Catharsis

I need some form of catharsis – a release for tensions in me.

Some people can do this through painting. Others use music. Despite my love for music, it doesn’t provide me the release I need – it never really has. Whatever musical talent I possess lies in the realm of imitation and is dependent upon the creativity of others. The only place that I find release is in the art of writing – of spinning and weaving words into the tapestry of the story.

I enjoy writing. Technically, I write a lot – sermons, lessons, newsletter articles – but not enough. Do I have things worth telling the world? Absolutely, hypothetical reader, I do!

So, with my handy blog-writing app downloaded, I step out decidedly to broaden my digital footprint. Maybe you’ll read, hypothetical reader, and maybe – just maybe – I’ll find the release I’m looking for….

Review of John MacArthur’s Slave

I have finished reading John MacArthur’s book Slave some time ago but neglected to review it, so here we go.

The subject of this book is one that is near and dear to my heart. It’s subject is that of being saved; however, it is a bit different, perspectively, than usual in that subject matter. MacArthur writes of a seeming cover-up in the realm of Bible translations regarding the Greek word doulos. Many modern English translations simply render it as servant which is quite misleading. In fact, MacArthur bases his entire treatise on breaking through the misdirection and focusing on how its true meaning — slave. He begins with a journey through history, Biblical exposition, and through the paradoxical nature of the transference of slavery-adoption. We are bought by the blood of Christ, “not in a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear” but unto “the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, ‘Abba! Father!’” (Romans 8:15)

I, being a fan of John MacArthur’s writings, may be somewhat biased in my liking of the flow of the book, but I believe that he does a good job balancing the historical nature of the word doulos with the correct understanding of the word Scripturally. After one gets beyond the historical analysis, the remainder of the book is a systematic exposition of Scripture moving from the understanding of what is expected of a faithful slave in relation to his/her Lord. From that understanding of the Lord/slave relationship, he moves through a theological treatise underscoring the value of the adoption as sons rather than being purchased as mindless automatons.

I would recommend this book to anyone who considered themselves to be a student of the Word. I don’t agree that there is a massive cover-up to hide this word; however, I do believe that there is a great deal of misunderstanding regarding whose Believers are and that understanding that we are “bought with a price” and “not our own” (1 Corinthians 6) can only lead to a better understanding regarding what it is to truly confess Christ as Lord.

ESL: Evangelism as a Second Language

It is amazing how some things can spark a thought.  Thoughts like gasoline are not in and of themselves flammable, but just like in gasoline, it is the fumes that are able to be sparked.  That is what this is.  A spark from the fumes of a passing thought that I have been thinking for quite some time; however, until now, I was not quite able to articulate until now.

What was the source of this spark’s ignition?  Three letters: e s l.  Where I saw them, I do not know.  Whether it was how the letters sat or their visible arrangement or juxtaposition I know not either.  What I do recognize is the preoccupation I have had with these letters over the past few hours.  They were like the distant dream that is right on the tip of your memory – important, fleeting, and almost tangible.  Then it hit me, a move of my overactive imagination giving feet – no wings – to an idea that has been following me.  Believers need to learn to articulate the language of the New Birth that they have been born into via salvation in Christ by His grace through faith.

ESL generally refers to “English as a Second Language”, specifically referencing the means by which a non-native English speaker comes about learning this second language.  For Believers, this second language is one that – despite popular consensus – comes natural.  Scripture attests to that.  In John 4:39 we see that “Many Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, ‘He told me all that I ever did.’”  In Acts 9: , we see a born again Saul: “And immediately he proclaimed Jesus in the synagogues, saying, ‘He is the Son of God.’”  When people encounter Christ, today just as 2,000 years ago, they are changed.  In that beginning, it is not highly articulate – unless you are Saul of the tribe of Benjamin, a Pharisee, an Apostle – but effective nonetheless.  Just like those who don’t speak English from birth can express certain things, needs, etc.  Believers are wired for evangelism, just like human beings are wired with certain needs that can be communicated via various methods.

The passage of Scripture that comes to mind as far as evangelism becoming to the Believer as his/her native language is found in Deuteronomy 6:4-9:

[4] ”Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. [5] You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. [6] And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. [7] You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. [8] You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. [9] You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.”

In this, the Shema, we have what Christ referred to as the Great Commandment.  Loving the Lord God with all that one has, with all that one is made of.  And this love is characterized by being on one’s heart.  It is characterized by an essential preoccupation with this love.  Just as fresh love does to a person.  For those of you who have met the love of your lives, the peas to your carrots, you know that preoccupation.  Yet Luke tells us (Luke 14:25-33) that our preoccupation (let’s break form and call it what is supposed to be – worship) with the Lord is to outweigh and overshadow all other loves so that those loves appear as nothing more than hatred.

Our problem as Believers: our love for the Lord often appears non-existent.

The Solution: Deuteronomy 6:4-9.  Simple.  Eloquent.  Beautiful.  Commanding.  Engrossing.

Just like there are seemingly countless how-to manuals and articles on how to fall in love or back in love with your spouse, the same need is recognized here.  We either need to fall in love with Christ who “first loved us” (1 John 4:19), or repent of our stagnancy and, likely, our idolatry, turning to Christ, our Bridegroom.  When we are enraptured with the love of that relationship, we cannot help but for it to be on our hearts.  We will not be able to keep from teaching it to our children or talking about it when we are doing everything we do or wear it as something bound to our bodies.  We will simply be His “ambassadors” (2 Corinthians 5:20) as we were recreated to be.

This is where the ESL analogy is furthered.  ESL students are not hobbyists who would just like to be able to say they have the ability to speak English.  The students I am referring to are learning out of a necessity that they are living in.  Imagine yourself, English-speaker, moving suddenly to Uzbekistan.  If your knowledge of Uzbekistan is akin to my own, you would have to do a Google search to find out what language(s) you would need to be proficient in to survive there – to communicate.  Your Google search would afford you the same results that mine did.  You would need to speak Uzbek or at least Karakalpak (which is regional understood).  It would be important to learn to communicate certain things to be able to live there.  You would not be able to get by on your American stubbornness, waiting for the people to all learn English to communicate with you.  You would need to know how to say simple things.  Asking for directions would be immensely difficult, I would imagine.  But you would learn.  Yes, you would manage.  Necessity would drive you.  You would be able to ask “Where is the store” and “pass the [native Uzbekan dish]” in no time flat.  But where is the necessity in the Believer?

2 Corinthians 5:20 says: “…we are ambassadors for Christ, God making His appeal through us.  We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.”  There is necessity in that language.  God is making His appeal to the lost through His ambassadors – Believers.  There is no mention here of a back-up plan or of this being one of many plans.  Elsewhere, Paul makes it clear that “faith comes from hearing and hearing from the Word of God” (Romans 10:17).  Therefore, this whole ambassadorial imploring gets to be quite important.  The necessity lies in the truth that Jesus is “the way, the truth, and the life” and that “no one comes to the Father but through Him” (John 14:6).  We either learn to speak the language or squander the calling of all Believers.  That, or we illustrate that we were never ambassadors in the first place (1 John 1:19).

We are definitely in an ESL type situation.  We need to learn how to incorporate evangelism as our second language, even interchangeable and able to replace our first language.  You see, that is how our speech is to be.  We are to speak of our Beloved.  I mean, what else is more important.

Thank you for reading these feeble meanderings.  Mayhap, they are not the most eloquently organized, yet realize that they come from my heart.  I am learning to love my Savior in such a way that all other loves pale in comparison.

Yours and His,

Keith Harris

A Word Study on the NT Usage of the Root of Diakonoi

This is a word study I did a while back for Daddy on the NT usage of the word diakonoi, specifically it’s root – to cover different parts of speech, etc.  I wish I could say that I combed through every verse in the NT, perusing the Greek myself, but I utilized a search tool in my Logos software (which is a very handy and powerful tool).

The beauty of this study is that one can get a clearer picture of what it is to serve; after all, that is what the word Deacon means – servant.  Often it is easy to get sidetracked by titles, but seeing how this word is used elsewhere in Scripture, “breathed out by God”, gives us a clearer understanding of the depth of the word that became the title for that office.

Here it is:

Matthew 20:26: “But it shall not be so among you: but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister [servant]….”

20:28: “…even as the Son of man came not to be ministered [served] unto, but to minister [serve], and to give his life a ransom for many.”

22:13: “Then the king said to the servants [attendants], bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

23:11: “But he that is greatest among you shall be your servant.”

27:55: “And many women were there beholding afar off, which followed Jesus from Galilee, ministering unto him….”

Mark 9:35: “And he sat down, and called the twelve, and saith unto them, ‘If any man desire to be first, the same shall be last of all, and servant of all.’”

10:43: “But so shall it not be among you: but whosoever will be great among you, shall be your minister [servant]….”

10:45: “For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto [served], but to minister [serve], and to give his life a ransom for many.”

Luke 10:40: “But Martha was cumbered about much serving, and came to him, and said, ‘Lord, dost thou care not that my sister hath left me to serve alone? bid her therefore that she help me.’”

12:37: “Blessed are those servants, whom the lord when he cometh shall find watching: verily I say unto you, that he shall gird himself, and make them to sit down to meat, and will come forth and serve them.”

17:8: “And will not rather say unto him, ‘Make ready therewith I may sup, and gird thyself, and serve me, till I have eaten and drunken; and afterward thou shalt eat and drink?’”

22:26-27: “But ye shall not be so: but he that is greatest among you, let him be as the younger; and that he that is chief, as he that doth serve.  For whether is greater, he that sitteth at meat, or he that serveth? is not he that sitteth at meat? but I am among you as he that serveth.”

John 2:5: “His mother saith unto the servants, ‘Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it.’”

2:9: “When the ruler of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, and knew not whence it was: (but the servants which drew the water knew;) the governor of the feast called the bridegroom….”

12:26: “If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be:  if any man serve me, him will my Father honour.”

            Acts 6:1-2: “And in those days, when the number of the disciples was multiplied, there arose a murmuring of the Grecians against the Hebrews, because their widows were neglected in the daily ministration [distribution or service].  Then the twelve called the multitude of the disciples unto them, and said, ‘It is not reason that we should leave the word of God, and serve tables.’”

6:4: “But we will give ourselves continually to prayer and to the ministry of the word.”

12:25: “And Barnabas and Saul returned from Jerusalem, when they had fulfilled their ministry, and took with them John, whose surname was Mark.”

            19:22: “So he sent into Macedonia two of them that ministered unto him [helpers], Timotheus and Erastus; but he himself stayed in Asia for a season.”

20:24: “But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God.”

21:19: “And when he had saluted them, he declared particularly what things God had wrought among the Gentiles by his ministry.”

Romans 11:13: “For I speak to you Gentiles, inasmuch as I am the apostle of the Gentiles, I magnify mine office [ministry]….”

            12:7: “…or ministry [service], let us wait on our ministering [in our serving]: or he that teacheth, on teaching….”

            13:4: “For he is the minister [servant] of God to thee for good.  But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister [servant] of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil.”

15:8: “Now I say that Jesus Christ was a minister of the circumcision [servant to the circumcised] for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made unto the fathers….”

16:1: “I commend unto you Phoebe our sister, which is a servant of the church which is at Cenchrea….”

1 Corinthians 3:5: “Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers [servants] by who ye believed, even as the Lord gave to every man?”

12:5: “…and there are differences of administrations [varieties of service], but the same Lord.”

            16:15: “I beseech you, brethren, (ye know the house of Stephanas, that it is the firstfruits of Achaia, and that they have addicted themselves to the ministry [service] of the saints)….”

2 Corinthians 3:3: “Forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered [delivered] by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshly tables of the heart.”

            3:6-9: “…who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament [covenant]; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life.  But if the ministration [ministry] of death, written and engraven in stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not stedfastly behold the face of Moses for the glory of his countenance; which glory was to be done away: How shall the ministration [ministry] of the spirit be rather glorious?  For if the ministration [ministry] of condemnation be glory, much more doth the ministration of righteousness exceed in glory.”

4:1: “Therefore seeing we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we faint not….”

5:18: “And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation….”

6:3-4: “Giving no officen in anything, that the ministry be not blamed: but in all things approving ourselves as the ministers [servants] of God, in much patience, in afflictions, in necessities, in distresses….”

8:19-20: “…and not that only, but who was also chosen of the churches to travel with this grace, which is administered [grace that is being ministered] by us to the glory of the same Lord, and declaration of your ready mind: avoiding this, that no man should blame us in this abundance which is administered by us….”

9:1: “For as touching the ministering [ministry for the] to the saints, it is superfluous for me to write to you….”

9:12-13: “For the administration [ministry] of this service not only supplieth the want of the saints, but is abundant also by many thanksgivings unto God; whiles by the experiment of this ministration [service] they glorify God for your professed subjection unto the gospel of Christ, and for your liberal distribution unto them, and all men….”

11:8: “I robbed other churches, taking wages of them, to do you service [to serve you].

            11:15: “Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers [servants] also be transformed as the ministers [servants] of righteousness; whose end shall be their works.”

11:23: “Are they ministers [servants] of Christ?  (I speak as a fool) I am more; in labours more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequent, in deaths oft.”

Galatians 2:17: “But if, while we seek to be justified by Christ, we ourselves also are found sinners, is therefore Christ the minister [servant] of sin?  God forbid.”

Ephesians 3:7: “Whereof I was made a minister, according to the gift of the grace of God given unto me by the effectual working of his power.”

6:21: “But that ye also may know my affairs, and how I do, Tychicus, a beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord, shall make known to you all things….”

Philippians 1:1: “Paul and Timotheus, the servants [different word for servant -- mistranslated as servant, actually means slave/bondslave] of Jesus Christ, to all the saints in Christ Jesus which are at Philippi, with the bishops and deacons: Grace be unto you, and peace from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.”

Colossians 1:7: “…as ye also learned of Epaphras our dear fellowservant, who is for you a faithful minister of Christ….”

1:23: “…if ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard, and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven: whereof I Paul am made a minister….”

1:25: “Whereof I am made a minister, according to the dispensation of God which is given to me for you, to fulfil the word of God….”

4:7: “All my state shall Tychicus declare unto you, who is a beloved brother, and a faithful minister and fellowservant in the Lord….”

4:17: “And say to Archippus, ‘Take heed to the ministry which thou hast received in the Lord, that thou fulfill it.’”

1 Timothy 1:12: “And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled me, for that he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry [appointing me to his service]….”

            3:8: “Likewise must the deacons be grave, not doubletongued, not given to much wine, not greedy of filthy lucre….”

3:10: “And let these also first be proved; then let them use the office of [serve as] a deacon, being found blameless.”

3:12-13: “Let the deacons be the husbands of one wife, ruling their children and their own houses well.  For they that have used the office of [serve well as] a deacon well purchase to themselves a good degree, and great boldness in the faith which is in Christ Jesus.”

4:6: “If thou put the brethren in remembrance of these things, thou shalt be a good minister [servant] of Jesus Christ, nourished up in the words of faith and of good doctrine, whereunto thou hast attained.”

2 Timothy 4:5: “But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry.”

4:11: “Only Luke is with me.  Take Mark, and bring him with thee: for he is profitable to me for the ministry.”

Philemon 13: “…who I would have retained with me, that in thy stead he might have ministered unto me [that he might serve me] in the bonds of the gospel….”

Hebrews 1:14: “Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for [serve for the sake of] them who shall be heirs of salvation?”

            6:10: “For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labour of love, which ye have shewed toward his name, in that ye have ministered to the saints, and do minister [in serving the saints, as you still do].”

1 Peter 4:10-11: “As every man hath received the gift, even so minister [serve] the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.  If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God; if any man minister [serves], let him do it as of the ability which God giveth: that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and dominion forever and ever.  Amen.”

Revelation 2:19: “I know thy works, and charity, and service, and faith, and thy patience, and thy works; and the last to be more than the first.”

Maybe I’m Just Old-Fashioned, Maybe Not…

Ok.  Before I dive into this, let me clarify two things that I am not saying today:

1. I make great efforts to not tie myself to any traditions for the sake of tradition or to keep with the seven words that we hear so often: “we’ve never done it like that before”.
2. I am not making some sort of cry that things were better way back when or do I herald a call to return to any time period.

Having said that, there are several things that I see trending around me in church life that have changed.  All of this is based on a conversation that I had with an older, godly woman in my church who was expressing her concerns for the current state of things.  In her 80+ years, she has seen lots of changes – good and bad, beneficial and destructive; she has seen the building and upkeep of the majority of our facilities here at Duck Hill Baptist.  She has seen generations born and many come to know Christ as well as many who have gone on from this life and those who have up and left.  While we may not agree on every point of every subject, her friendship, experience, and wisdom is much appreciated and highly valued.

To help you, hypothetical reader, to understand the heart of this lady, I must give you the context and setting of our conversation.  She, as she does regularly, had come to the church (without announcing her presence to any) to come and clean the Sunday School rooms in our Family Life Center.  When I stumbled upon her yesterday, she had a large garbage bag that was brimming with trash, much of which was from garbage cans which had been allowed to overflow onto the floor.  She was greatly saddened by the fact that it seemed as if people just did not care.  She came to this conclusion because of 1) rather than emptying the garbage cans, people piled garbage higher or simply placed the garbage on the floor around the cans and 2) much of the garbage consisted of food and drink which is prohibited in carpeted areas of the Family Life Center.

She looked at me with sad expression and an emotional quake to her voice and said: “Keith, it’s almost like people just don’t care about anything, especially rules.  I remember taking some pride in our church when we really didn’t have anything.  What can we do?”

I have to admit.  I was feeling quite terrible at this point.  I had stumbled across this elderly lady who was seeking to serve by picking up trash – not outside on the church grounds – inside the church.  On top of the sack of garbage was the “NO FOOD OR DRINK ALLOWED” sign that she had torn off because of the blatant disregard of the rule.  What can we do?

Now, this is not a treatise on trash but rather of a contemplative look at what we care about.  I feel as if there is no real direction in my writing of this, but it is something that should be said.  Something that should be contemplated.

What makes us think that rules don’t apply to us?

What makes us think we are too good to empty a trash can?

How can we change?

I’ll be honest.  I don’t have a solution campaign nor will I mount a trash can campaign among the Sunday School.  What, however, will happen is that the next time I think that somebody should take care of something, I’ll be that somebody so that an 80+ year old woman will not come behind me and clean up after me.

Maybe I’m old fashioned and think that we should have more regard for God’s facilities (that’s right, I said His facilities not ours) than we do.  As I write this, our ministry assistant who also cleans the sanctuary and children’s building (it is up to the individual classes and whatnot to clean the FLC) is heading to clean the sanctuary where people, grown and child alike, have shoved their candy wrappers into the pew cushions and Lord’s Supper cup holders as well as disregarded bulletins and other trash on the floor.  Maybe I am old fashioned.  But maybe I’m not.

What am I trying to accomplish with this twisting rant?  I don’t know.

But maybe – just maybe – the next time you are about to put your gum wrapper in the pew cushion, you may carry it to a garbage can.  It’s a novel thought, I know.

Anyway for what it’s worth,

–Keith

The Suffering Servant was the Babe in the Trough

In light of the “Christmas Season” being upon us, I have found myself looking at the life of Christ – especially after Pastor Chas Rowland’s preaching of Philippians 1:27 (“Only let your manner of life be worthy of the Gospel of Christ…”).  Rather than me expound on a set of verses or provide my feeble observations.  Let us just read this passage that prophesied the death of Christ many, many years before His birth, and let us remember that the suffering servant in these verses was the babe born of Mary.

Isaiah 53:1-12

“Who has believed what he has heard from us?  And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?  For He grew up before Him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground;  He had no form or majesty that we should look at Him, and no beauty that we should desire Him.  He was despised and rejected by men; a man or sorrows, acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces He was despised, and we esteemed him not.

“Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted.  But He was wounded for our transgressions; He was crushed for our iniquities; upon Him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with His stripes we are healed.  All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned – every one – to his own way; and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.

“He was oppressed, and He was afflicted, yet He opened not His mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so He opened not His mouth.  By oppression and judgment He was taken away; and as for His generation, who considered that He was cut off out of the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people?  And they made His grave with the wicked and with a rich man in His death, although He had done no violence, and there was no deceit in His mouth.

“Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush Him; He has put Him to grief; when His soul makes an offering for guilt, He shall see His offspring; He shall prolong His days; the will of the Lord shall prosper in His hand.  Out of the anguish of His soul He shall see and be satisfied; by His knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, be accounted righteous, and He shall bear their iniquities.  Therefore I will divide Him a portion with the many, and He shall divide the spoil with the strong, because He poured out His soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors; yet He bore the sin of many, and makes intercession for the transgressors.”

Expository Preaching

Expository Preaching.  Whew, that’s a mouthful.  It seems very heavy and weighty and technical.  In some ways, it may be, but at its essence, it just makes sense as a style (for lack of a better word) of preaching.  Some of you hypothetical readers may not know what it is.  Don’t worry.  I didn’t either for a span.  In fact, it was one of the most confusing topics of lecture in my early seminary days.  All that being said, it’s what I would like to talk about today.

The best definition of expository preaching that I have found is in Richard L. Mayhue’s article “Rediscovering Expository Preaching” in the book entitled Rediscovering Expository Preaching: Balancing the Science and Art of Biblical Exposition where Mayhue and others on the staff at the Master’s Seminary write on this subject.  Mayhue defined expository preaching as thus: “…expository preaching focuses predominantly on the text(s) under consideration along with its (their) context(s). Exposition normally concentrates on a single text of Scripture, but it is sometimes possible for a thematic/theological message or a historical/biographical discourse to be expository in nature” (MacArthur, J. (1997). Rediscovering expository preaching (9). Dallas: Word Pub.).  I’m sure you can see where the confusion set in.

Let me define it as I see it.  Expository preaching is preaching the Word of God in the context of the passage of Scripture in the context of its passage, chapter, book/epistle, and place among the entirety of Scripture.  The key word is context.  This way, the preacher does not take his own ideas or opinions and find within the text of Scripture a prooftext to make his message valid.  To me, it just makes sense.  What better way is there to proclaim the Word of God than in the context in which He “breathed” it out (2 Timothy 3:16).

The idea of expository preaching is expressed Scripturally:

• Nehemiah 8:8: “They read from the book, from the Law of God, clearly, and they gave the sense, so that the people understood the reading.”
• Acts 20:26-27: “Therefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all of you, for I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God.”

I must admit to you the reasons that this is on my mind today.  Firstly, today is a preaching day for me.  It is the culmination of weeks of study of the book of Colossians.  I have studied the words, the context – Scriptural and historical, and have done much reading over the text.  I do not want to get into the pulpit and have my own words come out.  In fact, when I pray before preaching, I pray that what the Lord wants me to say will take precedence over my own words.  Second, I have listened to a few sermon snippets this morning that are not based upon the word of God.  In fact, I finally cut the sermon off because it was not preaching God’s Word.  It basically was a discourse on what this man wanted to talk about.  Lastly, the Bible says in 2 Timothy 4:3-4: “For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.”  Sadly, this time is apparently at hand.

Now, for those who think I am saying that any who don’t preach in an expository manner are unbiblical preachers, re-read everything prior to this.  I have not said that.  I preached for years before I knew there was such a phrase.  I am, however, saying that the context of Scripture is of the utmost importance.  I believe that Paul’s warning in 2 Corinthians 4:1-6 supports this:

“Therefore, having this ministry by the mercy of God, we do not lose heart.  But we have renounced disgraceful, underhanded ways.  We refuse to practice cunning or to tamper with God’s Word, but by the open statement of the truth we would commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God.  And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled only to those who are perishing.  In their case, the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.  For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake.  For God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.”

I will close with some words from John MacArthur to those of you who long to be faithful expositors of the Word of God:

“To be a legitimate expositor, you have to explain the text, and that rarely occurs in preaching.  That does not mean taking a text of Scripture, finding an outline, and bouncing your way through a homiletical format.  Explaining the text means giving to the people precisely the message that God intended when He revealed that Scripture.  That’s going to take you beyond superficiality, because frankly there isn’t anything superficial about the mind of God….  Everything about the mind of God is profound.  Everything about the mind of God is systematic.  Everything about the mind of God is clear.  Everything about the mind of God is cohesive.  Everything about the mind of God is orderly. And that is how the text should be explained.”

Once again, hypothetical readers, I thank you for your time.

Yours and His,

–Keith

Battling Myself

As of recently, I find that I struggle more against myself than I do against anyone or anything else.  I allow myself to give Satan such stable footing that I cause myself a great deal of difficulty.  Paul, in Romans 7:18-20 says:

“For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh.  For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out.  For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep doing.  Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me.”

That’s how I feel.  I am constantly battling with desires within me – selfishness, success, pride, etc.  But, I plod forward, seeking and striving in Christ to see His desires and will fulfilled rather than my own.

This all greatly stems from a recent revelation that has occurred to me: I cannot be everything – do everything – and cannot be Superman.  For many of you hypothetical readers, this is not a revelation.  Of course, I cannot be everything.  Of course, I cannot do everything.  Of course, I cannot be Superman.  But yet, that is almost what I strove to be.  I am the guy who tries to take on everything that is needed around me.  I am a fixer – a doer.  When someone says “Somebody” should do something, I’m somebody!  And am at the same time nobody.  I am my own detriment.

What I desire, at its core, is a good thing: I want to minister to people and help them in any and every way that I can.  Yet, I realize that I cannot help everybody.  I am spread thin.  My plate is full.  So, I now strive to seek more of what the Lord would have me to do, rather than all that I desire to do.  And the desiring to do much good is not bad, I do not think.  I should desire to do good.  But, alas, I cannot do it all.

This is quite cathartic.

I find myself, in my thinness, clinging to a line from a Sovereign Grace song “Out of the Depths” that has helped me much in my realization of my inadequacy.  This is a song that talks about submitting to the will and Word of God.  There is a line in the chorus that says: “When the harvest time is over, and I still see no fruit, I will wait, I will wait for You.”  I am reminded that success does not come from me.  Success comes solely from the Lord.  He has blessed me with the opportunity to serve Him, but all good things still come from Him alone.  Even when no apparent fruit is being borne, I must continue to be faithful to Him in the way that He describes faithfulness in His Word.

“Wretched man that I am!  Who will deliver me from this body of death?  Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!  So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin.” (Romans 7:24-25)

Thanks for allowing for allowing me to meander through my thoughts in written form, dear hypothetical reader.

Yours and His,

–Keith

What Do We Think We are Doing?

I have – as I am sure many of you hypothetical readers of this blog have – been floored and convicted by much in David Platt’s book Radical: Taking Back Your Faith From the American Dream.  One quote from that book that has stood out in my mind a lot as of recently is:

“The Gospel reveals eternal realities about God that we would sometimes rather not face.  We prefer to sit back, enjoy our cliches, and picture God as Father who might help us, all the while ignoring God as a Judge who might damn us.  Maybe this is why we fill our lives with the constant drivel of entertainment in our culture – and in our church.  We are afraid that if we stop and really look at God in His Word, we might discover that He evokes greater awe and demands deeper worship than we are ready to give Him.”

To say that we are afraid to look into the Word of God and see what it is that He really wants from us is to say that we indeed do not desire to give or fulfill that.  How can that be called faithfulness?  Can it be called faithfulness?

If we look at Psalm 119 and see what the Word says about the Word, I daresay that we are missing out and are, in some cases, delusional about what we say we believe:

• “I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.” (v. 11)
• “In the way of your testimonies I delight as much as in all riches.” (v. 14)
• “I will delight in your statutes; I will not forget your word.” (v. 16)
• “Your testimonies are my delight; they are my counselors.” (v. 24)
• “My soul clings to the dust; give me life according to your word.” (v. 25)
• “Lead me in the path of your commandments, for I delight in it.” (v. 35)
• “Turn my eyes from looking at worthless things; and give me life in your ways.” (v. 37)
• “Behold, I long for your precepts; in your righteousness give me life!” (v. 40)
• “I will also speak of your testimonies before kings and shall not be put to shame, for I find my delight in your commandments, which I love.  I will lift up my hands toward your commandments, which I love, and I will meditate on your statutes.” (vv. 46-48)
• “I entreat your favor with all my heart; be gracious to me according to your promise.” (v. 58)
• “The law of your mouth is better to me than thousands of gold and silver pieces.” (v. 72)
• “If your law had not been my delight, I would have perished in my affliction.” (v. 92)
• “I am yours; save me, for I have sought your precepts.” (v. 94)
• “Oh how I love your law!  It is my meditation all the day.” (v. 97)
• “How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!” (v. 103)
• “Therefore I love your commandments above gold, above fine gold.” (v. 127)
• “Your promise is well tried, and your servant loves it.” (v. 140)
• “Trouble and anguish have found me out, but your commandments are my delight.” (v. 143)
• “I rejoice at your word like one who finds great spoil.  I hate and abhor falsehood, but I love your law.  Seven times a day I praise you for your righteous rules.” (vv. 162-164)

These verses illustrate a love for the Word of God and a delight in it – and this is not its entirety!  These verses talk about the delight that the servant of the Lord should have in His Word!  Do we long for the Word?  It is evident that we do not desire, as verse 25 says, to be given life according to His Word.  As Dr. Platt argues, we are afraid to be given what the Word says because more will be asked of us than we are giving.

There is a noticeable chasm between what the “faithful” in our churches are doing and what is required.  We have, at best, a Cliff’s Notes version of Christianity that is strained and filtered to the point that it fits into our culture, like a shaving the wrong jigsaw puzzle piece to make it fit where it doesn’t belong.  I would like to say that Dr. Platt is wrong, but unfortunately the evidence points to his being right.  It points to us indeed being less faithful.

The unfortunate question I am left with is in regards to what he says that we are afraid of – “we might discover that He evokes greater awe and demands deeper worship than we are ready to give Him”.  I just wonder if, when “believers” are confronted with the truth of Scripture regarding what we are supposed to be, they will submit to the Word and thereby to Christ to seek and serve Him.

Thank you for entertaining this feeble and winding argument.

–Keith

The Lord’s Servant

There is a passage of Scripture that has greatly impacted the way in which I live my life, especially in a pastoral sense.  2 Timothy 2:24-26 (ESV) says: “And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, correcting his opponents with gentleness.  God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth, and they may escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will.”

This passage of Scripture goes against everything that feels natural to me as far as dealing with conflict and opposition.  I like a more hands on approach that squelches the oppositions actions and is more….  Well, you get the picture: my natural approach is not like the aforementioned passage.  In this passage, Paul is talking to Timothy and explaining to him how it is that the Lord’s servant should be.  The word there for servant (δοῦλος in the Greek, pronounced d00′-los) means more than just a servant; it means bond-servant or slave.  Knowing that this doesn’t mean one who has chosen to serve and more means those who have been “bought with a price” (1 Cor 6:20) who are redeemed (purchased) by the blood of Jesus Christ, I find there is more urgency to apply this text to my life than when I thought I could just be a spectator to this ideal.  I am, as one who has been “bought with a price” – the propitiatory sacrifice of Jesus Christ, supposed to be like this passage.

The hardest part for me is to “not be quarrelsome”.  I like to argue.  Ask my parents.  Ask my siblings.  Ask my wife.  I like to be quarrelsome.  This stems mostly because I like to be right in nearly every situation.  Fortunately for everyone, I am not always right.  Instead of being quarrelsome, we are supposed to be “kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, correcting…opponents with gentleness”.  Some of you may be thinking, as I did upon first reading this: what about that time that Jesus braided a whip, flipped over tables, and ran evildoers out of the temple.  I daresay that this is contrary to most people’s view of gentle!  However, I came to three conclusions: 1) I am not Jesus, 2) There are many more times that Jesus dealt with things gently than he flipped over tables, and 3) there is more to the passage.

Jesus, in Matthew 21, Mark 11, and John 2, was righteous in his anger and actions.  I, however, am not, usually, in mine.  The thing that helps me keep focused in not being quarrelsome and striving to be all those things that I am supposed to be is the last part of that passage.  “God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth, and they may escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will.”  I, in and of myself, am incapable of rescuing those held captive by the “snare of the devil…to do his will.”  The reason that I strive to be kind, able to teach, endure evil patiently, and to gently correct is so that I do not detract from God who does the work.  I, as the Lord’s doulos, strive to submit to God and resist the devil (James 4:7) so that “God may perhaps grant…repentance” to those whom I am called to shepherd and deal with.

Now that I have given how the Word tells us we should be, I would like to add one opinion on how to be gentle: be blunt.  Speak truth in love (Ephesians 4:15), but get the truth out there sooner rather than later so as to not bury it under the beatings of the bush.

Yours and His,

–Keith Harris