I included the information showing that he is now dead because I find it all the more powerful to konw that this man is now in the presense of his Lord. I find that it makes his powerful preaching about heaven, hell, sin, righteousness, and judgment all the more poignent and stirring. Click here to visit the official Dr. Adrian Rogers site.
Or should I say with meekness and fear? Sound like an inconsequential difference? Read 1 Peter 3:15 in the NASB and in the King James Version (or click here to read it in the AV 1611 KJV), and tell me if a way to understand the instruction would be misunderstood or wrong by saying that meekness means gentle or a non-abrasive presentation and fear means to above all show reverence for He whom you are defending.
The way that I understand the bible - these explanations stay true to what the bible says in 1 Peter. Meekness could or should be understood as "enduring injury with patience and without resentment" or by being "not violent or strong." Fear should be understood as "to have a reverential awe of <fear God>."
Now, why do I bring this up?
Last Saturday, I was working on my Sunday School lesson in 1st Peter 3 (it's amazing how God works, huh?) when a pair of men came to my door. They politely introduced themselves as being from a local church and asked for a moment of my time. I invited them to continue the conversation, and they asked me a few questions.
Q: Are you born again?
A: Yes, I am.
Q: When did that happen?
A: I was 5 years old, and I prayed that God would forgive me of my sins. I knew that I was a sinner (even though more complete understanding of that truth has been revealed and will continue to be revealed to me over time), and I asked Jesus to come into my heart (which I understood as Christ was now going to be in control of my life and the leader that I should follow). When I did this, I prayed next to and into a heat vent because I thought that God would hear me better (I could always hear mom and dad better through the vents, so I figured that it should work for prayer too).
Now, the two gentlemen didn't make any comments or ask further questions about my conversion, so I assume (hope) that they understood and accepted that I am saved. I do have to say that whenever I have witnessed to strangers, I don't usually accept a basic conversion story like I gave without furhter information. I ask the person for a profession of faith, of sorts - specifically regarding these issues:
Tonight, my wife and I were watching the television. And I, being a man - and doing what men are so prone to do, was flipping the channels during a commercial. I ended up stopping on one of the religious channels, and like an open sore on the face of a stranger - I couldn't stop myself from looking in horror.
Now, I had a whole litany of things written out concerning the abuses of scripture and some blasphemy (yes, blasphemy) that was on this show during the time that we were watching, but, it is not my desire to further proclaim false doctrines and evils done in the name of the Lord. I can only plead with you that we need to be faithful to the true gospel and be diligent in our study and proclaiming of it.
I am almost overcome with sadness that so many people are being led astray and are being told to hope for financial prosperity and physical healing when the only thing that we really need is Jesus' precious blood shed on our behalf. From that point, whether I am a rich man like living in a nice house in the suburbs, a poor man living in a shack in the slums, or a new convert in Africa who is murdered because of my faith in Jesus - my life needs to be for Christ. My Best Life Now might be to die a martyr. My Best Life Now might be to scrape by while raising children who love the Lord. My Best Life Now is not determined by worldly success or stability, but it is determined by the perfect will of almighty God. And the will of that same God required that the Best Life Now of His Son was to die a criminal's death. How much more do I deserve that death than He did. So if I have been born again, every moment that the Lord gives me breath - no matter my circumstances - that I am living for Him is my Best Life Now.
Do not pervert the gospel and the work of Christ and the sacrifice of generations of martyrs by making the focus of your faith on making you healthy, wealthy, and wise.
On Halloween, I had my wife journey out to a local retailer and purchase Luther so that we could watch a good movie on this more interesting of nights. In short - I loved it. Some of the dialogue between Luther and his opponents and supporters was very inspiring. I whole heartily recommend this movie to any Christian.
One of the main thrusts of the life of Luther (to the best of my limited understanding) was the integrity of the gospel of Christ. Moreover - he was standing up to a corrupt but very powerful church organization basing his dissent on nothing other than the Word of God. This was in a time, where simply questioning practices of the church resulted in severe persecution and death. John Huss, a Czech priest, was burned at the steak for his desire to give full communion to all congregants and not just the special people.
How many of the church fathers, reformers, ministers, missionaries, and regular Joe and Jane Christians have been killed, burned alive, butchered, torn to pieces, sawn in two, and suffered many other more horrible types of deaths than I can even imagine for the cause of Christ. Many died because they would not renounce or reject the Bible, and some just for having a bible.
Reality Check Time.
How much do I esteem the Word of God? Knowing that the time and era that we live in is so unique in the fact that we our ability to worship God is not only allowed, but protected by law - how captive to the Word of God am I? This is the same book that Christians are anxiously desiring in Africa, China, Saudi Arabia, and other countries and are restricted from having. Jesus quotes the Old Testament when he said, "It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God."
Q: Am I desiring the word of God as much as (it should be more than) my body desires food?
I know - your first reaction is likely that this question from a Bible teacher that it's almost cliche. Well - it's only cliche because so many people hear this and don't ACT on it. It's cliche because it has to be said over and over and over and over and over again and there still might not have been any change in the lives of the hearers.
In a prayer prior to his sermon on 12/15/2002, John Piper eloquently articulated this dichotomy. A transcript of this part of his prayer (as best as I could transcribe it) follows. Piper is preaching in the Maranatha Auditorium at Northwestern College and it is being simulcast to his church in Minneapolis.
"Lord, there are hundreds in these two places that should measure their affections for Jesus and expectations of being with Him, with the level of anticipation that they look forward to the of the 2nd installment of the Lord of the Rings. I pray that we would take that measure, and then repent and plead that the music of our eagerness would be transposed into the key of Christ."
Don't turn a deaf ear to the Word of God. Do you desire it more than food? I don't. Because of that, I need to pray and seek after God that He would make Himself and His Word my uttermost desire and longing.
If I started making fun of you in a hostile manner - not joking - and to your face, how would you react? Moreover, if the things that I were saying were definitely false, how much more pointed would your reaction be?
Would you answer back with, "Well, I understand your feelings, and I believe that you are entitled to your opinions. But, I don’t want to cause any bad feelings by disagreeing with you...." No? If you’re like me, you would get crazily upset over the slander and false accusations, and fiercely defend against the falsehood.
So let me ask you a question, Christian. When you hear someone at home, work, or play blaspheming the name of Christ, denying the existence of God, or mocking the Bible – how quickly and loudly do you efend your God? The first phrase in verse 15 says, "but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts," has a great deal to say of where Christ, His name and His Glory, should be in relation to all other things. Namely - the first and set apart position that nothing else comes close to equaling.
So, I say this: When our ears are accosted with blasphemy and vile things said about God, we need to be ready to make a defense for Him. More ready and willing to defend Him than to defend myself of those people closest to me. He died for me, I need to defend His name.
The following FALSE accusations are meant to provoke you to defend the true gospel. These statements are false, in big or small ways, and they need to be answered. How would you answer them? Don’t just tell me what you know, explain to me how they're wrong by using the Word of God as your primary defensive and offensive weapon.
Concluding the final lesson of 1 Peter 2, we dove into this passage (verse 20 to the end of the chapter). This truth has many implications on how we are to live, love, serve, and worship. One of the the implications from this truth (one that I feel we have missed in our modern Western culture) is the idea of persecution, torture, and death. We see in the text of 2 Peter 2 that Christ was blameless, yet he endured all of these trials.
How many Christians in our time and setting think about the personal reality of encountering severe persecution. In sunday school, I passed around a list of names and stories of people who are currently imprisoned in different places around the world. Following our class, the sermon in the main service seemed to dovetail fluidly with the idea of suffering for the Lord and the need to get the gospel out to the world.
The concept of the necessary suffering of Christians was hammered home again to me on Wednesday and Thursday. On Wednesday, I was listening to one of my favorite radio programs, and the host was summarizing something that John MacArthur had said. Aparently (I could not find the information online - and I looked pretty hard), he has given a list of 5 things that would show that you're in the will of God - living the Christian life as you should. Number 5 was suffering. (If anyone knows of a link to this information, please send it to me or leave a comment, and I'll link to it). Well, then on Thursday, I was listening to this same radio program and it was an annual "Send Bibles To Africa" program, and so many of the stories that the African people in need of bibles told was how they were being murdered and abused by their Islamic neighbors and family. Now, other than being spiritually "thumped" for how little I value my bible when compared to these people, I was struck again with the reality that we cannot get away from suffering for the cause of Christ.
I do not relish the idea of suffering greatly for the cause of Christ, but you and I need to pray that we are willing to suffer greatly - even death. Because, if we are not completely leaning on the Lord in the easy times, how much more difficult will it be to lean on him when the times are dire?
I hope and pray that we set out to make our faith so strong and esteem our God so highly that we would willingly endure these trials with joyful hearts when they come upon us.
Recently, I was asked to assist with our church's communion service. I was so excited to help, and even more excited when our youth director (who lead the service) asked me to preach/teach/give a challenge focusing on "examine yourself" from 1 Corinthians 11:28. I have to tell you - I was so ... (struggling to find the right word)... passionate about this that I found it extremely difficult to boil it down to a meaningful 10 minute attempt to accurately give a picture of what this means.
Here's what I came up with (the primary referance used is 1 Corinthians 11):
First of all, it's amazing that while most communion services use the text from 1 Corinthians 11:23-26 for the taking of the elements, and they usually stop the reading at verse 26. These 4 verses are set in between different sections (v18-22 and v27-34)and about the observing of the Lord's Supper in an incorrect manner. I trust that you can (and hopefully will) read this chapter to understand the context, but it's clear that there is a very right and very wrong way to observe this ordinance. One of the things that Paul says (v 29-30) is that some people are sick, weak, or even DEAD because of their neglect in correctly observing the Lord's Supper. Now, understanding the cultural differences between 1st century Christian and 20th century western cultures, there are some very good principles that we can observe.
One of the primary differences between our cultural observances of this ordinance is that we do not observe an entire meal, instead we take the "elements" of this meal to remember the Lord's Supper. The key is that we need to examine ourselves to make sure that we're not taking communion in an unworthy manner (1 Cor 11:27,28). There are other questions that need to be addressed, but in the time that I had, this was the focus of the message. One of the other necessary studies is, for instance, what does being "guilty of the body and blood of the Lord" mean?
Q: What do I need to examine so that I am not observing the Lord's Supper in an unworthy manner?
A: Primarily, we need to examine how we take communion. The Corinthians were eating the Lord's Supper as if it were just another meal. Paul mentions that there were those who were getting drunk while others went hungry (v. 21). This is a picture of some having excess (not just in drink) and others being utterly deprived. The overall point is that they were not separating this as a time to remember the sacrifice of Christ, and that led them to eat and drink as if it were just a regular meal or party.
Now that we understand what errors the Corinthian believers were making with the Lord's Supper, we can look at what would cause us to be observing it in an unworthy manner. I have come up with a list of things that I have done (and probably you have too) that will show the principle of taking communion in a wrong way:
The point is this - I should never, NEVER, take communion with an attitude that isn't focused and done in heart-felt seriousness for the reason for this observance. This has served as a good and sobering thought: how much of my current refining is a result of my stubborn heart and casualness toward the Lord? Now, I do not believe that all of the trials or bad things that happen are a direct result of being wicked or not pleasing God in life. If you don’t agree, look into Job 1 and see how God refers to Job before his trials begin, or John 9 and see how Christ explains the reason for this man’s blindness, and not to mention every trial and persecution that Christ went through.
Whether I am at the communion table or at a football game – the sacrifice of Christ, and what that sacrifice has purchased for me should be the overwhelming force behind my speech, actions, and attitude.
The true gospel has never been (and will never be) accepted by the majority of any particular culture or society. Whenever the true gospel is preached and the message is not altered, there are many who are utterly offended by it. We should not be offensive in the way that we present the gospel, preach the Word of God, or live our lives (see 1 Peter 4:14-16), but likewise we should never make the gospel that we preach or the Word of God itself inoffensive in what it says.
Now, this thought itself may seem offensive to you, but I want to show you why I believe it is true, and we need to understand this. In 1 Peter 2:6-8, Peter quotes the O.T. and making the connection that Jesus Christ is the corner stone, or foundation on which all else depends, of true faith and belief in God. These same quotation shows that Christ will be (He is) a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense. Nothing can be "true" of God unless it is built upon this foundation. I don't have to tell you that this idea of one exclusive way of salvation (much less anything else) is intolerant (and therefore, it's offensive).
Q: Why is this important?
A: The very Word of God itself declares that God chose the foolish (dare I interject that it is also offensive and unacceptable to an unsaved person) things of the world to fulfill His will. For a good reference, read 1 Corinthians 1 - yes the whole chapter - and note how the Apostle Paul repeatedly makes the point that God chose the foolishness of the message to save those who would believe (v. 21). Also, note verse 23 that the gospel that Paul preaches is foolishness to gentiles and a stumbling block to Jews.
Q: Well, my church doesn't believe that, so why should I care what you believe?
A: It's not what I believe that should be the initial question. It should be this: What does the Bible say? Then the next thing needs to be, if this is what it says why do I discount or disbelieve it?
The true gospel that the Bible sets forth, that Christ preached, and the apostles died for has been offensive because it has ALWAYS said this:
I'd like to alter the saying mentioned in Part 1 to be the following: "You can tell someone's heart or devotion to God by examining one simple thing...their day-planner."
Now, I understand that most of us don't keep a day-planner for our day to day activities, but what if we did? Now, I'm not thinking of a day-planner where you pencil in what you need to or intend to do, but one that is retro-active in its entries. If there were a report like this that would show me exactly what I was doing for my day on a 15 minute increment as well as an overall summary of time, what would it look like? Now, obviously, there is no such report that can be generated automatically that we can look at, but what if you or I were to sit down for a few minutes and sketch one out? It'd actually be pretty easy since most of our lives have a great deal of consistency on a day to day basis.
For instance, I work the same time (relatively) each day for the same amount of time during the week. I'm in the car (mostly to and from work) for a similar amount of time each day. And so on and so on. So, once you build a "normal" day, it's easy enough to edit it for any given day.
Q: What's the point here?
A: The point or intention of this exercise is to get an idea of how much of my time do I spend solely devoted to God as opposed to how much time do I spend on "relaxing" or time solely spent on me.
I am looking at this with the same critical eye that I was examining the "giving" issue that I have previously raised. Here's an example:
Many of my Christian friends love our local football team. The Vikings play for about 3 or 4 hours each week during their season. Most fans (Christians and non-Christians alike) are riveted to the TV or radio for that time, and make an event of it. We'll clear our schedule, get food, set up the TV/Family room, dress for the occasion (hat, jersey, etc) - all of this prior to the 3 hours of entertainment - just to watch a football game. But it doesn't stop there, following the game (for days on end) there is the discussion of the game results and the prognostication of the rest of the season, play-off hopes, etc., etc.
How does my dedicated - not gonna compromise this time except in the case of an emergency - time for my football team stack up against time that I devote wholly to my love for and walk with Christ?
My thrust is not to say that every Christian needs to have the same "cookie-cutter" type of quiet time formula, but I think that if I (we, you, or whomever) don't have some sort of designated, set apart, special, intense, devoted time for my walk with God - and yet I have it for my own personal time - I need to do some serious reevaluating of where my true treasure and love resides. Sounds harsh, huh? Well, it should. We (Christians) are warned over and over about what we do and how we act and to be aware that these things will be judged. 1 Corinthians 3:14,15 speaks to how a Christian's works will be judged by God in the end. I think that a good understanding of this passage revolves primarily around the gospel that we preach and we need to make sure that it conforms to the true gospel (there is no other gospel - see Galatians 1:6-10 for Paul's super clear admonishment about this). But, our way of life, and what we show as valuable (with our time and money) reflect the worth that we attribute to the gospel and ultimately to Christ Himself.
Wrap up:
1 Peter 2:2 says that new Christians should desire the pure milk of the Word. This (I understand) means that a new Christian desire and need the plain and simple truths of the gospel just like a baby desires mamma's milk. And parents - you and I both know that babies are never circumspect about their need for food. Psalms 119:9-16speaks for an older believer in God and the scope of his desire for God's truth. When Paul tells Timothy that the love of money is the root of all sorts of evil, Paul also instructs him to flee from these things and puruse righteousness, among other things (1 Timothy 6:10-12). Also, we can get an idea of how important it is to make a point of special, devoted time to God by seeing Christ as the example. One of my favorites is Mark 1:32-37 (specifically verse 35) where we see that Jesus got up early after a long night of working to make special time for God.
For His glory, let us examine ourselves in all areas.
