11 When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son. 2 Israel called to the Egyptians even as Israel was leaving them. They kept sacrificing to the Baals and burning offerings to idols. 3 It was I who taught Ephraim to walk, taking them by the hand, but they never knew that I healed them. 4 I led them with human cords, with ropes of love. To them I was like one who eases the yoke from their jaws; I bent down to give them food. 5 Israel will not return to the land of Egypt and Assyria will be his king, because they refused to repent. 6 A sword will whirl through his cities; it will destroy and devour the bars of his gates, because of their schemes. 7 My people are bent on turning from me. Though they call to him on high, he will not exalt them at all.
8 How can I give you up, Ephraim? How can I surrender you, Israel? How can I make you like Admah? How can I treat you like Zeboiim? I have had a change of heart; my compassion is stirred! 9 I will not vent the full fury of my anger; I will not turn back to destroy Ephraim. For I am God and not man, the Holy One among you; I will not come in rage. 10 They will follow the Lord; he will roar like a lion. When he roars, his children will come trembling from the west. 11 They will be roused like birds from Egypt and like doves from the land of Assyria. Then I will settle them in their homes.
This is the Lord’s declaration.
Text: Hosea 11.1-11 Series: Supply Preaching Church: First Baptist Church, Mammoth Spring, AR Date: June 5, 2022
TEXT 11 He was praying in a certain place, and when he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John also taught his disciples.”
2 He said to them, “Whenever you pray, say,
Father, your name be honored as holy. Your kingdom come. 3 Give us each day our daily bread. 4 And forgive us our sins, for we ourselves also forgive everyone in debt to us. And do not bring us into temptation.”
5 He also said to them, “Suppose one of you has a friend and goes to him at midnight and says to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread, 6 because a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I don’t have anything to offer him.’ 7 Then he will answer from inside and say, ‘Don’t bother me! The door is already locked, and my children and I have gone to bed. I can’t get up to give you anything.’ 8 I tell you, even though he won’t get up and give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of his friend’s shameless boldness, he will get up and give him as much as he needs.
9 “So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you. Seek, and you will find. Knock, and the door will be opened to you. 10 For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. 11 What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead of a fish? 12 Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? 13 If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him?”
Text: Luke 11.1-13 Series: Supply Preaching Church: South Caraway Baptist Church, Jonesboro, AR Date: August 9, 2020
1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by God’s will: To the faithful saints in Christ Jesus at Ephesus. 2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Title: On an Introduction to Ephesians Series: John Newton Pastors Conference Church: Grace Baptist Church, West Memphis, AR Date: May 20, 2022
TEXT 19 “There was a rich man who would dress in purple and fine linen, feasting lavishly every day. 20 But a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, was lying at his gate. 21 He longed to be filled with what fell from the rich man’s table, but instead the dogs would come and lick his sores. 22 One day the poor man died and was carried away by the angels to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried. 23 And being in torment in Hades, he looked up and saw Abraham a long way off, with Lazarus at his side. 24 ‘Father Abraham!’ he called out, ‘Have mercy on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this flame!’
25 “‘Son,’ Abraham said, ‘remember that during your life you received your good things, just as Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here, while you are in agony. 26 Besides all this, a great chasm has been fixed between us and you, so that those who want to pass over from here to you cannot; neither can those from there cross over to us.’
27 “‘Father,’ he said, ‘then I beg you to send him to my father’s house— 28 because I have five brothers—to warn them, so that they won’t also come to this place of torment.’
29 “But Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the prophets; they should listen to them.’
30 “‘No, father Abraham,’ he said. ‘But if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’
31 “But he told him, ‘If they don’t listen to Moses and the prophets, they will not be persuaded if someone rises from the dead.’”
~Luke 16.19-31
Title: On the Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus Series: Who is Jesus? A Study of the Gospel of Luke Church: South Caraway Baptist Church, Jonesboro, AR Date: May 08, 2022
8 Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead and descended from David, according to my gospel, 9 for which I suffer to the point of being bound like a criminal. But the word of God is not bound. 10 This is why I endure all things for the elect: so that they also may obtain salvation, which is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory. 11 This saying is trustworthy:
For if we died with him, we will also live with him; 12 if we endure, we will also reign with him; if we deny him, he will also deny us; 13 if we are faithless, he remains faithful, for he cannot deny himself.
~2 Timothy 2.8-13
Title: On 2 Timothy 2.8-13 Series: Revival Church: First Baptist Church, DeValls Bluff, AR Date: March 16, 2022
57The Lord is my portion; I have promised to keep your words. 58 I have sought your favor with all my heart; be gracious to me according to your promise. 59 I thought about my ways and turned my steps back to your decrees. 60 I hurried, not hesitating to keep your commands. 61 Though the ropes of the wicked were wrapped around me, I did not forget your instruction. 62 I rise at midnight to thank you for your righteous judgments. 63 I am a friend to all who fear you, to those who keep your precepts. 64 Lord, the earth is filled with your faithful love; teach me your statutes.
The eight stanza of Psalm 119 (ח/heth – sounds like the ch in Bach, you have to get a little phlegm in the back of your throat when you say it), but this stanza begins with the line “The Lord is my portion.” This is an image that occurs frequently throughout the Old Testament, and especially in the Book of Psalms. The word typically refers to a share or a portion of land received by inheritance. In an agrarian society like ancient Israel, owning land was a source of economic, political, and societal security. Those who owned land had standing and influence. But here, our psalmist affirms that the Lord is his portion. “The Lord” here (printed in all caps on most versions) represents the personal covenant name of God, i.e. יהוה, Yahweh; this is the name that He revealed to Moses from the burning bush, “I am who I am” (Exodus 3.14). In other words, our psalmist understands that Yahweh, the one true and living God, the personal covenant keeping God, is the only one in whom we may find safety, security, stability, satisfaction, and contentment in this life. As the old hymn goes, “All other ground is sinking sand.”
This principle is not unlike that famous slogan of pastor and author John Piper, “God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him.” Or as question 1 of the Westminster Shorter Catechism states, “Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy Him forever.” This is the point, namely that glad and joyful obedience to the Word of God springs forth from a heart that is perfectly satisfied and wholly content in Him. This is why our psalmist says in verse 57, “I have promised to keep your words.” And again in verse 60, “I hurried, not hesitating to keep your commands.” And again in verse 62, “I rise at midnight to thank you for your righteous judgments.” Of course, the counter point is equally true, that when we begin to look for sources of satisfaction and contentment outside of Him, we quickly fall into sin. The world we live in is constantly offering us a plethora of competing products and services intended to satisfy and fulfill; this is the essence of an advertisement rich consumeristic society. But, these options overpromise and under deliver, because nothing can satisfy and fill the deepest longings of the human heart like the God who made it. This is why our psalmist writes in verse 59, “I thought about my ways and turned my steps back to your decrees.” Or again in verse 61, “Though the ropes of the wicked were wrapped around me, I did not forget your instruction.“
But not only does this inner contentment in God free us from the allure of sinful temptations, but its also changes our entire outlook on life, as our psalmist writes in verse 64, “Lord, the earth is filled with your faithful love; teach me your statutes.” Of course, this world is polluted, even overrun, by sin everywhere we turn, such that even the stoutest of hearts might be shaken with fear, but when our hearts are completely secure in God, then we may have that rest which Jesus promised His disciples. Then, we may have confidence that sin is not the end of the story, that evil will not win the day, because we know that where sin abounds grace abounds even more, that where the darkness seems to consume, there the light of God’s grace and love can still shine through. And this hopeful confidence energizes the desire to live in faithful obedience. But more than that, it also empowers us to live in authentic community with others. As our psalmist puts it in verse 63, “I am a friend to all who fear you, to those who keep your precepts.” In other words, when we our hearts are completely whole in God, then we are set free to love others without the need to receive anything in return. We can love others for their sake and nor for our own, because we are complete in the love of Christ. This is the essential foundation for Christian community, that we love each other even as Christ loves us, and we can only do this when are completely satisfied and wholly loved in Christ by God.
Only that life which is lived in willing and fervent obedience to God’s Word can experience genuine human flourishing to the fullest degree, and this kind of obedience can only come from a heart that is perfectly content and satisfied in God and Him alone. As our psalmist writes in verse 58, “I have sought your favor with all my heart; be gracious to me according to your promise.” This is no works based attempt to merit God’s grace. Rather, it is the reflection of a heart that understands and trusts in the promise of God. It is the perspective of a soul that is perfectly at rest in the good news of the Gospel, that pursues faithful obedience to God and His Word from the wholeness that is only available by His grace. It is by grace because Christ has already completely fulfilled God’s law; He lived a life of perfect obedience to the Father. The good news of the gospel is that He has taken our disobedience upon himself, and in a glorious exchange, He has given us His obedient righteousness. And this is why He says, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take up my yoke and learn from me, because I am lowly and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11.28-30)
17 The seventy-two returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name.” 18 He said to them, “I watched Satan fall from heaven like lightning. 19 Look, I have given you the authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and over all the power of the enemy; nothing at all will harm you. 20 However, don’t rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”
21 At that time he rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and revealed them to infants. Yes, Father, because this was your good pleasure. 22 All things have been entrusted to me by my Father. No one knows who the Son is except the Father, and who the Father is except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son desires to reveal him.”
23 Then turning to his disciples he said privately, “Blessed are the eyes that see the things you see! 24 For I tell you that many prophets and kings wanted to see the things you see but didn’t see them; to hear the things you hear but didn’t hear them.”
~Luke 10.17-24
Title: On Luke 10.17-24 Series: Who is Jesus? A Study of the Gospel of Luke Church: South Caraway Baptist Church, Jonesboro, AR Date: October 24, 2021
49 Remember your word to your servant; you have given me hope through it. 50 This is my comfort in my affliction: Your promise has given me life. 51 The arrogant constantly ridicule me, but I do not turn away from your instruction. 52 Lord, I remember your judgments from long ago and find comfort. 53 Fury seizes me because of the wicked who reject your instruction. 54 Your statutes are the theme of my song during my earthly life. 55 Lord, I remember your name in the night, and I obey your instruction. 56 This is my practice: I obey your precepts.
Zayin (ז) is the seventh letter of the Hebrew alphabet; accordingly, this is now the seventh stanza of Psalm 119. In this stanza, our psalmist begins to reflect on the relationship between hope and perseverance in the face of intense grief. This is a topic that I have written on recently here, but the main point is that the Christian hope is grounded in the promises of God’s Word. As our psalmist writes, “Remember your word to your servant; you have given me hope through it.” The God of the Bible is eternal, without beginning or end, and so, He always remembers His Word. And not only does He remember His Word, He always keeps it. He is a God of His Word, because His Word is the revelation of Himself. Therefore, His Word is certain and sure, and this is why Christians should be people of unconquerable hope.
In the New Testament, hope is one of a triad of primary virtues that distinguish the followers of Christ. As the scriptures so poetically remind us, “Now these three remain: faith, hope, and love—but the greatest of these is love.” (1 Corinthians 13.13). Of course, hope is one of the most powerful emotions in all the human experience, and it is hope, along with faith and love, that is the primary source of motivation and strength in the Christian life. For our psalmist, it is his comfort in affliction (verse 50), his courage in the face of ridicule (verse 51), his zeal in the face of sinfulness (verse 53), and his joy in the regular responsibilities of life (verse 54). This hope, a hope that is firmly grounded the promises of God’s Word by faith, gives our psalmist the strength to persevere in obedience no matter what obstacles or difficulties may come against him(verses 55-56).
However, in trusting in His promises, we are not simply left to some kind of blind faith. In many ways the story of the Bible is a record of promises that have been kept. As our psalmist puts it, “Lord, I remember your judgments from long ago and find comfort” (verse 52). The Word of God is the evidence that God keeps His promises. In his the two book set that surveys of the Bible’s message, Mark Dever describes the Old and New Testaments as “Promises Made” and “Promises Kept” respectively. And the gospel writers, in particular, are at great pains to demonstrate that “these things happened so that the Scriptures would be fulfilled.” (John 19.36, among others) This is the unanimous affirmation of the Bible’s authors, that “whatever was written in the past was written for our instruction, so that we may have hope through endurance and through the encouragement from the Scriptures.” (Romans 15.4)
This is the point, namely that our hope is not in vain, because we know beyond any shadow of doubt that God keeps His Word in every detail. In fact, He has already kept it by sending His Son incarnate to die on the cross for sin and rise again. This is why the author of Hebrews writes, “Now faith is the reality of what is hoped for, the proof of what is not seen.” (Hebrews 11.1) When it is all said and done, Christians are people of hope, and our hope cannot be extinguished no matter what difficulties or hardships may come our way. “We wait for the blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ.” (Titus 2.13) While we wait, let us learn from our the commitment of our psalmist, “This is my practice: I obey your precepts.” (verse 56).
41 Let your faithful love come to me, Lord, your salvation, as you promised. 42 Then I can answer the one who taunts me, for I trust in your word. 43 Never take the word of truth from my mouth, for I hope in your judgments. 44 I will always obey your instruction, forever and ever. 45 I will walk freely in an open place because I study your precepts. 46 I will speak of your decrees before kings and not be ashamed. 47 I delight in your commands, which I love. 48 I will lift up my hands to your commands, which I love, and will meditate on your statutes.
The sixth stanza of Psalm 119 (ו/waw – though modern Hebrew pronounces it vav) begins with, “Let your faithful love come to me, Lord, your salvation, as you promised.” Literally translated, it reads “according to Your word.” (NASB). Here we learn a fundamental truth for living the Christian life, namely that the primary way in which we receive and experience the love of God is through the Word of God. It is in, by, and through His Word that He communicates His love to us, and it is in, by, and through the Spirit working through the Word that we receive that love. In other words, our communion with God is always by the Spirit through the Word, and outside of the Word of God, there is no other way to know Him.
Experientialism and emotionalism have taken the place of word-centered formation when it comes to how we understand and experience growth as disciples of Christ. Simply put, there is a lot of craziness out there that flies under the banner of Christian spirituality, a lot of amorphous mystical speculations that are passed off as piety and devotion. What Christians need most in their spiritual life is to return to those classic word-centered spiritual disciplines that have been the staple of the spiritual life for God’s people going all the way back to the time when this psalm was written. It is only upon the firm foundation of God’s Word that we can come to know and experience the fullness of God’s everlasting love.
When we stand complete and secure upon the love of God through His word, then and only then are we able to step out with courage and obedience. As the psalmist goes on here to say, “Then I can answer the one who taunts me. [Then] I will always obey, [then] I will walk freely, [then] I will speak … before kings.” It is only from a place of safety and wholeness in the love of God that we are then able to walk in faithfulness to its principles and precepts. And when we are secure in His love, we know that even if we fail, even if we stumble, we remain secure in the love of God. This kind of security, this certainty, is more than a feeling or emotion; it is a confident assurance based on the promises that are found in God’s Word.
This is why our psalmist concludes this stanza with his love for the Word of God. “I will delight in your commands which I love. I will lift up my hands to your commands which I love.” These are the distinctive characteristics which identify those who are loved by God, those who are genuinely saved by faith, namely that they find their deepest sense of satisfaction and fulfillment in knowing and doing the Word of God. When we know the love of God in Christ through the Spirit, we will be people of His Word, and if we are not people of His Word, then the danger is that we have not in fact received the everlasting, never ending love of Christ. May we learn from our psalmist and find ourselves complete in God’s love as it comes to us through His everlasting and inspired Word.
In my previous post, I began to outline the general contours of a biblical ethic for theological discourse. The ability to discuss questions of theology and biblical interpretation Christianly, especially where there is disagreement, is a primary indication of a person’s maturity in Christ. However, so often in this current cultural climate, godly virtues like humility, gentleness, kindness, love, and grace are glaringly absent from most (online) theological discourse. In addition to that, the proliferation of social media has created a practical cacophony of voices making it nearly impossible to know which ones are faithful and true. As Christians, we are called to contend passionately for the truth, which necessarily includes calling out those errors which are in direct contradiction to the clear teaching of the Bible. And so, the question remains, how can we contend for theological truth without being unnecessarily contentious?
The fact is that false teaching has always been a plague on the people of God. From Mosaic prescriptions that lay out the consequences for those making false prophecies to the writing prophets and their warnings about those who offer false promises of peace and security in the face of judgment to the warnings of the New Testament Gospels and epistles even to Revelation’s descriptions of an eschatological false prophet, the Bible is consistent in calling the people of God to be on guard, always watching our lives and our doctrine closely. However, we are also responsible for the lives and doctrine of each other within the community of faith. We bear a mutual responsibility for each other’s souls as we pursue biblical faithfulness, and when a brother or sister wanders off the path of truth, when they are swept up by the deceptions of false teaching, then we are called to the ministry of a loving rebuke that we may point them back to faithfulness.
The challenge, however, comes in identifying exactly what is and what is not false teaching. It has become common practice it seems to label our theological opponents with ideological and emotionally charged epithets that end up causing more confusion than clarity, which results in even more division. Labels like false teacher, heretic, liberal, etc. simply cannot be thrown around carelessly. Merely holding a different theological conclusion than someone else does not mean that they deserve to be identified as a false teacher. This is why we need a clear definition of what false teaching is. False teaching is any teaching that contradicts the primary and essential truths of the Bible. It is any doctrine that stands contrary to the fundamental essence of the Gospel. This has been the common understanding throughout the history of the church, but it would seem that in the current cultural climate many people have forgotten how to distinguish between friend and foe.
We desperately need to recover the discipline of theological triage. The ability to appreciate what is primary and what is secondary or tertiary is an ability that seems all but lost in most theological discourse. The threat of false teaching only applies at the level of the primary, those core truths that if compromised place one outside of the Christian faith. Historically, these primary doctrines have been defined by the classic creeds of the early church. These creeds (e.g. Apostle’s, Nicene/Constantinopolitan, Athanasian, etc.) were forged in the crucible of theological controversy, so they are helpful in identifying what does and does not constitute false teaching. Of course, they do not replace or supersede the authority and sufficiency of Scripture, but they can be helpful in clarifying the contours of Christian orthodoxy. Clearly, as it was then so also now, any teaching or doctrine that falls outside of these bounds is rightly called heresy or false teaching, and anyone who holds, affirms, or promotes this kind of doctrine must be rebuked for their error. With that being said, in what follows, I would like to outline a few biblical priorities that we must keep in mind as we engage each other in these matters.
The first priority is the priority of the local church. The local church is the primary locus of God’s redemptive and sanctifying work, and this includes the ministry of rebuke. It is in the local church that we are taught sound doctrine. It is in the local church where we submit to pastor-elders who keep watch over our souls. It is in the local church where we hold each other accountable and consider how we might provoke one another to love and good deeds. All of the commands that instruct us to correct and rebuke false teaching are addressed to the local church. This means that the local church is the right and proper context for hammering out our theological differences, for wrestling with the text of Scripture. It should be a safe place where people can ask questions, where they can express their understanding of particular issues and questions without fear of judgment or ridicule, and when necessary, where they can be pointed back to the way of biblical truth by correction or rebuke. In other words, it is not our job as pastors or as church members to police the theology of all Christians everywhere. Rather, it is our job to maintain biblical faithfulness within the context of the local church community where God has placed us.
The second priority is the priority of relationships. Relationships matter. What we must realize is that the Great Commandment to love God and to love people is not two but one. These are two sides of the same coin, to halves of one whole. Loving God necessarily includes loving others, and we can only do this in personal intimate friendships. When these relationships are grounded in mutual love for God and for each another, then and only then can we be assured of a person’s intent, that they are for our good and not for our harm, that they only wants what’s best for us. This unwavering trust is the currency that must be spent in speaking words of rebuke to one another. Outside of this basic assurance of a person’s good intentions, our rebukes will almost always come across as harsh, demeaning, belittling, and divisive. This is why the greater the relational distance that exists between us and our theological opponents, the greater amount of grace we must be willing to show them. This means giving the benefit of the doubt; it means taking our opponents at their word. And it means attributing questions or concerns first to misunderstanding, differing emphases, or lack of clarity before immediately impugning, slandering, and mischaracterizing someone’s biblical fidelity and devotion.
The third priority in the ministry of rebuke is the priority of repentance. Repentance, restoration, reconciliation. This must be the guiding principle, the primary purpose, in every church discipline situation. This is especially so when it comes to the ministry of rebuke. There may be occasions where a stern rebuke is necessary and warranted, but we are not simply trying to win arguments for the sake of being right. We are not engaged in a game where we need to win theological points to defeat our opponents. If false teaching is any doctrine or belief that would invalidate the Gospel, then we cannot pretend that these questions have no consequence. We are engaged in a spiritual battle for the soul, that we might turn them to Christ. This is why doctrine matters; this is why we must contend for the faith. It can never merely be a question of who is right and who is wrong. Every theological conversation must be guided by the primary desire of both parties to be more like Christ, to submit more to Christ, to trust more in Christ. This is why we must be ready and willing to repent and seek forgiveness, and it is why we must engage our theological differences in ways that invite others to do likewise.
And finally, the fourth priority for our theological discourse is the priority of Christlikeness. We are called to demonstrate the virtues of Christian character in every situation, in every interaction, in every conversation. Even when we must speak hard words, we are not permitted to speak them harshly. We cannot give into attitudes like hate, bitterness, or pride. We cannot treat our theological opponents, no matter the severity of their error, with derision or disregard or contempt. We must always seek to “speak the truth in love” even when that truth is confronting. Of course, there are plenty of examples in the Gospels where Jesus had to deliver hard words, and to our ears, his confrontations with the Pharisees may seem downright combative or argumentative. I will consider these examples and how they relate to theological discourse in my next post; however, suffice it say here that tone matters. Even when we must confront those who are descending into grave theological error, we must endeavor to deliver our rebukes with the virtues of Christ-like character, not the least of which are grace, humility, and love.
Faith seeking Understanding 