or more copies — to work through with your church staff or ministry team, or just to give away to leaders you love — and you’ll get the previous bonus resources offered and an exclusive video teaching session from me, produced just for groups starting this journey together.

Pre-order info and details on how to claim your bonus resources are available at TheGospelDrivenChurch.com.

For all inclined to take advantage of these offers, please accept my thanks in advance. And may Jesus be big in your church!

In Your Religious Exercises, Don’t Take Your Eyes Off Jesus

Do you remember in Matthew 14:22-33 when Jesus came walking on the waves to his friends in the boat? The disciples were terrified at first, until he identified himself. Peter, always impetuous, asks for permission to join his Master on the waves. It is given, and so he does the good work of clambering over the side. Lo and behold, next to Jesus, he can walk on water too!

But it doesn’t last long, does it? Eventually he begins to sink beneath the waves and cries out for help. Why? Matthew 14:30 says it’s because he saw the strength of the wind. Peter had taken his eyes off Jesus.

And yet, Jesus still held on to Peter.

Just as it is grace top to bottom that saves us, it is faith beginning to end that sustains us. We do not start over by faith and then embark on a great “good works” self-improvement project. No, we “walk by faith” (2 Cor. 5:7). The author of Hebrews says, in fact, that we run by it:

Therefore, since we also have such a large cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us lay aside every weight and the sin that so easily ensnares us. Let us run with endurance the race that lies before us, 2 keeping our eyes on Jesus, the source and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that lay before Him endured a cross and despised the shame and has sat down at the right hand of God’s throne.

(Heb. 12:1-2)

What is the weight—other than sin—that can easily ensnare us? Is it not our own sense of self-righteousness? Isn’t it anything, even good things, that can distract us from focus on Jesus? The author of Hebrews says to “keep our eyes” on him (v.2). Why? I think it’s because he knows that even in our spiritual disciplines, religious efforts, and theological studies, it is so easy to pursue these means as if they are ends to themselves. We want to look more holy, more knowledgeable, more “put together.” This is not walking or running by faith at all.

No, we must keep our eyes on Jesus. Every good work must be submitted to the glory of Jesus. Every spiritual discipline must be conducted as a means of deepening our friendship with Jesus. Every religious book read, every theological idea explored, every biblical doctrine studied must have as its aim a stirring of our affections for Jesus. Only by focusing on Jesus will we be able to endure in the Christian life and have a faith that lasts to the finish line.

It will not be easy. The life of faith is difficult. But there is a joy waiting for us beyond all comparison. It is the great, eternal joy of being reunited to the one in whom we have believed, having become convinced that he is able to guard what we’ve committed to him. Jesus is able to present us blameless before God’s glory without stumbling. Let us fix our eyes on him to the end.

Don’t Preach Microwaved Leftover Sermons

It is a common travail. The pastor has gotten to the end of his week without having had much time to focus on his sermon. He might have been thinking about his text, might have jotted a few things down, but the meat of his preparation and heat of his composition falls to the Saturday prior to preaching, perhaps even spilling into the wee hours of Sunday morning.

I know more than a few pastors—and overhear many more besides—who cite the busyness of their ministry lives as the reason sermon preparation gets crowded out week to week. They are left to “find” time to work on their message, taking snatches here and there as available, staying up after the family is in bed to work on it or pushing it into the days they (theoretically) have off. Therefore, their sermons are made up of leftover time and microwaved in short bursts—they preach on Sunday “microwaved leftover sermons.”

This should not be. Some thoughts:

1. The primary task of the pastor is preaching the Word.

We see from the establishing of the diaconate in Acts 6 that the labor emphasis for church elders is “the ministry of the word and prayer” (v.4), which they intend to “devote” themselves to. The first thing Paul charges Timothy with doing (in 2 Tim. 4:1-2) is the preaching of the word. Preaching and teaching is the primary work of the pastor and one reason why “able to teach” is one of the few distinguishing qualifications for the office of elder from the office of deacon. This does not mean, of course, that pastors should neglect other necessary work, especially the work of pastoral care and other leadership tasks. But it certainly means that:

2. The pastor’s weekly schedule should prioritize sermon preparation.

If sermon prep for you mainly comes when you find time, you need to do a radical reorganization of your calendar. If you prep on Saturday or over late nights simply because that’s the best time for your mental and spiritual energy, well then, I suppose you could carry on. If sermon prep comes on Saturdays because you are a bivocational pastor who must work another job Monday through Friday, there’s likely no alternative. But if you’re a full-time pastor doing sermon prep in the cracks of your week because other priorities have crowded it out, your week is upside down. Schedule your weekly ministry around your sermon prep, not the other way around.

If people don’t like that you have eaten up a whole day midweek to hole up in your study to read and write, remind them that they have hired you primarily to preach the Word. That God’s Word is precious and worthy of the investment. That ministry work is fundamentally “Word work,” and the Scriptures and God’s people are both worth concentrated, prioritized dedication to faithful preaching. Again, it’s a problem if you are holed up in your study all week to the neglect of “shepherding the flock of God among you” (1 Pet. 5:2), but the key thing a shepherd does is feed the sheep. Prioritize your sermon prep.

3. Slow cook the sermon but don’t overcook it.

Microwaved sermons are generally about as good as most microwaved foods. If you are working on your sermon only as you find time, the Word of God and its preaching are not receiving the care and devotional attention that makes the best preaching so rich and delicious. If you find only snatches of time to prep and then have to rush the whole thing to completion, it will show on Sunday morning. And yet there is such a thing as putting too much in and working on it too much. If you find that sermon prep is an uphill slog, and you’re unable to study and compose each week with time leftover to fulfill your other routine ministerial duties, it may be you need to refine your approach to preparation or even get some outside training or help with your preaching. Or it could be that you just need to stop trying to do everything in your sermon. The only thing worse than microwaved sermons are sermons that have cooked too long.

Some texts require more in-depth study than others, to be sure. Some texts are more complex and more demanding than others. But if you are finding that on average you need the bulk of your work week to finish every sermon, you may be overthinking it (at best) or not actually gifted to preach (at worst). Let’s assume the best-case scenario. Not every sermon needs to be an exhaustive dissertation on every possible implication of the passage at hand. This is especially true in smaller contexts where the main preaching pastor does not have the ability to delegate much else away to other pastors.

So don’t overdo it. Get some help if you need it. A measured, dedicated approach to sermon preparation will actually make it easier to prioritize the work each week and eventually provide you with a measure of rest each week besides. You don’t have to be ruled by the tyranny of the Sunday sermon deadline if you will take back control of your schedule and submit it to the biblical priorities for pastoral ministry.

Christian Persecution Is Intensifying

Every day, 1 in 9 Christians in the world faces high levels of religious persecution for following Jesus—that’s more than 245 million believers. And today, more than any time in modern history, Christian persecution is intensifying, with little sign of relief. In more than 60 countries, Christians risk isolation, ridicule, and imprisonment, loss of their homes, torture, rape, and even death for their faith in Jesus.

Today Open Doors released the 2019 Open Doors World Watch List—a ranking of the top 50 countries where it’s most dangerous and difficult to be a Christian. As the spread of radical Islam, the rise of religious nationalism, and intense persecution in Central Asia continues, a few countries new to the list may come as a surprise. Open Doors also shared a new in-depth study that dives deep into gender-based persecution in 33 countries, which has continued to rise resulting in the double persecution of Christian women.

David Curry, president/CEO of Open Doors USA, has called the list a “spiritual EKG showing the strength and vulnerability of the global church—the body of Christ.” Further, Curry says:

The World Watch List matters because it is the most trusted measurement of religious persecution in the world today. This report helps us close the gap between us. It helps us understand how to pray, to support, to empathize, and to stand with persecuted Christians when they suffer—and rejoice with them when conditions improve.

While Christian persecution takes many forms, Open Doors defines it as any hostility experienced as a result of identification with Christ.

Christians throughout the world continue to risk imprisonment, loss of their homes and possessions (including custody of their children), torture, beheadings, rape, and even death as a result of their faith. Curry says, “In response, [to the List] we call the church to pray for, connect with, and support our brothers and sisters who are both living and dying for their faith.”

For more than 60 years, Open Doors USA has worked in the world’s most oppressive and restrictive countries for Christians. Open Doors works to equip and encourage Christians living in dangerous circumstances with the threat of persecution and equips the Western church to advocate for the persecuted. Christians are one of the most persecuted religious groups in the world and are oppressed in at least 60 countries.

These are our brothers and sisters. We can’t afford to look away from their suffering. When you get down to it, it’s in the DNA of every believer to care for the hurting and have compassion for those who are persecuted—because we’re one family in Christ.

Brothers and sisters, let’s dig deep into the issue of Christian persecution and let’s find a way—no matter how big or small—to stand with the persecuted church.

To read about the countries on Open Doors’ 2019 World Watch List, click here to see the list, read the research, and find important prayer points. You can also download the full report. To help you pray with these believers, Open Doors has a mobile prayer app that connects you with persecuted Christians around the world and alerts you to their urgent prayer requests. Learn more about it and sign up to get regular updates delivered to your phone.