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MBTS Spring Graduation Address: Mark 10:32-45

We declare that Jesus Christ is Lord. We are an institution that believes that confession and that also seeks to live that confession. We are a Christian institution, an evangelical institution, and a Southern Baptist institution.

This means we believe the Bible is the holy, inerrant, authoritative Word of God. We believe that we are called by Christ to go out into the world and unto the nations making disciples of all men. We believe these things with a great extent of gravity and conviction. So, these things will appear hand in hand throughout this service today. This is not by accident because these are the truths that we cherish and hold dear. 

Perhaps you are visiting today and you are not a believer. You are here to support a family member or friend, and we thank you for coming. We do not see that as an accident either. It is by divine providence that you are here today, and we are praying that the message of the gospel and the words that are spoken would be illuminating for you as they point you to Christ. 

This is a day to celebrate our graduates. We are so thankful for these men and women. The stewardship we have had over the years to invest in them means more to myself and these behind me than you will ever know. We want you to join with us in celebrating them, and we want you to join with us here in worship this day as well.

It is my privilege twice a year to give graduates and those in attendance a final word of charge, a commencement address. I take this responsibility as it comes to me twice a year with great seriousness and with a great sense of anticipation, as I get to give that final word of exhortation from Scripture. It is a word that always has to be a touch abbreviated with the length of the service, and our ability to endure only so long in one room and in one place. But it is a word I look forward to bringing none the less. 

This morning I am speaking from the Gospel of Mark chapter 10. I will be speaking to you on the topic of ministers of sacrifice. Before I read scripture, I am reminded of this hour, this moment together. There is a sense in which commencement day is a common occasion for our nation, for people.

This time of year thousands of services are taking place across the country and beyond with people like yourself in robes, hats, sitting before a crowd and faculty. The senior staff dawned in regalia, with all of the senses of pomp and circumstance, processionals and recessionals and all that goes with a service like this. But for us, and institutions like this, a call that we have on behalf of Southern Baptists, this day, though with certain trappings and similarities, is altogether distinct.

For us, we understand that what we are doing is even more consequential. This day, this service, this season is marked by a sense of militancy in that we intend to continue to wage war with the Word and the Spirit against the forces of darkness. It is a sense of celebration because we know that the battle has been won in Christ, and we are departed to serve his cause triumphantly. There is a sense of urgency because we know it is our task to go with the gift of the gospel of Jesus Christ. 

Mark chapter ten then, reads as such: 

They were on the road going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking on ahead of them; and they were amazed, and those who followed were fearful. And again He took the twelve aside and began to tell them what was going to happen to Him, saying, “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered to the chief priests and the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death and will hand Him over to the Gentiles. They will mock Him and spit on Him, and scourge Him and kill Him, and three days later He will rise again.”

James and John, the two sons of Zebedee, came up to Jesus, saying, “Teacher, we want You to do for us whatever we ask of You.” And He said to them, “What do you want Me to do for you?” They said to Him, “Grant that we may sit, one on Your right and one on Your left, in Your glory.”  But Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or to be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?” They said to Him, “We are able.” And Jesus said to them, “The cup that I drink you shall drink; and you shall be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized. But to sit on My right or on My left, this is not Mine to give; but it is for those for whom it has been prepared.”

Hearing this, the ten began to feel indignant with James and John. Calling them to Himself, Jesus said to them, “You know that those who are recognized as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them; and their great men exercise authority over them. But it is not this way among you, but whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant; and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”

In recent days, our nation has witnessed a closing of a significant chapter. The end of era, the death of a slice of Americana. Richard E. Cole, the last survivor of Doolittle Raiders over Japan, died at the age of 103, and a slice of America died with him. Cole was, after all, copilot to Jimmy Doolittle, the commander on that fateful raid.  

You recall the story. On December 7, 1941, the Japanese Empire launched a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, our Pacific fleet station in Hawaii. The attack shocked the nation, devastated our Pacific fleet, and left some 2,403 individuals dead. Indeed, in the words of President Roosevelt, it is a day that lives in infamy.

American military planners, knowing we were years away from mounting a serious effort against the Japanese homeland, devised a risky ad-hoc effort that at best would cause symbolic damages. Yet, they wanted to sturdy the American public at home, and give the impression that we were indeed on the move. This attack would also startle the Japanese homeland and prove that they were not impenetrable. 

The morning of April 18, 1942, sixteen B25 bombers took off from the aircraft carrier USS Hornet some 650 miles offshore. These planes were stripped bare in order to carry maximum ordnances and maximum fuel because they would need both. B25 bombers were not designed to take off from the short deck of an aircraft carrier, so they barely cleared its 500-foot runway.

This is where the remarkable part of the story comes into the picture. Doolittle’s Raiders, some 80 men, knew that they were making a one-way trip. Their planes could not carry enough fuel to return safely to the Hornet. The pilot’s only hope was to find a safe place to land or crash their planes, hopefully in Nationalist China.

Of the 16 planes, one made it safely to the Soviet Union.  The other 15 crash-landed in Japanese territory or ditched their planes in the Ocean and died when they did. Some were killed in crash-landings, others were captured, tortured, and killed. Others died of privation, and still others were prisoners of war for years to come. 

On the surface, this story and this mission have all the markings of what we would classically define as a suicide mission. It was daring and ill-fated. Objectively assessed, there were low odds of a safe return, yet this suicide mission was undertaken by men who knew their efforts would be largely symbolic. Thus, the story is now part of American war legend.

That sense of service, of sacrifice, of daring commitment, inspires us, and it should. But for kingdom service, it ought to inspire us all the more. Our efforts are not acts of symbolism, they are not gestures to buck up the people of God. They are, for us, a calling by the Lord Jesus Christ to give our best for his gospel and his Scriptures for the sake of His glory and His church.

We are called to a ministry of sacrifice. We confess that doesn’t sound appealing to the ear does it? Imagine yourself in the local First Baptist Church and you have a minister of youth, a minister of students, and a minister of sacrifice.  It doesn’t have an appealing ring to it. No one with a brain would sign up for such a task. 

My charge this morning, though, is not that this is an office that is to be fulfilled, but an attitude to have because the road before us may well indeed be one marked by suffering and ongoing sacrifice. 

What is going on here in Mark chapter 10? This passage comes in the middle of Mark’s gospel. Verse 32 is the third occasion in three chapters that the disciples come to Jesus about their place in the kingdom, asking about what will happen to them, and asking about what is before them. For the third time, Jesus has spelled out the fact that before him is the cross, before him is an atoning work. In verse 33 we see: 

They were on the road going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking on ahead of them; and they were amazed, and those who followed were fearful. And again He took the twelve aside and began to tell them what was going to happen to Him, saying, “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered to the chief priests and the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death and will hand Him over to the Gentiles. They will mock Him and spit on Him, and scourge Him and kill Him, and three days later He will rise again.”

This is a consequential announcement, these are words of gravity and weight. And then, in verse 35, James and John, the two sons of Zebedee, respond in a childish way: 

Teacher, we want You to do for us whatever we ask of You.” And He said to them, “What do you want Me to do for you?” They said to Him, “Grant that we may sit, one on Your right and one on Your left, in Your glory.”

Which brings us to the meat of the passage and the crux of these verses for us this morning. What is it like to have a ministry of sacrifice? It means first, you must be prepared to suffer for the kingdom. Jesus says in verse 38, “You do not know what you are asking.” You want a seat that is elevated? You better be prepared to be brought low. You want a position of visibility, authority, or status, you better be prepared for the hardship that will come with it.

Jesus says, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or to be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?” What is this cup and baptism? These are biblical expressions or metaphors of suffering. Jesus prayed in the garden, “Father if it is thy will, let this cup pass from me.” To be baptized is this picture of being immersed into the sufferings of Christ. These two pictures reflect the suffering of Christ and the atoning work of Christ by actively taking the cup and choosing to lay down his life by being nailed to a tree. 

Verse 39 possibly contains the three most ironic words in the Bible, and possibly the three most stupid words in the Bible. That is, James and John respond, “We are able.” But the truth is that none of my brothers or sisters then or now are up for this task. No one is up to the task. We have to be buoyed every day and strengthened by the Word of God. We have to be renewed day by day in the gospel of Christ.

The fact is that we can only stand in him. We are empowered day by day for the ministry because the Spirit is willing and working in our lives. And with all of that together, our best efforts still fall woefully short of resembling the suffering of Christ. 

But James and John say to him, “We are able,” and Jesus says in return, “You better be.”  “The cup that I drink, you are going to drink, and you shall be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized.” Jesus predicts this and it comes true, does it not? In Acts 2, King Herod had James put to death with the sword. John, of course, is exiled to the island of Patmos. The point for us is that Jesus’ words come with ringing relevance. 

I am not a sour puss. I am not a pessimist. I am an optimist by nature. I am a cheerful human being who goes about his Christian life with a cheerful attitude. I believe we get to do this for the cause of Christ. But it is good that we reflect on passages like this on occasion, especially on occasions like today when we are reminded anew of why we signed up for all of this anyway. It was not because we saw it as an attractive profession; it was not because we had sufficient personalities and there seems to be a market need and a people who can meet that need; and it was not that there is an equality in the market and we can step in there and really do well with life.

No, it was because somewhere along the way, men and women, you in your own life, had an encounter with the risen Lord Jesus Christ. You came to the place where you repented of your sin and placed your faith in Christ. Additionally, you could not have escaped something of a call on your life. God was calling you to be equipped for greater service, to preach the Word, to counsel the Word, to teach the Word, to go in distant places and plant churches to reach the nations. 

For us, the cultural tide turns by the day, does it not? It swirls. Issues before our very eyes continue to be renegotiated and renegotiated and renegotiated. This includes issues of marriage and religious freedom. All of these things, of course, are changed so rapidly. Perhaps Isaac Watts would have something to say. 

Am I a soldier of the cross,
A follow’r of the Lamb?
And shall I fear to own His cause,
Or blush to speak His name?

Must I be carried to the skies
On flow’ry beds of ease,
While others fought to win the prize,
And sailed through bloody seas?

Are there no foes for me to face?
Must I not stem the flood?
Is this vile world a friend to grace,
To help me on to God?

Sure I must fight if I would reign;
Increase my courage, Lord;
I’ll bear the toil, endure the pain,
Supported by Thy Word.

Thy saints in all this glorious war
Shall conquer, though they die;
They see the triumph from afar,
By faith’s discerning eye.

When that illustrious day shall rise,
And all Thy armies shine
In robes of vict’ry through the skies,
The glory shall be Thine.

Jesus is saying be ready to suffer for the kingdom. Notice also what we are taught here, and that is that we must be submitted to the plan of the kingdom. Verse 40: “To sit on My right or on My left, this is not Mine to give; but it is for those for whom it has been prepared.” By whom? Who do you think? The Father.

As a part of God’s grand plan for his creation and for his church, he has gifted men and women in the body of Christ as we are taught in multiple places within the New Testament. And then, more specifically, to actually undertake responsibilities of leadership within the church and within the kingdom. And a part of our responsibility as ministers of the gospel is to have a keen sense of what has God gifted us for and what he is calling us to. And then, we must work to pursue that and make ourself available for that; not for something more or for something less. 

Again, this is so against conventional wisdom. We are taught from the world, and often in the church, that really life is about building that resume. Get your degrees and get some experience, three years here, four years there.

You are taught that you are going to step up to the next post and preach there four years, then you should go another place, and on and on. It is all about climbing and moving up so that by the time your kids are ready for college, you have a good enough ministry composed that you can fund it all and everything is going quite right. What if Jesus says, “Actually, all of that is garbage?” 

Brothers and Sisters, I propose to you this morning that that is exactly what he is saying in verse 40. He is saying to us this morning, “Toss your resume to the wind.” He is saying to us this morning, “Be ready and available for whatever God calls you to do. See your life, your calling, your ministry, all of that as being held with an open hand.”

He is saying in verse 40 that God is very concerned with this universe. Indeed, he is micromanaging this cosmos, and he has called you here to be equipped so that you could do the equipping. And all the while, we must be available to go and to serve. He gives us strengths, weaknesses, giftings, talents, skills, experiences, etc. 

Perhaps the least important thing that will happen to you while you went to Midwestern Seminary and Spurgeon College is getting this diploma I am going to hand you when you walk across the stage. I did not say that about what you did to earn the diploma, absolutely not. In fact, quite the contrary.

That diploma represents something you have accomplished, something you have achieved, something you ought to with a right and holy sense be proud of, something I hope you hand on your wall and point people to for decades to come. But if you view it as a credential merely, a credential that now has you positioned for better employment, Lord help you. But if you view it as a reminder of God’s grace that you had the privilege to study and to learn and to grow and become more familiar with the Scriptures and more equipped in the Scriptures, then we have done well, then you have done well. 

Notice with me thirdly in verse 41, there is also this call to be focused on the way of the kingdom. “Hearing this, the ten began to feel indignant with James and John.” Imagine that. James and John are cornering Jesus, wanting rank in the kingdom, wanting promotion, perhaps to be overlords to the other ten. Well, they do not like that one bit.

So, Jesus is starting this melee with these 12 guys who are asking horrible questions and missing all of the big picture of Jesus’ life and ministry. So, in verse 40 Jesus calls them to himself. He says to them:“You know that those who are recognized as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them; and their great men exercise authority over them. But it is not this way among you, but whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant; and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be slave of all.” 

Jesus is giving us here a pointed contrast between the way of the world and the way of the kingdom. The servant is one who is willing to sacrifice for others. The slave is one who has foregone his or her rights.

The way of the world is a pyramid, where the mighty ascend to the top of the summit. But in the kingdom, the topography of the pyramid is upside down. The way to advance in the kingdom is to walk lowly with our Lord. 

In verse 43, the punctuation at the end and the fourth theme for us to see is that we should imitate the king of the kingdom. Verse 45 is one of the most powerful verses in the Bible and one of the most important verses in the Gospel of Mark.

It is, perhaps, the most important verse in the Gospel of Mark. Jesus says this: “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”

Jesus takes a step back, reminds them of his calling, states clearly his work and says, “Look to me, my life and my ministry, and see that as a prototype after which you should aspire.” What is the “Son of man?” He is so lowly and yet when you read the book of Daniel, you see this title is one of power. He is saying, “The Son of Man, even I, did not come to be served but the serve.” 

If ever there was an era in human history that really got into being served, it was the era of the Roman Empire. They had it mastered. The Habsburgs knew nothing compared to the Romans. The life of the emperors couldn’t help but be trickled throughout the empire. The air they breathed -power, might, nobility, leadership, it was all there.

Jesus not only speaks a word contrary to the spirit of the age, but he teaches the disciples who think that He is now here to overthrow that regime. The Son of Man has come to do something far greater than tinker with the Romans. The Son of Man has come to give his life as a ransom for many. 

What does that mean? It is referring to the atoning work of our Lord on the cross, the penal substitutionary atoning work of our Lord on the cross. It was a sacrifice that he made with his body, with his blood, and with his death, he accomplished redemption. His act accomplished redemption because no other act or work could. Jesus is saying “this is why I have come. I came to give my life as a ransom for many.” 

Men and women, graduates this morning, I say to you, I am as proud of you as I can be. So many of you I look upon and I know personally. You have held campus jobs, you’ve been in classes I’ve taught, we’ve chatted in the hallway, you’ve stopped by the President’s Office, and it brings me such joy to get to congratulate you this day.

But I say to all of you, from those who I know the greatest, to those who I know the least, to all of you, this is a day to propel you forward into great things for the kingdom. Just do not be confused about what those great things are to be. 

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Lord’s Day Meditation: “He Shall Take Of Mine” by C. H. Spurgeon

Lord’s Day Meditation: “He Shall Take Of Mine” by C. H. Spurgeon (Morning and Evening, October 22, Evening)

“He shall take of mine, and shall show it unto you.” (John 16:15)

There are times when all the promises and doctrines of the Bible are of no avail, unless a gracious hand shall apply them to us. We are thirsty, but too faint to crawl to the water-brook. When a soldier is wounded in battle it is of little use for him to know that there are those at the hospital who can bind up his wounds, and medicines there to ease all the pains which he now suffers: what he needs is to be carried thither, and to have the remedies applied. It is thus with our souls, and to meet this need there is one, even the Spirit of truth, who takes of the things of Jesus, and applies them to us. Think not that Christ hath placed his joys on heavenly shelves that we may climb up to them for ourselves, but he draws near, and sheds his peace abroad in our hearts. O Christian, if thou art tonight labouring under deep distresses, thy Father does not give thee promises and then leave thee to draw them up from the Word like buckets from a well, but the promises he has written in the Word he will write anew on your heart. He will manifest his love to you, and by his blessed Spirit, dispel your cares and troubles. Be it known unto thee, O mourner, that it is God’s prerogative to wipe every tear from the eye of his people. The good Samaritan did not say, “Here is the wine, and here is the oil for you;” he actually poured in the oil and the wine. So Jesus not only gives you the sweet wine of the promise, but holds the golden chalice to your lips, and pours the life-blood into your mouth. The poor, sick, way-worn pilgrim is not merely strengthened to walk, but he is borne on eagles’ wings. Glorious gospel! which provides everything for the helpless, which draws nigh to us when we cannot reach after it–brings us grace before we seek for grace! Here is as much glory in the giving as in the gift. Happy people who have the Holy Ghost to bring Jesus to them.

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James Cone, Jesus Christ, & the Perils of Liberation Theology

Theological conflict often occurs in unlikely places. Such was the case a few years ago on the campus of Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. I found myself hosting a site-visit team from our regional accrediting agency; a visit that on the front end appeared innocuous enough. 

Yet, as we convened in the President’s Office, I sensed trouble on the horizon. The conversation started awkwardly, but then it took a turn for the worse. One of our visitors proposed I structure our budget to enhance theological diversity on our faculty by hiring a professor to teach Liberation Theology. 

To be fair, she wasn’t particularly hostile nor was she aware how out-of-bounds her suggestion would fall.  She was simply from an altogether different institutional setting and operating from an altogether different theological and cultural framework. I responded that I couldn’t—and wouldn’t—do that because Liberation Theology violates Scripture and our own confessional commitments. 

Recently I tweeted an even more abbreviated version of that story. My tweet was occasioned by two things: ongoing questions I’m fielding over Liberation Theology, and, most of all, a student conversation that afternoon. In fact, the second is what prompted my tweet. 

The New York Times Strikes Again

A New York Times article on these issues recently caused a stir. The pile-on that ensued against Dr. Walter Strickland revealed, once again, the underbelly of social media. When brothers and sisters within our confessional community misspeak or are misquoted, we owe them time to clarify themselves, and Dr. Strickland has now kindly and clearly done that. 

To seek clarity is not an injustice, it’s a necessity. Parts of the article, at face value, were worthy of concern. I understand why those who read the article without context or personal familiarity with Dr. Strickland might have been alarmed. Dr. Strickland evidently sensed the same and penned an excellent article of clarification.

But, for me, Dr. Strickland’s clarification was altogether unsurprising. All along, my would-be concerns were ameliorated because I know Dr. Strickland, Dr. Danny Akin, and the gifted and convictional colleagues he’s assembled at Southeastern Seminary. All who know them know of their faithfulness to Scripture, to the gospel of Jesus Christ, and to the Baptist Faith & Message 2000. 

As I reflect more broadly on our current context, I’ve become convinced of two things: While Southern Baptists do not have a wide-spread problem with Liberation Theology, some lingering questions persist. Secondly, most people in the pew do not know what Liberation Theology is, or why it is worthy of concern and critique. As for me, my concerns over Liberation Theology are long-standing, entrenched, and, evidently, timely. Thus, when asked about it last week, I felt the need to speak publicly on Liberation Theology specifically.

Walking Softly & Speaking Humbly 

As one who grew up in the Deep South, I’ve seen racism in its ugliest, most putrid forms. But I must confess, as a white man, I can only see dimly. That’s why on issues of race, I want to listen more than I want to talk. I want to ask questions more than I want to give answers. I want a humble self-awareness that instructs me of my inability to perceive rightly the burdens many of our brothers and sisters—past and present—endure.

More broadly, as it relates to the entire social justice movement, many of us are feeling our way through the conversation, seeking how best to be biblically faithful and pastorally wise. My aim here is not to engage the social justice movement as a whole, nor attendant issues like critical race theory, intersectionality, reparations, etcetera. That’s outside the confines of any one book, much less any one article.  

Nonetheless, on the issue of Liberation Theology, we must make sure we stand sturdy. On issues of race, we must speak with humility and grace, but that must not preclude us from speaking with clarity and boldness on issues of orthodoxy.  This brings me to Liberation Theology, why it’s heterodox, and why it all matters. 

What’s Wrong with Liberation Theology?

I first encountered Liberation Theology as an undergraduate student at Spring Hill College, a Jesuit institution in my hometown of Mobile, Alabama. Though I was a new believer and lacked a sufficient theological vocabulary and framework to engage it, even then I sensed it was a departure from the gospel of salvation by grace through faith in Christ. 

The more I studied, the more concerned I grew. When I transitioned to seminary I became more fully aware of Liberation Theology’s many problems. Those concerns remain with me to this present day. Liberation Theology is distinct from social justice. The latter is amorphous, multifaceted, difficult to define, and rapidly evolving. Liberation Theology is concrete, well-defined, and comes with its own theological method and message of redemption. 

To summarize, Liberation Theology arose in the 1950s and 1960s in Latin America. Liberation Theology speaks to various groups and ethnicities with a strong appeal to those who find themselves oppressed. In America, Liberation Theology gained broader appeal in the 1970s due to the writings of James Cone. 

In short, Liberation Theology argues that Jesus’ ministry focus was liberating the oppressed, empowering the weak, and raising up the socially marginalized. Indeed, the message of Christ, they argue, was one of freedom from political oppression and disenfranchisement, not one of repentance, faith, and forgiveness from sin. 

In particular, Cone denied essential Christian doctrines like substitutionary atonement. More broadly, he radically reimagined Jesus’ mission from redemption from sin to social empowerment. It’s an entirely different theological framework, with entirely different presuppositions, and with entirely different ends to achieve. 

Cone reconceptualized the person, work, and ministry of Christ. He presented a messiah who came not to redeem the spiritually lost, but to empower the politically dispossessed. 

He argued the death of Christ was unnecessary, and even unhelpful in that it depicts passive obedience to suffering and shame. It’s an interpretation of Jesus’ work on the cross that contradicts Jesus’ own explanation of this death—that “The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His Life a ransom for many(Matt. 20:28). Cone propagated a new theological system, alien to the New Testament, and well outside the bounds of Christian orthodoxy. 

For Cone, the defining reality of one’s life is one’s human experience, through which we are to interpret Christ’s message and mission. But for Christians, this is inverted. Christians are to start with Scripture, submit to its authority, embrace the gospel of Christ and develop a Christian worldview, and then interpret our human experience by it. 

Liberation Theology, as espoused by James Cone, is not slightly off. Liberation Theology isn’t a different flavor of the gospel. It’s a different gospel. It is no gospel at all.

In seminary classrooms, including at Midwestern Seminary, we intentionally engage a host of authors and ideas. I want my students to know the fallacies of JEPD, to scrutinize evolutionary theory, and to see the flaws of higher critical methodology. 

What is more, I want them to know of James Cone and to reflect on his views on race, but we must—must!—be careful with this theology. He reinvented the gospel, and that’s a reinvention the confessing church must push back against. 

A Better Example, Jesus Christ 

Thankfully, Christians are not left to choose between James Cone and a passive indifference toward the racially oppressed.  Our models in Scripture are abundant and clear.

In Galatians 2, Paul confronted Peter to his face over his ethnocentricity. In Acts 6, the early church instituted deacons to serve aggrieved gentiles who’d been neglected due to their ethnicity. In Acts 10, Peter reached Cornelius, thus taking the gospel to the Gentiles. Moreover, the macro-story of Scripture is that of a great ingathering of Jews and Gentiles, of peoples from every kindred, tongue, tribe, and nation into a family of eternal worshippers of King Jesus.  We look forward to that final, perfect state in Heaven. 

Furthermore, we rejoice when we see glimpses of the Kingdom in churches of the here and now. This is why in all of our churches we should cultivate and celebrate such unity in the gospel. 

Most of all, we strive to live and minister like our Lord Jesus Christ. He felt compassion for the woman at the well in John 4, and he gave us the Good Samaritan in Luke 10. All the while he preached repentance, discipleship, and called men to deny themselves and follow him.

In Conclusion

To engage issues so volatile and so sensitive as these is to wade into treacherous waters. You must be prepared to be misunderstood by your friends, misrepresented by your critics, and maintain a willingness to learn along the way. 

But for the church, the gospel of Jesus Christ—that message of salvation by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone—is our lifeblood. This is the message preached and accomplished by Christ, proclaimed by the apostles, codified by Augustine, recovered by the Reformers, and died for by millions of martyrs. It is indeed the faith once and for all delivered to the saints, and worth us fully contending for it. 

This gospel is one of those truths we must speak early and often, loudly and clearly, so as to not be confused about it, nor to allow confusion to enter our ranks. Gospel ministers are charged to be clear about the gospel. Those who train gospel ministers are paid to be clear. All truth-loving, gospel speaking Christians must be clear as well.  

These are challenging days. We must both defend the gospel and love our neighbor. I believe Southern Baptists are up to the challenge. We better be. 

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Lord’s Day Meditation: “I Will Love Them Freely” by C. H. Spurgeon

Lord’s Day Meditation: “I Will Love Them Freely” by C. H. Spurgeon (Morning and Evening, October 22, Morning)

“I will love them freely.” (Hosea 14:4)

This sentence is a body of divinity in miniature. He who understands its meaning is a theologian, and he who can dive into its fulness is a true master in Israel. It is a condensation of the glorious message of salvation which was delivered to us in Christ Jesus our Redeemer. The sense hinges upon the word “freely.” This is the glorious, the suitable, the divine way by which love streams from heaven to earth, a spontaneous love flowing forth to those who neither deserved it, purchased it, nor sought after it. It is, indeed, the only way in which God can love such as we are. The text is a death-blow to all sorts of fitness: “I will love them freely.” Now, if there were any fitness necessary in us, then he would not love us freely; at least, this would be a mitigation and a drawback to the freeness of it. But it stands, “I will love you freely.” We complain, “Lord, my heart is so hard.” “I will love you freely.” “But I do not feel my need of Christ as I could wish.” “I will not love you because you feel your need; I will love you freely.” “But I do not feel that softening of spirit which I could desire.” Remember, the softening of spirit is not a condition, for there are no conditions; the covenant of grace has no conditionality whatever; so that we without any fitness may venture upon the promise of God which was made to us in Christ Jesus, when he said, “He that believeth on him is not condemned.” It is blessed to know that the grace of God is free to us at all times, without preparation, without fitness, without money, and without price! “I will love them freely.” These words invite backsliders to return: indeed, the text was specially written for such–“I will heal their backsliding; I will love them freely.” Backslider! surely the generosity of the promise will at once break your heart, and you will return, and seek your injured Father’s face.

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Lord’s Day Meditation: “Why Are Ye Troubled” by C. H. Spurgeon

Lord’s Day Meditation: “The Love of Christ Constraineth Us” by C. H. Spurgeon (Morning and Evening, October 21, Evening)

“Why are ye troubled? and why do thoughts arise in your hearts?” (Luke 24:38

“Why sayest thou, O Jacob, and speakest O Israel, my way is hid from the Lord, and my judgment is passed over from my God?” The Lord cares for all things, and the meanest creatures share in his universal providence, but his particular providence is over his saints. “The angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear him.” “Precious shall their blood be in his sight.” “Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints.” “We know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them that are the called according to his purpose.” Let the fact that, while he is the Saviour of all men, he is specially the Saviour of them that believe, cheer and comfort you. You are his peculiar care; his regal treasure which he guards as the apple of his eye; his vineyard over which he watches day and night. “The very hairs of your head are all numbered.” Let the thought of his special love to you be a spiritual pain-killer, a dear quietus to your woe: “I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.” God says that as much to you as to any saint of old. “Fear not, I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward.” We lose much consolation by the habit of reading his promises for the whole church, instead of taking them directly home to ourselves. Believer, grasp the divine word with a personal, appropriating faith. Think that you hear Jesus say, “I have prayed for thee that thy faith fail not.” Think you see him walking on the waters of thy trouble, for he is there, and he is saying, “Fear not, it is I; be not afraid.” Oh, those sweet words of Christ! May the Holy Ghost make you feel them as spoken to you; forget others for awhile–accept the voice of Jesus as addressed to you, and say, “Jesus whispers consolation; I cannot refuse it; I will sit under his shadow with great delight.”

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Lord’s Day Meditation: “The Love of Christ Constraineth Us” by C. H. Spurgeon

Lord’s Day Meditation: “The Love of Christ Constraineth Us” by C. H. Spurgeon (Morning and Evening, October 21, Morning)

“The love of Christ constraineth us.” (2 Corinthians 5:14)

How much owest thou unto my Lord? Has he ever done anything for thee? Has he forgiven thy sins? Has he covered thee with a robe of righteousness? Has he set thy feet upon a rock? Has he established thy goings? Has he prepared heaven for thee? Has he prepared thee for heaven? Has he written thy name in his book of life? Has he given thee countless blessings? Has he laid up for thee a store of mercies, which eye hath not seen nor ear heard? Then do something for Jesus worthy of his love. Give not a mere wordy offering to a dying Redeemer. How will you feel when your Master comes, if you have to confess that you did nothing for him, but kept your love shut up, like a stagnant pool, neither flowing forth to his poor or to his work. Out on such love as that! What do men think of a love which never shows itself in action? Why, they say, “Open rebuke is better than secret love.” Who will accept a love so weak that it does not actuate you to a single deed of self-denial, of generosity, of heroism, or zeal! Think how he has loved you, and given himself for you! Do you know the power of that love? Then let it be like a rushing mighty wind to your soul to sweep out the clouds of your worldliness, and clear away the mists of sin. “For Christ’s sake” be this the tongue of fire that shall sit upon you: “for Christ’s sake” be this the divine rapture, the heavenly afflatus to bear you aloft from earth, the divine spirit that shall make you bold as lions and swift as eagles in your Lord’s service. Love should give wings to the feet of service, and strength to the arms of labour. Fixed on God with a constancy that is not to be shaken, resolute to honour him with a determination that is not to be turned aside, and pressing on with an ardour never to be wearied, let us manifest the constraints of love to Jesus. May the divine loadstone draw us heavenward towards itself.

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Three Questions for Christians on Social Media

How should Christians engage on social media? We have all seen the carnage. A poorly worded tweet brings confusion; a sharply worded one alienates. The Proverbs tell us much about the tongue, and many of its punchiest verses are applicable to our social media usage. As Christians, we are to bring every aspect of our lives under the Lordship of Christ, including our social media engagement.

Through our social media, we can bless or curse, build up or tear down, honor or dishonor the Lord Jesus Christ. Consider these three questions to help you navigate social media.

Question #1: To whom are you speaking?

This was a breakthrough question that I began asking myself several years ago. I use my social media platforms primarily to speak to fellow Christians. The principle I follow is one derived from years as a pastor. In short, I view my social media platform as, in a sense, a large church. I want to speak to them as I would have spoken to my literal congregation when I was a pastor. As a pastor, I encouraged, informed, and occasionally warned the sheep. Sometimes I was outright prophetic. But I was never shrill, snarky, or belittling. I spoke to them, and seek to do so now through social media, as the flock of God, fellow heirs of his grace.

Though my primary audience is Christians, I know that I reach many unbelievers as well. But, the same principles largely apply. To be unkind, ungenerous, or needlessly antagonistic, does nothing but offend and alienate. To do so repels them from Jesus and the Christian convictions we hold dear.

Question #2: What are you trying to say?

We all know that within the realm of interpretation, context is king. To rightly understand a text or a message of any type, you must consider the context. Twitter provides almost no context. Therefore, every time we tweet we are in jeopardy of being misunderstood. And it certainly does not permit nuance. It is just hard to convey much of anything complex or nuanced in a two-sentence tweet. Beware and be warned.

If our message is not clear or will likely need a follow-up clarification or qualification, then we probably ought to pass on it. Ask yourself, “What am I trying to say?” You may not be able to say it in 140 characters.

Question #3: Do you have any misgivings?

We have all paused, reread our tweet with our finger hovering over the send button, thinking should I or shouldn’t I? If you have lingering misgivings, do not send it. The types of things that give me pause are “How will this be interpreted?”, “Would I say this to their face?”, “Is this clear and able to be understood without being misunderstood?”, “Is this self-promoting, or humblebrag.” The truth of the matter is, I have regretted a few social media posts over the years. I have never regretted not sending one.

In Conclusion

I find myself in an ongoing love/hate relationship with social media. I appreciate it as a conduit to give and receive content, news updates, and to connect with ministry friends and family. I hate that I am occasionally misunderstood, that I occasionally misunderstand others, and that social media manages to take more of my time than I intended to give. Yet, I am at peace with my usage, and seek to be faithful by filtering my interactions through these three questions.

*This article was originally published on 3/29/17*

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Lord’s Day Meditation: “Keep Not Back” by C. H. Spurgeon

Lord’s Day Meditation: “Keep Not Back” by C. H. Spurgeon (Morning and Evening, October 20, Evening)

“Keep not back.” (Isaiah 43:6)

Although this message was sent to the south, and referred to the seed of Israel, it may profitably be a summons to ourselves. Backward we are naturally to all good things, and it is a lesson of grace to learn to go forward in the ways of God. Reader, are you unconverted, but do you desire to trust in the Lord Jesus? Then keep not back. Love invites you, the promises secure you success, the precious blood prepares the way. Let not sins or fears hinder you, but come to Jesus just as you are. Do you long to pray? Would you pour out your heart before the Lord? Keep not back. The mercy-seat is prepared for such as need mercy; a sinner’s cries will prevail with God. You are invited, nay, you are commanded to pray; come therefore with boldness to the throne of grace.

Dear friend, are you already saved? Then keep not back from union with the Lord’s people. Neglect not the ordinances of baptism and the Lord’s Supper. You may be of a timid disposition, but you must strive against it, lest it lead you into disobedience. There is a sweet promise made to those who confess Christ–by no means miss it, lest you come under the condemnation of those who deny him. If you have talents keep not back from using them. Hoard not your wealth, waste not your time; let not your abilities rust or your influence be unused. Jesus kept not back; imitate him by being foremost in self-denials and self-sacrifices. Keep not back from close communion with God, from boldly appropriating covenant blessings, from advancing in the divine life, from prying into the precious mysteries of the love of Christ. Neither, beloved friend, be guilty of keeping others back by your coldness, harshness, or suspicions. For Jesus’ sake go forward yourself, and encourage others to do the like. Hell and the leaguered bands of superstition and infidelity are forward to the fight. O soldiers of the cross, keep not back.

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Four Reasons for Pastors to Guard Their Hearts

Discouragement is not an emotion with which I am very familiar, but when a scandal comes out in the church, I feel it greatly. In fact, at times I have found myself not wanting to check social media, dreading to learn about the next scandal. When they come out, it is easy to find ourselves asking, “How could he…?”. Yet, upon sober reflection, we are reminded of how dangerous our sin nature truly is; and that Total Depravity is not just a theological point, but a malignancy within each one of us. Therefore, we must intentionally guard our hearts, and one way of doing that is to meditate on the catastrophic ruin that accompanies sexual sin.

Our Ministry Depends Upon Our Character

The qualifications for ministry listed in I Timothy 3 are almost entirely character related, and they are binding on all who are called to ministry. First Timothy 3 is not a one-time threshold to cross; it is an ongoing accountability to God’s Word and God’s people. One can be a godly man without being a pastor, but one cannot be a faithful pastor without being a godly man.

We Are Stewards of God’s Glory

Every church is a prism of God’s glory and every pastor is a steward of it. When a pastor falls into sin—and especially when it is uncovered—God’s glory in his church is sullied. The pastor’s scandal lands like a bombshell in the church and community. The reverberations are often never-ending, lasting decades into the future. When this happens, it is not just our name that is tarnished, but Jesus.’ Our sin impugns his name and undermines God’s glory in his church.

We Are Stewards of Our Call

Every pastor enjoys a double call on his life: the call to both salvation and ministerial service. As Paul challenged Timothy, so we must kindle afresh the gift of God within us, and guard what he has entrusted to us. One’s call to ministry is indeed a sacred stewardship, a call we must cherish and guard. Moreover, countless people have invested in our calling. Pastors have mentored us, friends have supported us, congregations have followed us, and our families have sacrificed much for us. All of these dimensions—and much more—amplify the stewardship that is ours.

The Price of Falling is too High to Pay

The wise pastor will soberly reflect on all the pain he will cause if he falls into sin. Imagine explaining to your children why you must resign your church. Contemplate forfeiting years of study and ministerial service in one act of indiscretion. Reflect upon your wife’s response to an act of sexual betrayal. And, most of all, remember that God’s all-seeing eye is upon you. Even if, for a season, sin is hidden from the brethren, it cannot be hidden from God.

Conclusion

Guarding our hearts will take more than accountability partners, Internet filters, or even pondering sin’s catastrophic consequences. Ultimately, our hearts are most guarded when they are most satisfied in a person: Jesus Christ.

As C. S. Lewis famously observed, “We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.”

The heart that is best guarded is the heart most given over to Christ. May we find our true joy—and our lasting pleasure—in him.

*This article was originally posted 09/07/15

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Lord’s Day Meditation: “Grow Up Into Him In All Things” by C. H. Spurgeon

Lord’s Day Meditation: “Grow Up Into Him In All Things” by C. H. Spurgeon (Morning and Evening, October 20, Morning)

“Grow up into him in all things.” (Ephesians 4:15)

Many Christians remain stunted and dwarfed in spiritual things, so as to present the same appearance year after year. No up-springing of advanced and refined feeling is manifest in them. They exist but do not “grow up into him in all things.” But should we rest content with being in the “green blade,” when we might advance to “the ear,” and eventually ripen into the “full corn in the ear?” Should we be satisfied to believe in Christ, and to say, “I am safe,” without wishing to know in our own experience more of the fulness which is to be found in him. It should not be so; we should, as good traders in heaven’s market, covet to be enriched in the knowledge of Jesus. It is all very well to keep other men’s vineyards, but we must not neglect our own spiritual growth and ripening. Why should it always be winter time in our hearts? We must have our seed time, it is true, but O for a spring time–yea, a summer season, which shall give promise of an early harvest. If we would ripen in grace, we must live near to Jesus–in his presence–ripened by the sunshine of his smiles. We must hold sweet communion with him. We must leave the distant view of his face and come near, as John did, and pillow our head on his breast; then shall we find ourselves advancing in holiness, in love, in faith, in hope–yea, in every precious gift. As the sun rises first on mountain-tops and gilds them with his light, and presents one of the most charming sights to the eye of the traveller; so is it one of the most delightful contemplations in the world to mark the glow of the Spirit’s light on the head of some saint, who has risen up in spiritual stature, like Saul, above his fellows, till, like a mighty Alp, snow-capped, he reflects first among the chosen, the beams of the Sun of Righteousness, and bears the sheen of his effulgence high aloft for all to see, and seeing it, to glorify his Father which is in heaven.

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