Don't Forget!

Hebrews 13:2 notes the second virtue to be found within the life of the Christian. It states, “Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some have unwittingly entertained angels.” The phrasing in the first part reminds me that sometimes this is what we forget to do.

The writer implies that we can, at times, lose sight and forget what one of our duties as a Christian is. It is simply to be hospitable. And it doesn’t even mean to people we know and love and have relationships with. It says “entertain strangers.” This was a key concept in the lives of the early Christians. They were, as noted in the previous post, under persecution. What a thing to ask then, that they be nice to strangers. Can you imagine being a follower of Christ in that day, not knowing who you could trust with your beliefs? Yet the author of Hebrews encourages them in essence saying, be nice to everyone anyway! Be courteous, be thoughtful, have concern, and invite guests. This is the meaning of hospitality.

What a concept for us today, as well. It is so easy to slip into complacent Christianity (ho hum, go to church, go to work, go home). Rather, let us be mindful today, let us not forget, to entertain strangers. What better way to serve Christ and make Him known?

Let Love Continue

Hebrews 13 contains six virtues that characterize a Christian. The first virtue is love of the brethren. The writer to the Hebrew believers encouraged them to “let brotherly love continue” (verse 1). These Hebrew believers were facing various trials in their day – persecution for the Gospel. The theme of this book is the supremacy of Christ in all things. And, when we live out these six virtues, we are placing Christ above all other things that might try to invade our life.

The writer is pushing us to continue in love no matter what. While the Hebrew believers were facing trials, it is hard for us to understand what their circumstances were like. We do not know what it means to die for Jesus. We do not know what it means to be beaten or mocked as they probably were. Yet, as this world continues to age, and especially the United States, it will become more and more disagreeable with Christians.

We are starting to hit the tip of the iceberg in such areas as free speech. It is already a law in Canada that Christians cannot preach against homosexuality. It is considered a hate crime. So we need to be prepared that persecution is on the horizon. Maybe not right this moment, but it will happen in the years to come.

Therefore Christian, I urge you, as Hebrews 13:1 does, “Keep on loving each other as brothers” (NIV). We are to let our love for one another endure, be present, remain, and stand in the light of all that we will experience for Christ. It saddens me to read the blogs of so many within Christendom; you do not see brotherly love - you see fighting over various issues. And yes, I too believe that it is important to discuss theology and doctrine. But not to let the world see us fighting over it. So, I leave you with this first virtue of love. Seek today to love your brothers and sisters in Christ. For Jesus said, “Love one another just as I have loved you” (John 15:12).

The Reformed Theology Debate

To those of you who are debating this on my blog, please read this article and tell me what you think...

Divine Sovereignty & Human Responsibility

ps. If you don't have time to read it all, please read the section entitled, "Finding Biblical Balance: Theological and Practical Considerations" and the concluding quote from Spurgeon.

The Great Love of God in Christ

Isaiah 53:5 states, “But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the chastening for our wellbeing fell upon Him, and by His scourging we are healed.” There are four verbs in this verse which give reference to the pain and agony that the Lord Jesus experienced while He was on the cross.

Pierced for our transgressions. The word pierced speaks to the wounding that Jesus received. He was pierced with a sword in His side. There was definitely physical suffering for our transgressions – a word that means (according to dictionary.com) “a violation of a law, command, or duty.” Christ suffered bodily for our transgressing of the law of God. God demanded a sacrifice for our sins and it was Christ who paid that price.

Crushed for our iniquities. The word crushed literally means (according to Strong’s Hebrew Lexicon) “destroyed, or beaten into pieces.” Christ was beaten to pieces because of our iniquities (our moral evil, our faults, our sin, or as dictionary.com defines it – gross immorality, or wickedness). We must remember that in our sinful state we are evil and wicked, and Christ was crushed for this.

Chastened for our wellbeing. Instead of us receiving the penalty for our wrong deeds, Christ received it. The word chastisement carries with it the notion of receiving reproof, rebuke, and discipline. Wellbeing literally means peace. Christ received the full brunt of God’s wrath so that we might be at peace with God.

Scourged for our healing. The word “scourge” is referring to the whipping and beating that Christ received by the Roman soldiers, but ultimately by God. He was whipped in order to take our punishment.

It is evident in that small verse that Jesus encountered much more than we can imagine. And look at the verse – it uses the pronouns He and His, and our and we. Everything He accomplished reaps an eternal benefit for us. “The love of God is greater far than tongue or pen can ever tell. It goes beyond the highest star and reaches to the lowest hell. The guilty pair, bowed down with care, God gave His Son to win, His erring child He reconciled and pardoned from his sin.”

Dr. Danny Akin

Over the past year I have heard Dr. Akin speak, and have read articles that he has written. He is very balanced on many issues at hand within the SBC. Take a look at this link to read something he wrote concerning last week's meeting of the SBC. If you don't have time to read it all, take a look at these sections: calvinism, resolutions, heroes of the faith.

Dr. Akin

The Suffering Savior

Isaiah 53:3 – “He was despised and forsaken of men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and like one from whom men hide their face He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.” I guess I’ve never thought about how many descriptives are in this sentence regarding Jesus. It is packed full of images of our Lord and His time on this earth, particularly during His earthly ministry. We see two main themes from the verse:

Rejected by men. It says that He was “despised,” which literally means that He was disdained, disliked intensely, and loathed by men. It also says that He was “forsaken of men.” This means that Jesus was rejected, left destitute, and abandoned by all men. Then it states that He was so despised and rejected that He was like one whom men would “hide their face” from. Have you ever seen someone who instantly you wanted to turn your eyes away from? This is how our Lord was regarded. It also states in this verse that “we did not esteem Him.” This speaks to how we did not regard Him as worthy of our thoughts or care; we did not value Him at all. We, in our once lost state, were guilty of all these things.

Connected with pain. The verse uses two phrases to describe Jesus’ connection to pain. It labels Him as a “man of sorrows.” His ultimate death on the cross is a picture of His intense sorrow and sadness for the men that rejected Him and put Him to death. The verse also states that Jesus was “acquainted with grief.” You and I have what we call acquaintances, which means they are familiar friends in our lives. Jesus was acquainted with the familiar friend of sorrow and grief.

What can we draw from this? Jesus showed us the ultimate compassion and love. He experienced rejection, pain, loathing, suffering, being despised, men not wanting to look upon Him, and the familiar friend of grief and sorrow – all of these so that we might know Him by faith in His death on the cross and resurrection from the dead. May we know that when we are facing the same thing (maybe rejection by family or friends for the Gospel, or connection to grief, pain, and despair) that Jesus has experienced them as well. Oh what a blessed Savior!

False teachers in the church

The Larry King Live show last night discussed homosexuals in the church, specifically in regards to the Episcopal Church of the USA. If you did not get a chance to watch it, use the link at the bottom of this post for the transcript. I would like to include two comments that were made.

President and CEO of Anglican American Council, Rev. David Anderson: If he wants to make his own rules as it were, or come up with an alternate interpretation of scripture, that's his decision. But scripture has been very clear. The witness of the church for 2,000 years has been very clear and it's only recently that the Episcopal Church, if you will, has been, I might use the word, hijacked by those who have a different perspective, a different theology, and they are taking it in a different direction.

Openly-gay Bishop Robinson: But we worship a God who is not locked up in scripture 2,000 years ago, but continues to reveal God's self to us. It's not God that's changing. It's our understanding. We're being led by the Holy Spirit to understand in a new way what God was intending. The question before us right now is, might God be intending something different in our welcome of gay and lesbian people that's not been true for the last 2,000 years? And would that not be God's will for us?

It is pertinent then to read Titus 1:16, (which was written by Paul regarding the false teachers that were invading the church) "They profess to know God, but by their deeds they deny Him, being detestable and disobedient and worthless for any good deed." Here it seen that "they profess" God which means they pay lip-service to God. They will talk about their relationship with and love for God. However, it is clear that "by their deeds they deny Him." Such deeds may be reviewed in Romans 1:26-32 and Revelation 21:8.

This topic is more relevant than it has ever been! As the Believer's Bible Commentary states regarding Titus 1:16, "Love never glosses over sin. These men (false teachers) were perverting the Gospel, dishonoring the Person and work of the Lord Jesus, and deluding the souls of men." Let us pray against the rise of false teachers, and humbly love them and show them the truth of God's word.

Transcript - http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0606/15/lkl.01.html

Humility: Its Horizontal & Vertical Relationship

The Apostle Peter knew well what he was discussing in his epistle to the persecuted believers (I Peter). He referred to them as “strangers (or aliens) in the world, scattered about” in I Peter 1:1. The recipients of this book were under trials and had the possibility of more coming their way. Instead of telling them, as we would hear from leaders in our day, to stand up for their rights, Peter told them about humility. This he expressed in chapter 5:5-6. Within these verses, we may see the vertical and horizontal relationship of humility that is to be expressed in our lives as Christians.

Incidentally, Peter himself had been schooled by Jesus on this issue. Examples of the lessons learned by Peter regarding humility may be found in Luke 22:31-33 (he claimed he would go to prison and even death with Jesus when in reality, he would deny Christ not once, not twice, but three times); and in John 13:8 (a false projection of humility is seen when he proclaims to Jesus, “You shall never wash my feet,” to which Jesus replied, “if I do not wash you, you have no part with me”).

So by the time that Peter was penning his first epistle, he was able to give clear direction to the persecuted believers. We see that first in verse 5, the believer is to possess HORIZONTAL humility. This simply means that we are to be humble towards one another. The word “towards” denotes mutuality. We are to wear (as we would a garment) humility, which is modesty and humbleness of the mind about ourselves and about others. May we seek to have a mutual humility with all believers that we encounter – whether they are young or old in the Lord, or whether they agree or disagree with us on certain issues.

And then it may be seen that the believer is to have VERTICAL humility. This is seen in verse 6, where it says “humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God.” God is above us, and mighty. He is totally other than us, and therefore, we are to recognize that our correct position is beneath him, under His hand (which is a symbol of His power and might). This may be applied to your daily life – in that when you pray, when you read the Bible, and when you go to church, you recognize your need for God. In all things may we seek to know our great need for the Almighty!

Once we have the vertical and horizontal aspects of humility, it is evident that blessings will come from it. Peter said that “God gives grace to the humble” and that when you humble yourself, “He may exalt you at the proper time.” How exciting to know that humility brings about grace (God’s unmerited favor in our life) and proper exaltation. Of course, I tend to believe that this proper exaltation involves us exalting God in a great way! Think about Peter’s life, who in tradition, was crucified upside down, “because he was (he said) unworthy to be crucified after the same form and manner as the Lord was” (from Foxe’s Book of Martyrs).

The Costliness of the Gospel

Lately I have been reading "9 Marks of a Healthy Church" by Mark Dever. Here are some thoughts toward a certain section of the book:

A salient feature from Dever’s book is his clear and precise writing about the Gospel in chapter 3. The author quoted J.C. Ryle’s comments towards this topic: “There is a common worldly kind of Christianity in this day, which many have, and think they have enough – a cheap Christianity which offends nobody, and requires no sacrifice – which costs nothing, and is worth nothing.” This quote brings about conviction to reform one’s thoughts toward sharing the Gospel and evangelism within the local church.

Dever’s treatment of this topic is one that is long overdue. It leaves the reader questioning how evangelical churches have gotten to the point where the “gospel” encourages unbelievers to gain their own salvation by walking an aisle or praying a prayer. And while this may not be the intention of such churches, it has become the accepted way. Dever’s call to come back to the foundations of the Gospel (of repentance and faith) is reminiscent of Paris Reidhead, a preacher who in essence spoke to this type of “gospel” and called it humanistic. Reidhead said of this, “And this is the betrayal of the ages! And it is the betrayal in which we live.”

This is supported by Jesus in Matthew 19:16-30. There we read of the rich young ruler, who claimed to have kept all of the commandments of God. Yet he was unwilling to sell all he had to follow Jesus. In that fact alone, the young ruler was breaking the first commandment, "You shall have no other gods before Me." God is teaching me about the costliness of the Gospel - how everything in this life is to pale in comparison to following Jesus. Are we really willing to give it all up for Him? In Matthew 19:29, Jesus encouraged the disciples about those that have given up such things as family, children, houses, and lands for His "name's sake." Believer, what have you given up today in order that you may follow the Christ?

Poverty and the Glorious Gospel

This past week I was blessed by God to be able to travel to a remote part of the world. This place is one in which most Americans have never nor will ever see. I’m not sure why I was called to go. I do know that the Lord used this trip to change my thoughts about missions, about wealth and poverty, and about the Gospel.

On this trip I did not bathe for five days. I did not have running water or good American food to eat. I ate granola bars and tuna and cheese nips. I rode a commercial bus and then got on a smaller bus, all of which took about 6 hours to reach the final destination – Isa (a village of Jacqaru people in the Andes Mountains). It was there that a local believer opened her home to me and exclaimed that our presence there was “a miracle!” We (the team) were able to hand out tracks in Spanish, Spanish New Testaments, and hold services in which the Gospel was preached.

When I read the above paragraph, I feel that I haven’t begun to explain what I saw and experienced on this trip. However, I do notice that while I am trying to convey that, for God’s glory, I was trying to deny myself and the comforts of home, it still seems so little in comparison to the life of Christ and of His apostles.

Take for instance the writings of Paul in 1 Corinthians 4:

9 For I think that God has displayed us, the apostles, last, as men condemned to death; for we have been made a spectacle to the world, both to angels and to men. 10 We are fools for Christ's sake, but you are wise in Christ! We are weak, but you are strong! You are distinguished, but we are dishonored! 11 To the present hour we both hunger and thirst, and we are poorly clothed, and beaten, and homeless. 12 And we labor, working with our own hands. Being reviled, we bless; being persecuted, we endure; 13 being defamed, we entreat. We have been made as the filth of the world, the offscouring of all things until now. 14 I do not write these things to shame you, but as my beloved children I warn you. 15 For though you might have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet you do not have many fathers; for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel. 16 Therefore I urge you, imitate me. 1 Cor 4:9-16 (NKJV)

In this chapter, Paul uses irony and (dare I say it) sarcasm, to show the Corinthian believers that they were completely mistaken about what the Christian walk is to entail. It is not about being strong, distinguished, honored, and rich. Rather it is about experiencing for the sake of Christ these things: fools for Christ, weakness, hunger and thirstiness, lack of clothing, being beaten, homelessness, hard labor, persecution, etc.

I have not begun to understand what the Apostle experienced. I have not become a pauper for Christ. Have you? We have the charge at the end – “imitate me.” I guess I have yet to see any godly Christian I know truly following this command to its fullness for the sake of Christ and the glorious Gospel.