Jason K. Allen's Blog, page 38

Lord’s Day Meditation: “All the Days of His Separation” by C. H. Spurgeon

Lord’s Day Meditation: “All the Days of His Separation” by C. H. Spurgeon (Morning and Evening, August 29, Evening)

“All the days of his separation shall he eat nothing that is made of the vine tree, from the kernels even to the husk.” (Numbers 6:4)

Nazarites had taken, among other vows, one which debarred them from the use of wine. In order that they might not violate the obligation, they were forbidden to drink the vinegar of wine or strong liquors, and to make the rule still more clear, they were not to touch the unfermented juice of grapes, nor even to eat the fruit either fresh or dried. In order, altogether, to secure the integrity of the vow, they were not even allowed anything that had to do with the vine; they were, in fact, to avoid the appearance of evil. Surely this is a lesson to the Lord’s separated ones, teaching them to come away from sin in every form, to avoid not merely its grosser shapes, but even its spirit and similitude. Strict walking is much despised in these days, but rest assured, dear reader, it is both the safest and the happiest. He who yields a point or two to the world is in fearful peril; he who eats the grapes of Sodom will soon drink the wine of Gomorrah. A little crevice in the sea-bank in Holland lets in the sea, and the gap speedily swells till a province is drowned. Worldly conformity, in any degree, is a snare to the soul, and makes it more and more liable to presumptuous sins. Moreover, as the Nazarite who drank grape juice could not be quite sure whether it might not have endured a degree of fermentation, and consequently could not be clear in heart that his vow was intact, so the yielding, temporizing Christian cannot wear a conscience void of offence, but must feel that the inward monitor is in doubt of him. Things doubtful we need not doubt about; they are wrong to us. Things tempting we must not dally with, but flee from them with speed. Better be sneered at as a Puritan than be despised as a hypocrite. Careful walking may involve much self-denial, but it has pleasures of its own which are more than a sufficient recompense.

 

The Church Triumphant (Matthew 16:13-20)

This morning we are thinking about “The Church triumphant.” Our text will be Matthew 16:13-20.

Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”  Then he strictly charged the disciples to tell no one that he was the Christ.

We consider this morning, one of the great passages in all of the Bible, Matthew chapter 16. For those of us in ministry and for those of us pursuing ministry, it is a passage that we are familiar with. But it is a passage that, in my mind, is paradigmatic for ministry. It is a passage that is a mountain peak in the New Testament, and one that those of us in ministry should come back to again and again and again. It rightly situates our minds about what the church is, and what Jesus has promised to do through it and on its behalf. It is a promise that comes to us, not as something that we occasionally reflect on abstractly in the classroom or in a Bible reading, but we stubbornly cling to day-to-day as we are about the work of the gospel ministry.

Jesus says, “I will build my church. The gates of Hades will not overpower it.” But we confess this morning, if we are honest with ourselves, our moment, and our context, that we do not consider this passage in tranquil times. We consider this passage with a sense of crises in the air. “Crises” is a tired word. We hear of economic crises, cultural crises, and geopolitical crises. It is a word, though tired, is fitting for this passage and for our moment because we rightly understand that we minister in a season–the 21st century–when we have experienced, are experiencing, and shall experience cultural crises.

There are pressures against the Church and pressures against professing Christians who believe that the Scriptures are God’s Word. Day-to-day, as we listen to the news and read the paper, we feel this social-cultural upheaval that is upon us and seems to be intensifying week-to-week. But also, we understand our churches know something of a crisis as well; so many Evangelical churches are plateaued or declining numerically; so many of those pulpits are weak and shallow. So many of those congregations are worldly and unspiritual; so many of our congregations have meaningless church membership where to be in the church is no different, practically speaking, than to be in the world; so many of our churches have a tragic apathy toward the lost.

In this milieu, we find ourselves at Midwestern Seminary on this somewhat spring, March day. We are gathered together in this chapel, thinking about ministry, thinking about God’s call on our lives, and thinking, “Why are we here anyway?” This question is not just to the prospective student, but to all of us – faculty, staff, president, administration – to everyone here who is a part of this great work and great mission – Why? Why are we here? It goes back to five words in Matthew 16 – “I will build my church.” Jesus declares this promise that echoes throughout the ages, and that has proven true throughout every generation and every century throughout church history.

We acknowledge on the one hand that we minister, prepare, and study for a world, a culture, a moment of ministry marked by crises. But we juxtapose that assessment alongside of this passage, and it renews us and reinvigorates us again and again- Sunday after Sunday, Lord’s Day after Lord’s Day, lecture after lecture, mission trip after mission trip. Jesus is doing something infinitely bigger than ourselves and has given us a promise that we can and must cling to – He will build His church.

Remember what is going on in this passage. We come to Matthew 16 and it is an interesting context. The chapter opens with the Pharisees wanting a sign, challenging Jesus as to who he was and what will come. Jesus says in verse four of chapter 16, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, but a sign will not be given it except the sign of Jonah.” Jesus, of course, was foreshadowing his own death and resurrection. He says, “You want another sign and you want to see me multiply the food, you want to see me heal the lame, you want to see my walk on water, you want to see a miracle? You have seen enough miracles. There is one more sign that is coming that is the greatest miracle of them all – the sign of Jonah I shall own myself.” Then we see Jesus departing with his disciples, verse 13 tells us, in the district of Caesarea Philippi to the north. He departs with his disciples to reflect with them,  to rest with them, to dialog with them, and to ask them this most pointed question – who do people say that the Son of Man is?

I want to talk through these verses this morning pastorally. In light of this chapel gathering and especially on this day of contemplating ministry, I want to make four observations about this text, about the church, about what Jesus has promised, and about what Jesus is doing. The first observation I see unfolding in this passage is that the church is established on the truth. Or we might say, the church is established on sound doctrine.

Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.

The question is, who do people say that the Son of Man is? It is a question that is a necessary question not only in the 1st century but in the 21st century. It is a question that is necessary not only for the masses but as we shall see momentarily, it is a question that is necessary for every individual who has ever lived. Jesus asked this question to prompt the disciples to think rightly, to think intentionally about who he was and what he was up to. In Jesus’ day, we know there was much Messianic speculation. Jewish boys and Jewish girls were taught from childhood to look for the Messiah. The Jewish people were looking for one who would deliver them spiritually and that had morphed into a deliverance politically as well. They were looking for a Messiah who would come. So it was not an uncommon question to ask or to reflect – is this teacher the Messiah? Is that teacher the Messiah? When will the Messiah come? What shall he look like? What shall mark his ministry? Jesus tips his hand, no doubt, in verse 13 even in how he frames the question, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” This is the title of divinity that we see showing up in places like Daniel 7.

In verse 14, we get a sort-of public opinion survey as to who Jesus was. They say the crowd is saying, “Some say John the Baptist.” Of course, John the Baptist by this point has been beheaded and put to death. “Others Elijah,” the fiery prophet, “but still others Jeremiah,” the weeping prophet. So the opinion of the day has Jesus ranked pretty high. They assess him to be likened to, and perhaps even be John the Baptist returned, or Elijah returned, or Jeremiah returned, or one of the other prophets.

This is the time of year Christians approach Easter. It is also the time of year for non-Christians, when all kinds of chicanery happens about Easter. All we have to do to see the chicanery is turn on the television and go to the History Channel, or the major news networks, or these different shows that will present documentaries entitled, “In Search of the Historical Jesus” or “The Quest for the Historical Jesus, or “Who was the Historical Jesus?” Invariably, when you watch those shows, they always get it wrong.  They sit down and interview someone with a Ph.D. from Harvard University or the Ivy League schools, and they ask this individual who was this Jesus? They respond and say things much like we see in verse 14 – Jesus was a great moral teacher; he was a social revolutionary; he was an incredible leader; he performed great works; or he impacted his time so much so he divided the calendar. But invariably, those documentaries which flood the airwaves this time of year, always get it wrong over two points. First, they are unwilling to acknowledge Jesus as God’s only Son, thus making himself equal with the Father. Secondly, they are unwilling to acknowledge that Jesus actually rose from the dead. If you acknowledge that this man 2,000 years ago actually was the Son of God, actually died on a tree, and actually was raised from the dead, then you cannot do it without understanding the demands required of you to live for him, to follow him, to serve him.

They got it wrong in the 1st century and they continue to get it wrong in the 21st century. I was watching one of these shows a few years ago and John Meacham, who is one of my favorite historians, was on there speaking. He has written a number of presidential biographies, and he is a great writer and thinker. But he was out of his league a little bit talking theologically. Meacham is an Episcopalian of the main line stripe, and he was asked about the resurrection of Jesus. He said this, and I will never forget, “Though not factual, the resurrection can still be true.” Now, you have to be smarter than I am not to understand that nonsense. If it is not factual, it cannot be true. That is what you call explaining away the gospel through poetic sleight of hand.

“Who do you say that I am?” Notice verse 15. The question is sharpened. It is a question with dramatic implications for all aspects of our life: evangelism, lifestyle, how we give our time and energy, our resources, and even for us in the room, our calling. Who do you say that I am? This question always has to be sharpened. It is ministerial malpractice to leave this question in the words of verse 13 and not bring it to the directness of verse 15. “Who do you say that I am?” It is more than a personal statement of belief, though it is that. As we will see momentarily, it is the foundational statement of the church itself, and the answer has enormous implications for us as individuals, enormous implications for any and every church, and enormous implications for the cause of Christ.

Jesus asked this question, and I can envision him, now in my mind’s eye, asking this question not wanting so much their assessment of who he was, but asking it with the heart of pastoral and brotherly love for his disciples. Is that not where every such gospel-centered conversation is to go? Not just wondering if someone will check a box or pray a prayer or acknowledge in some shallow way who Jesus is. But with the heart of a pastor and the heart of a brother, understanding that a soul is at stake and eternity is in the balance. Who do you say that I am? I pray that none of us, myself included, can skim over this passage and skim over verse 15 ever in our Christian lives without being pricked anew about the directness and the urgency of answering this question. Jesus founds his church on the truth, on sound doctrine.

Look at verse 16. Simon Peter answers, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” We know Peter. He was oftentimes the odd one who got it wrong. He denied Peter three times before the cock crowed. He drew the sword to slice off the guard’s ear in the Garden of Gethsemane. He was often abrasive, impulsive, and impetuous, but Peter gets it right here. Verse 17 tells us he got it right, not because he was particularly insightful, but because the Lord has revealed it to him: “My Father, who art in heaven…” The point that he makes under divine prompting, divine inspiration, is that Jesus is the Christ, the son of the living God. Again, Messianic expectation was not uncommon in his day. Peter throws out on the table the mother of all claims – that Jesus is the fulfillment of this Messianic expectation. Jesus is the one the prophets have spoken of; Jesus is the one our forbearers have longed for; Jesus is the one that our nation has yearned for.

The Christ, the Messiah, the Son of the living God, making himself equal with God the Father – this is a theme throughout Scripture. The deity of Christ is seen in Colossians 1:15, Colossians 2:9, John 1, John 8:58. We see again and again throughout the New Testament these specific statements that Jesus is God’s Son and specific claims by Jesus to be God’s Son. Even in a cursory reading of the Gospel of John you repeatedly pick up that Jesus claimed to be God’s Son, thus making himself equal with the Father. That is precisely why on multiple occasions they picked up stones to kill him. Jesus was not put to death over a misunderstanding. Jesus was put to death because of an understanding. It was because the crowd perceived exactly what he was claiming – to be the Son of God.

Jesus, in every discernable way, demonstrated the marks, the signs, and the abilities of a member of the Trinity. By works – he created, he sustains, he forgives, he raises the dead, he judges. By worship – he received worship from angels, and men, and all people. By his attributes- he demonstrated the attributes of omnipotence, omniscience, and immortality. By the names he permitted himself to be called– Lord and God. And, of course, what is given to us in the baptism formula, that we baptize in the name of the Father and the Son and the Spirit. Listen to me closely, the church that forsakes the truth that Jesus is the Son of God is the church that God will forsake. God is not in the business of building churches that undermine and corrupt and confuse who his Son was, who his Son is.

This confession is the foundation of the church. Notice what Jesus says in verse 18. “I say to you that you are Peter and upon this rock, I will build my church. The gates of Hades will not overpower it.” We are going to camp out in verse 18 for a while, but just reading on into verse 18 we see where Jesus then takes Peter’s confession, and he says he is going to do something with it. He says, “I will build my church.” Our Roman Catholic neighbors understand this to be a stationing of Peter as the first pope, the establishment of the office of the papacy, and apostolic succession through it. We obviously do not read it that way for a number of reasons, not the least of which, that is not what it says here. But also in many other places like Matthew 18:1-4; Matthew 20:20-21; or any other place where you see the question about order or rank in the kingdom, Jesus never established Peter as superior.

So, what is Jesus saying here in verse 18? It is most commonly understood in Evangelical circles that Jesus is saying that upon this confession over who I am, I will build my church. I think that we should understand that, but also understand that it entails a little more than that as well. I believe Jesus is promising here that he will build his church upon the truth of this confession, but not merely the statement of his deity, but also the teaching that would come through the apostles. Ephesians 2:20 tells us that we are being built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone.

In Acts 2:42, we see that the early church gave themselves to the apostle’s teaching. First Corinthians 3:11 tells us that no one can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, Jesus Christ. The foundation of the church is God-given revelation, and Jesus is the cornerstone of the church. The church’s one foundation is Jesus Christ. Listen to my closely. The church is birthed in Acts chapter two at Pentecost, but here we see it in early form, projected, spoken to come. It is built out through the book of Acts and through the New Testament Epistles by the apostle’s teaching. So we need to be careful, and our alarm bells ought to go up every time we hear someone saying something like this, “We want to build our church on Jesus, but we do not want to get hung up on doctrine.” Jesus, in this passage, is hung up on doctrine. Jesus is promising to build his church upon this confession and out from it the apostle’s teaching. Doctrine does not confuse the church or distract the church. Sound doctrine ensures the church.

This brings me to my second observation about this passage, and that is Jesus is Lord over his church. Notice what Jesus says in verse 18. “I say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church.” Notice the ownership we see in verse 18. “I will build my church.” There is a possessiveness to these five words. There is a sense of ownership that Jesus conveys, and it instructs us as to how the church is to function; how we are to serve within it; how we are to envision and understand and interpret our own calls to ministry; and how we even process our lives at stations like this. We do not sign up to enhance our resume.  We do not sign up to bring our great ideas to the local church. We do not sign up to demonstrate our giftedness or to impress people with our abilities. We sign up understanding that Jesus is Lord of his church.

The church is Jesus’ foremost love and interest. In fact, it may be impossible to overstate the centrality of the Church in the New Testament. Jesus died for his Church; he purchased it with his blood. Christ is head of his Church; the church is referred to as the Bride of Christ. We are told that Christ will return for his Church. Christ gives his followers for service in his Church. Christ calls men to lead and preach in his Church. Christ is building his Church. The book of Revelation gives us a picture of Christ walking amongst his churches and holding his pastors, his elders, in his hand. A believer is disciplined for sin when it takes place in the context of the Church. And we see, of course, in Acts 9, when Jesus confronts Saul on the Damascus Road, he says, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” To persecute the Church is to persecute Jesus.

Here is what I want to impress upon you: how we understand our Christian lives must lived in the context of the local church. We are not free-agent Christians who just roam around from church-to-church, from season-to-season, from place-to-place, with marginal involvement or engagement in the local church. We are baptized into the church. We are called to come together in covenant communities known as the local church. Our first sense of identity and community ought not be a place of work or even a seminary, but ought to be our local church. We want to place ourselves in that context and intentionally involve and integrate ourselves into that local church.

I was talking to someone a couple of weeks ago on time-change Sunday. Fall time change is good on Sunday, but springtime change in not so good on Sunday. It has always mystified me, why we have to do this on Saturday night? Why can’t we do this on Thursday afternoon at 2:00? Doesn’t that make a lot more sense? If I were president of the United States, that would be the first act I would move. Anyway, so spring is always kind of a gulp in the morning. Your kids are foggy-eyed; you are trying to get to church on time; and I bumped into someone around town and asked where they went to church. They said, “When we want to go to early service, we go to church X. When we want to go to late service, we go to church Y.” Then they kind of smiled and said, “Given that this is time change Sunday, you know where we went.” I had 18 alarm bells going off in my mind, and I wanted to say, “Hearing your casual commitment to the church, I am concerned about where you are going eternally.” Why would I feel that? Why would I be concerned about that? I challenge you to find in the New Testament a place where Christians just anonymously roam around without actually showing up in community in the local church.

Jesus is Lord over his Church. I once had a church member tell me, “What I love about our church is that our church is not just my church; it is not just your church; it is our church.”  I know what they meant, and the sentiment was a sweet one, but it is actually off. It is not my church; it is not your church; it is not our church; it is His church. If you understand that, then everything from church government, community, what we preach and teach, and how we engage and minister is affected. Jesus is Lord over his church.

The third observation is found at the end of verse 18. Jesus ensures the church’s future. “I will build my church.” I understand the church was formally constituted at Pentecost in Acts 2, but here in a non-technical sense, Jesus is referring to the church as the ecclesia, the “called out ones.” The point from verse 18, from these five words, is not so much the timing but the certainty. I just want to reflect triumphantly with you for a moment that 2,000 years later this promise has never been invalid. This promise has never been broken. We are in a chapel today, on a campus today, supported by a denomination today, serving together today. All of this is because of this promise. You are here today on Preview Day because of this promise.

Jesus says, “I will build my church.” Every word matters. “I” – Jesus himself. Not Peter, not Paul, not Billy Graham, not gifted seminary professors. Jesus will – not “may” or “might” or “hope to,” he will. “I will build.” I love the activity, the industry. It is not passive. It is not, “I will permit to be built.” “I will build my…” there is a possession here. “I will build my church.” Jesus never promised to build your Bible study, your parachurch ministry or your discipleship group. Jesus did not promise to build this seminary. Jesus said, “I will build my church.” And your Bible study group or youth ministry or this seminary all have a right to exist and be blessed by Jesus inasmuch as we understand priority number one is serving Jesus in his great mission to build his Church.

Where was” For the Church” born? From the verse we are looking at. Because if we have eyes to see in the New Testament, we see on page-after-page-after-page, the Church. We hear it with a loud roar. We have to almost overhear theological training and ministry preparation. It is there, but you almost have to overhear it. But the Church is a loud roar, and that is what we are and what we want to be a part of.

Jesus says, “I will build my church.” So how is he doing? What has taken place for 2,000 years? The church has metastasized around the world. You say, but wait a minute, now we are here and I am reading about cultural Christianity being on the wane. Sure that is true, but Jesus does not say, “I will build your cultural Christianity.” He says, “I will build my Church.” Even though cultural Christianity is waning, the Church is flourishing. You say, “Now wait a minute, I’m from down the street, and we used to have this many churches and now we have X number of churches, and our church that I grew up in is smaller than it used to be.” But what is going on in the house group church movement right now in China? It is exploding. What is going on throughout nations in Africa? The church is blossoming. What is going on in Latin America? Incredible things. So, these five words in verse 18 have been irresponsibly clung to by some who take it as some odd blanket assurance that Jesus would build their particular church here no matter how passive they are or how lazy they are, or how prone to bitterness and church fights they are. Many a church has closed its doors having previously clung to these five words. So this is not a license for passivity or laziness or bitterness or anything that would hinder the church, but it is a perennial promise that Jesus will not forsake his church.

Think about what has happened in 2,000 years. Empires have risen and fallen, great leaders have come and gone. Movements have started and wilted. Assaults, persecution, false doctrine, think about everything that could have once and for all finally destroyed the church. But it stands triumphantly fulfilling these five words throughout the ages.

Occasionally when I am out about town or in a restaurant someone asks, “What do you do? Where do you work?” I say, “I work at Midwestern Seminary.” And they ask, “What is Midwestern Seminary?” And I say, “It is a place where we train pastors and ministers and missionaries and counselors and people like that.” And they say, “What do you do there?” And I say, “I am the president.” And they say, “Oh, what does the President do?” And I always get tickled because many people do not understand ministry and do not understand a seminary and do not understand us. They assume my job is to take gifted men and women who are already poised for success in whatever vocation of life they may choose because they are smart and they have a magnetic personality, they have great people skills. We just kind of polish them up a bit and channel their gifting and their abilities toward the church as opposed to selling insurance or practicing medicine or any other commendable vocation. Inasmuch as we do that, then Jesus builds his church. I am chastened every time I read the words of Paul that there are not many mighty, not many noble, not many wise according to this age.

Our job is not to be a group of highly gifted and accomplished people. We are not called to present ourselves well and thus attract gifted, capable, sterling students. Students who are already poised for a life of success in whatever type of vocation they may choose, and we just kind of give them a religious credential and send them on their way. Our job and our aim is to acknowledge that we are just normal folk, saved by the grace of God, purchased by the blood of the lamb. We have been set apart by Jesus in the spirit of Ephesians to equip the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ. And we, in our own fallen, error-prone way, seek to do it again and again, day-after-day. We draw students who want to be a part of that and want to, with us, cling to this promise that He will build His church. It is not based upon the ACT scores or the GPAs of our incoming class but upon this promise.

There is a fourth and final observation here and that is this: Jesus cares about the purity of the Church. Verse 19 says, “I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven and whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven.” This again seems like an odd statement to be made in the context of building the Church. We understand it as well as we understand Matthew 18, which says nearly the same thing. What is going on here? Who is binding and loosing? Do we have a priest-like authority as members of the clergy? No. It is referring to sin here in verse 19 and in Matthew chapter 18 as well. Jesus is saying that we, meaning ministers of the gospel – those who serve him, do not have the power to declare, but we do have the power to acknowledge. We acknowledge the binding and loosing of sin based upon one’s lack of repentance or one’s expressed and demonstrated repentance. And this is based upon the goodness of Christ, the practice of Christ, in saving us from our sin. But why here? Why, after verse 18, “I will build my church.” Why verse 19 – this odd insertion about binding and loosing, about sin, about the church? Because nothing will stop the building of Christ’s church, but one thing will certainly muddy up his testimony, and that is sin in the church. Unrepentant sin, scandalous sin, the televangelist who wants your money, the formerly erstwhile faithful pastor who steps out with the secretary, the choir member who cheats in business, or the deacon who is course in tongue on the golf course, are all a reproach on Christ. When sin takes place in the church it stymies, it hinders, it blemishes the glory of God.

This is a sermon unto itself in the ministerial responsibility we have to seek to cultivate godly fellowship and godly accountability, and to establish a community that reflects God’s glory. How many Southern Baptists do we have these days? Seriously, it is a good question. Some may say, “You are a seminary president, you ought to know.” I do know that our SBC annual says we have about 15.7 million. How many Southern Baptists show up to church on any given Sunday? About 5 million. What does that do with 10 million? What does that do with 10 million people who evidently are on our rolls? Millions upon millions upon millions that, though they once signed up to be a part of a church, have no ongoing engagement with that church. In any other human organization or body or human community we would find that tragically problematic. Should we find that any less problematic when we are thinking about the church of our Lord Jesus Christ?

This came to me in clear focus last year. I was reminded anew as I was down on the Plaza with my wife. We were walking around just kind of window shopping, and we walked in a store there. It was a men’s clothing store, and we walked in and it was one of the stores you walk through and look more than you buy because it is pretty pricy. I was there milling around and a salesman came up to me who was in his early seventies or mid-seventies maybe, and he began to talk to me. I was trying to keep moving. I did not want to stop. I just had a few minutes there, so I wanted to keep moving, and he was doing the salesman thing talking it up and trying to make the human connection asking, “Where do you live?” And I said, “North Kansas City.” He said, “Where in North Kansas City?” I said, “Just off Vivion Road.” He said, “I grew up on Vivion Road.” So the conversation keeps going. At this point I am astounded because every sentence uttered is so profane. I am shocked this man is talking to me this way. Not like Jason, the minister, or Jason, the Christian, just Jason, the human being. Meaning, I did not know sales people could talk this way. Every sentence was coarse and profane and had an explicative in it. I am trying to leave and extract myself and about that time my wife comes up and gives me the bug-eyed look as to how this guy is talking. I am trying to leave, and he says to me, where on Vivion Road do you live? I said, I live kind of on Vivion and North Oak, and he said, “I know exactly where that is.” He said, “They sold that property there. Do you live in that white house?” I said, “Yes sir, I do.” And he said, “I thought that Baptist Seminary owned the white house.” Again, after like five minutes of vulgarity bombs I said, “It does.” And he said, “Are you affiliated with the seminary?” And I said, “Yes sir, I am.” And he said, “Well, what do you do there?” And I said, “I am the president.” And he said, “Hallelujah, praise the Lord.” He said to me, “I am a Baptist.” My son-in-law is a Baptist preacher, and I love that Baptist seminary. Again, in five minutes you see verse 19. The Church is too beautiful, too consequential for us not to take seriously the purity of the Church.

We have a glorious calling because we have a glorious Savior who has established and is building a glorious entity. He could have chosen to build anything under the sun and more. He could have chosen to use any of the masses of humanity and more, but he has chosen to build the church and he has chosen to use people like us in this room. Never lose the majesty, the romance, and the splendor of that call.

 

 

 

Lord’s Day Meditation: “Have Mercy Upon Me, O God” by C. H. Spurgeon

Lord’s Day Meditation: “Have Mercy Upon Me, O God” by C. H. Spurgeon (Morning and Evening, August 29, Morning)

“Have mercy upon me, O God.” (Psalm 51:1)

When Dr. Carey was suffering from a dangerous illness, the enquiry was made, “If this sickness should prove fatal, what passage would you select as the text for your funeral sermon?” He replied, “Oh, I feel that such a poor sinful creature is unworthy to have anything said about him; but if a funeral sermon must be preached, let it be from the words, Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness; according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions.'” In the same spirit of humility he directed in his will that the following inscription and nothing more should be cut on his gravestone:–

William Carey, Born August 17th, 1761: Died – –

“A wretched, poor, and helpless worm

On thy kind arms I fall.”

Only on the footing of free grace can the most experienced and most honoured of the saints approach their God. The best of men are conscious above all others that they are men at the best. Empty boats float high, but heavily laden vessels are low in the water; mere professors can boast, but true children of God cry for mercy upon their unprofitableness. We have need that the Lord should have mercy upon our good works, our prayers, our preachings, our alms-givings, and our holiest things. The blood was not only sprinkled upon the doorposts of Israel’s dwelling houses, but upon the sanctuary, the mercy-seat, and the altar, because as sin intrudes into our holiest things, the blood of Jesus is needed to purify them from defilement. If mercy be needed to be exercised towards our duties, what shall be said of our sins? How sweet the remembrance that inexhaustible mercy is waiting to be gracious to us, to restore our backslidings, and make our broken bones rejoice!

 

The Four Biblical Marks of Corporate Worship

While on vacation a number of years ago, I visited a church for Sunday worship but left questioning whether I had worshipped at all. I took in the full complement of announcements, shook hands with several greeters, viewed a skit, and enjoyed something of a concert. Though a rote prayer was offered, there was no congregational singing, Scripture reading, or sermon. I left puzzled, frustrated, and with a sense of loss. I felt like I had visited a restaurant but was not served a meal.

What should a church do during its time of corporate worship? Or, perhaps better asked, why do churches do what they do during worship? These questions are necessary enough, but ask them in the typical church and they will elicit puzzled looks and confused answers.

What a church is to practice during corporate worship is not a new consideration. In fact, it was a pressing concern in Reformation Europe, and its answer continues to shape the 21st-century church.

The Regulative Principle Considered

The ordering of worship for Protestant churches has followed two general patterns over the past five centuries. Martin Luther advocated what became known as the normative principle, arguing the mass—as celebrated by the Roman Catholic Church—should basically remain intact, sans the aspects of RCC worship that clearly violated Scripture. The Pandora’s box-like openness of the normative principle—that worship is free to incorporate what is not forbidden scripturally—is its most obvious and vexing liability.

The regulative principle, advocated by John Calvin and the Reformed tradition, argued the church should essentially start over, only permitting into corporate worship that which the New Testament explicitly calls for. Over time, the regulative principle became common practice in much of the Free Church tradition, including Baptist churches.

Based upon what is specifically prescribed in the New Testament, the regulative principle includes four features in public worship: Scripture reading, corporate prayer, singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, and the preaching of God’s Word.

Historically, the public reading of Scripture, mandated in I Timothy 4:13, has served as a scriptural call to worship—a reminder the church has gathered to hear from God. Often the congregation stands as it is read, showing reverence, deference, submission, and a physical reminder the Bible is the Word of God.

Prescribed in Ephesians 5:19 and Colossians 3:16, singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs have always marked the worship of God’s people. The psalter served as a Jewish hymnbook, and the New Testament records early church hymns.

In I Timothy 2:1, Paul instructed the church to practice corporate prayer. Whether praying for one’s nation and governmental leaders, the infirmed, the church’s ministries, the lost, or for God’s blessing on the service, every time God’s people gather their prayers are to be offered.

In II Timothy 4:2, Paul instructed Timothy to preach the Word, explaining and applying the Scriptures for God’s people. The preached Word is one of the central recoveries of the Protestant Reformation, even affecting church architecture with the pulpit becoming the central feature of the worship center and the main course of the worship service.

Additionally, observing the ordinances are always welcome when an individual is ready for baptism or the church elects to celebrate the Lord’s Supper. Moreover, the regulative principle does not preclude making announcements, greeting visitors, or collecting an offering, but it does so mindful of the worship service’s flow and where such ancillary matters are best positioned.

Biblically Faithful, Practically Helpful

While the regulative principle helps ensure the worship service is biblical, it also brings many practical benefits. As a pastor, one will often be asked for special promotions, features, or emphases to be made in the worship service. Some of these are especially cringe-worthy, sure to distract from the worship service, if not downright unbiblical. If the congregation has a general awareness of why the church does what it does in the worship service, then the pastor can point to the regulative principle as an objective criterion. This depersonalizes the denial of the request and avoids the appearance of playing favorites.

Practicing these four elements brings other benefits as well, including keeping the church in the stream of believers from previous generations. It also sets the worship service on higher ground—thus avoiding worship wars—and it ensures a certain baseline quality and spiritual vitality in the service.

This doesn’t preclude a Sunday evening concert, a Bible conference, or a service exclusively for prayer; rather, it means we might best think of those events as concerts and conferences, as opposed to formal worship services. We might also more intentionally guard the integrity of corporate worship, especially when God’s people gather on Sunday morning.

Conclusion

I once frequented a restaurant that had fabulous food, but it always seemed just a bit much. The entrée, which was hard to beat on its own, always had an added sauce splattered on the top or a garnishment protruding from the steak. The chef intended the additives to complement the meal, but they wound up distracting—and detracting—from it.

Sometimes we do the same thing in public worship. Our attempts to improve Christian worship may, in fact, distract from it. Often, less actually is more. There can be a beauty in simplicity. We might do well to de-clutter our worship services.

When it comes to the regulative principle, I am not legalistic. I still facilitate an offering, greet visitors, and make announcements. But a broad recovery and commitment to these four elements might revive our services. Let’s be intentional about our worship services and privilege these four biblical aspects of worship.

*This article was originally published on 2/24/14*

 

Lord’s Day Meditation: “Sing, O Barren” by C. H. Spurgeon

Lord’s Day Meditation: “Sing, O Barren” by C. H. Spurgeon (Morning and Evening, August 28, Evening)

“Sing, O barren.” (Isaiah 54:1)

Though we have brought forth some fruit unto Christ, and have a joyful hope that we are “plants of his own right hand planting,” yet there are times when we feel very barren. Prayer is lifeless, love is cold, faith is weak, each grace in the garden of our heart languishes and droops. We are like flowers in the hot sun, requiring the refreshing shower. In such a condition what are we to do? The text is addressed to us in just such a state. “Sing, O barren, break forth and cry aloud.” But what can I sing about? I cannot talk about the present, and even the past looks full of barrenness. Ah! I can sing of Jesus Christ. I can talk of visits which the Redeemer has aforetimes paid to me; or if not of these, I can magnify the great love wherewith he loved his people when he came from the heights of heaven for their redemption. I will go to the cross again. Come, my soul, heavy laden thou wast once, and thou didst lose thy burden there. Go to Calvary again. Perhaps that very cross which gave thee life may give thee fruitfulness. What is my barrenness? It is the platform for his fruit-creating power. What is my desolation? It is the black setting for the sapphire of his everlasting love. I will go in poverty, I will go in helplessness, I will go in all my shame and backsliding, I will tell him that I am still his child, and in confidence in his faithful heart, even I, the barren one, will sing and cry aloud.

Sing, believer, for it will cheer thine own heart, and the hearts of other desolate ones. Sing on, for now that thou art really ashamed of being barren, thou wilt be fruitful soon; now that God makes thee loath to be without fruit he will soon cover thee with clusters. The experience of our barrenness is painful, but the Lord’s visitations are delightful. A sense of our own poverty drives us to Christ, and that is where we need to be, for in him is our fruit found.

 

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.

 

Lord’s Day Meditation: “Oil for the Light” by C. H. Spurgeon

Lord’s Day Meditation: “Oil for the Light” by C. H. Spurgeon (Morning and Evening, August 28, Morning)

Morning August 28

“Oil for the light.” (Exodus 25:6)

My soul, how much thou needest this, for thy lamp will not long continue to burn without it. Thy snuff will smoke and become an offence if light be gone, and gone it will be if oil be absent. Thou hast no oil well springing up in thy human nature, and therefore thou must go to them that sell and buy for thyself, or like the foolish virgins, thou wilt have to cry, “My lamp is gone out.” Even the consecrated lamps could not give light without oil; though they shone in the tabernacle they needed to be fed, though no rough winds blew upon them they required to be trimmed, and thy need is equally as great. Under the most happy circumstances thou canst not give light for another hour unless fresh oil of grace be given thee.

It was not every oil that might be used in the Lord’s service; neither the petroleum which exudes so plentifully from the earth, nor the produce of fishes, nor that extracted from nuts would be accepted; one oil only was selected, and that the best olive oil. Pretended grace from natural goodness, fancied grace from priestly hands, or imaginary grace from outward ceremonies will never serve the true saint of God; he knows that the Lord would not be pleased with rivers of such oil. He goes to the olive-press of Gethsemane, and draws his supplies from him who was crushed therein. The oil of gospel grace is pure and free from lees and dregs, and hence the light which is fed thereon is clear and bright. Our churches are the Saviour’s golden candelabra, and if they are to be lights in this dark world, they must have much holy oil. Let us pray for ourselves, our ministers, and our churches, that they may never lack oil for the light. Truth, holiness, joy, knowledge, love, these are all beams of the sacred light, but we cannot give them forth unless in private we receive oil from God the Holy Ghost.

 

Deep Work for Pastors: Six Keys for Better Sermon Preparation

Every pastor knows the constant weight of sermon preparation. Sunday is a standing, unmovable deadline. It is like living in final exam week, with a massive deadline before you every Lord’s Day. But the preacher’s test is a public one, for all to see. He will be judged by God’s people. And, more importantly, he will be judged by God himself.

To weekly stand before God’s people, open his Word, and be his spokesman is a daunting responsibility. I question the judgement—if not the calling—of those who take it lightly. That is why pastors spend so much time each week preparing sermons. To be a preacher is to be a sermon preparer.

Given the neediness of the church, the cultural pressures we face, and the general social upheaval of our times, how we preach has never been more important. That means our sermon preparation has never been more important either.

Recently, I enjoyed reading Cal Newport’s book Deep Work. It is one in a long line of new books detailing our challenged attention spans, social media’s deleterious effects on our ability to concentrate, and how the modern man bounces from one distraction to the next. Newport laments these challenges and offers helpful suggestions for correction. As I read his book, my mind continually raced to sermon preparation, and how pastors can strengthen their study time. Consider these six keys.

1. Realize the value of deep work. Deep work refers to “professional activities performed in a state of distraction-free concentration that push your cognitive capabilities to their limit.” It is work that is most demanding mentally, most consequential in what it accomplishes. Sermon preparation is quintessentially deep work. Whether authors, composers, economists, politicians, or preachers, those who have accomplished much have—whether calling it or deep work or not—prioritized deep work.

2. Reserve blocks of time for deep work. Deep work, like sermon preparation, almost always requires blocks of time. Two, three or more hours of uninterrupted focus is needed for sustained focus. It is just impossible to exegete and outline a text in ten-minute bursts. Give yourself major chunks of time in which you can immerse yourself in God’s word. This is a recurring theme throughout the book, and rightly so. If you get nothing else from Newport’s book or this blogpost, make sure it is this point.

3. Batch process shallow activities. All of us have minutiae we must deal with which occupies time during our days. No matter who you are, you cannot avoid returning phone calls, responding to emails, reviewing the upcoming order of worship, etc. The key is to not sprinkle these throughout the day, but reserve a couple of blocks of time to batch process them all together. It is better to turn the administration faucet on and off intentionally than have a constant, slow drip which hinders your study.

4. Sever social media. John Piper famously observed that if it has no other use, Facebook will prove at the final judgement that we had time for prayer but we squandered it. I would like to add sermon preparation to that as well. Surfing social media is the great time-waster of our generation. When you study, turn off your social media, if not your email and internet access as well. This is an indispensable step for more productive sermon preparation.

5. Cultivate Routines. Routines are a way of preprogramming yourself to behave a certain way in advance. If, for instance, you have routinized awakening at 5:00 am and being in your study until 9:00 am, you are prepositioned to succeed. If you are inconsistent in your wake-up time and random in your study time, you will find it much more difficult to maintain adequate sermon preparation.

6. Remember, you have more time than you think. Newport suggests scheduling your day in detail. Like a budget, which tells your money how to be spent before you spend it. A schedule tells your time how to be used before you use it. As you schedule your time and manage it like the strategic resource it is, you will discover there is more time in your week than initially thought—and enough time for adequate sermon preparation.

In Conclusion

Great preaching does not just happen. It usually occurs after a week of great preparation. Great preparation does not just happen either. It usually occurs after intentionally structuring your life for adequate study, and then maintaining the discipline to use it.

Preaching is too high of a calling not to give it our best preparation. And, sermon preparation is quintessentially deep work, therefore use these six keys to strengthen your game.

_____________________________________________

Newport, Cal. Deep work: rules for focused success in a distracted world. London: Piatkus, 2016, 3.

Ibid, 16-17.

Ibid, 181.

Ibid, 100.

Ibid, 221.

Lord’s Day Meditation: “Into Thine Hand I Commit My Spirit” by C. H. Spurgeon

Lord’s Day Meditation: “Into Thine Hand I Commit My Spirit” by C. H. Spurgeon (Morning and Evening, August 27, Evening)

“Into thine hand I commit my spirit: thou hast redeemed me, O Lord God of truth. (Psalm 31:5)

These words have been frequently used by holy men in their hour of departure. We may profitably consider them this evening. The object of the faithful man’s solicitude in life and death is not his body or his estate, but his spirit; this is his choice treasure–if this be safe, all is well. What is this mortal state compared with the soul? The believer commits his soul to the hand of his God; it came from him, it is his own, he has aforetime sustained it, he is able to keep it, and it is most fit that he should receive it. All things are safe in Jehovah’s hands; what we entrust to the Lord will be secure, both now and in that day of days towards which we are hastening. It is peaceful living, and glorious dying, to repose in the care of heaven. At all times we should commit our all to Jesus’ faithful hand; then, though life may hang on a thread, and adversities may multiply as the sands of the sea, our soul shall dwell at ease, and delight itself in quiet resting places.

“Thou hast redeemed me, O Lord God of truth.” Redemption is a solid basis for confidence. David had not known Calvary as we have done, but temporal redemption cheered him; and shall not eternal redemption yet more sweetly console us? Past deliverances are strong pleas for present assistance. What the Lord has done he will do again, for he changes not. He is faithful to his promises, and gracious to his saints; he will not turn away from his people.

“Though thou slay me I will trust,

Praise thee even from the dust,

Prove, and tell it as I prove,

Thine unutterable love.

Thou mayst chasten and correct,

But thou never canst neglect;

Since the ransom price is paid,

On thy love my hope is stay’d.”

 

Celebrating & Strengthening the Cooperative Program

The Cooperative Program ought not be a sacred cow, but it is close to one for me. Began by Southern Baptists nearly a century ago, it has proven to be a most effective and enduring way to support our collective ministry and mission work. I often visit with leaders of other evangelical denominations who are envious of the Cooperative Program. And they should be; there is nothing like it in American Protestantism.

I was reared in a Southern Baptist church, so I grew up with a general awareness of the Cooperative Program.  But, it was not until I sensed God’s call to ministry that I became fully aware—and fully appreciative—of the Cooperative Program.

As a seminary student, I was astounded by how affordable my seminary training was compared to other evangelical seminaries. While a student at Southern Seminary, I learned more intimately how the Cooperative Program worked, felt how much it helped me, and saw it impact the world by providing for our missionaries. It was during this time that I became a true believer.

Then, as a pastor, the two churches I had the privilege of leading gave 14% and 10% of their undesignated receipts to the Cooperative Program. The first church grew exponentially, and we flirted with cutting our CP giving to hire additional staff. But we held firm. My second church, conversely, had to trim its budget on a couple of occasions. Cutting CP would have been the easier way to balance the budget, but we held firm then as well. I had come to value the Cooperative Program enough that I advocated against cutting it. Thankfully, in both churches, the CP won out and we kept our giving at its high levels.

Now, as a seminary president, I lead an institution that benefits daily from the Cooperative Program. Without it, we would be forced to double tuition on our students. Such a move would decimate the seminary, plunge the enrollment, and bring immediate and long-term financial hardship on our students. In the world of theological education, the six SBC seminaries stand as grand anomalies in size, support, and overall strength. The Cooperative Program is essential to this vitality.

Though the Cooperative Program has been proving itself since 1925, we cannot take it forgranted. We neglect it, or minimize it, to our own peril. Without a robust CP, our work as a whole will suffer. With a robust CP, our collective ministry and mission can more flourish. That is why we must work in our generation to strengthen the Cooperative Program. Consider these three observations to that end.

First, like our denomination as a whole, the Cooperative Program is best led by pastors. The uptick in Cooperative Program giving in recent years is a direct result of past SBC president Ronnie Floyd’s efforts to this end. He, in concert with Dr. Frank Page, strategically worked with pastors, encouraging them to strengthen their CP giving. Thankfully, current SBC president Dr. Steve Gaines has continued this emphasis. Perhaps no single factor will determine the strength of the CP in the years ahead than how much our pastors believe in and advocate for the CP.

Second, those of us who serve in CP-supported entities must constantly give SBC churches good reason to support us. This is true at every level of denominational life: local, state, and national. We exist to serve the churches; they do not exist to serve us. We need to ensure that our churches continually see the benefits of their entities working for them. As our churches find in us skillful, faithful, and responsive service, surely we will find from them sufficient support to do our work.

Third, all of us must be careful how we posture and speak of Cooperative Program giving. If a church is evaluating or trimming their CP support, let’s not cajole, pressure, or shame them.  That is not a winning strategy. My assessment is not a pragmatic or political calculation. It is a biblical and theological one. Christ promised to build his church, not our denomination. Let’s clean up our vocabulary, and use words like “please” and “thank you,” and shelve words like “should” and “must.” The Southern Baptist Convention agencies, and our state convention partners, serve the churches, not the other way around. As we serve them, they will support us.

Southern Baptists’ persistent generosity through the Cooperative Program is one sign of God’s continued hand on our work. In denominational circles, it is a modern miracle. Through the missions and ministries of the SBC, we have together impacted the world.  Let’s continue to celebrate and strengthen our collective work.