6 If you point these things out to the brothers and sisters, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, nourished by the words of the faith and the good teaching that you have followed. 7 But have nothing to do with pointless and silly myths. Rather, train yourself in godliness.8 For the training of the body has limited benefit, but godliness is beneficial in every way, since it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come. 9 This saying is trustworthy and deserves full acceptance. 10 For this reason we labor and strive, because we have put our hope in the living God, who is the Savior of all people, especially of those who believe.
~1 Timothy 3.14-16
Title: On Our Training for Godliness Text: 1 Timothy 4.6-10 Series: 1 Timothy: God’s Design for a Healthy Church Church: Redeemer Baptist Church, Jonesboro, AR Date: October 19, 2025
14 I write these things to you, hoping to come to you soon. 15 But if I should be delayed, I have written so that you will know how people ought to conduct themselves in God’s household, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth. 16 And most certainly, the mystery of godliness is great:
He was manifested in the flesh, vindicated in the Spirit, seen by angels, preached among the nations, believed on in the world, taken up in glory.
~1 Timothy 3.14-16
Title: On Our Conduct in the Local Church Text: 1 Timothy 3.14-16 Series: 1 Timothy: God’s Design for a Healthy Church Church: Redeemer Baptist Church, Jonesboro, AR Date: October 5, 2025
Is the Roman Catholic Church a Gospel-denying church? This question was the theme of a recent debate between Allen S. Nelson IV, pastor of Providence Baptist Church in Perryville, AR, and Father Stephen Hart, pastor/priest at Sacred Heart Church in Morrilton, AR. (A video of the debate can be found on the YouTube page of Providence Baptist Church, here.) While it is true that both participants had strong moments in the two hour event, it is not my purpose to evaluate their performances or to name a winner. I think that Pastor Nelson was at his best when he was pushing the details of the official teachings of the Roman Catholic Church as stated in their published documents, and Father Hart was at his best when he was giving the Catholic understanding of relevant New Testament texts. In the final analysis, though, I suspect that most people went away from the event feeling confirmed in the positions they held coming in and believing that their preferred candidate had won the evening. In the space that follows, I would simply like to suggest four important takeaways that were clarified for me.
First, the debate made it clear that the Roman Catholic Church generally misunderstands the New Testament concept of justification. Lexically, the δικαι- word group (words that are usually translated in the NT as righteousness and/or justified) refers to a forensic or legal status of innocence or guiltlessness. In his commentary on Romans in the NICNT series, Douglas Moo writes, “To justify signifies, according to forensic usage, to acquit a guilty one and declare him or her righteous.” (86) As we read in Romans 5.19, “For just as through one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so also through the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous (δικαίωμα).” In other words, it is a once-for-all gavel dropping declaration that a person is not guilty of their sin before God because of their faith in the atoning work of Christ. And what is important is that this status cannot be changed because of our sin, nor can it be augmented by good works. From beginning to end, it is a gift that is given by faith alone and that is preserved, maintained, and completed by God through His Spirit. As the Apostle Paul writes, “I am sure of this, that he who started a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” (Phil. 1.6) Or again, in Romans 8.29-30, we read, “For those he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, so that he would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. And those he predestined, he also called; and those he called, he also justified; and those he justified, he also glorified.”
However, the RCC insists that this declaration of righteousness, being God’s powerful word, must be effectual, and include thereby moral transformation. For example, the Council of Trent defines justification as that “which is not remission of sins merely, but also the sanctification and renewal of the inward man.” (Chapter 7) Trent goes on to argue that “by mortifying the members of their own flesh, and by presenting them as instruments of justice unto sanctification, they, through the observance of the commandments of God and of the Church, faith co-operating with good works, increase in that justice which they have received through the grace of Christ, and are still further justified.” (Chapter 10) And so, it logically follows when Trent resolves that, “If any one saith, that the justice received is not preserved and also increased before God through good works; but that the said works are merely the fruits and signs of Justification obtained, but not a cause of the increase thereof; let him be anathema.” (Canon 24) Of course, the Council of Trent, first convened in 1545, was the Church’s response to the Protestant Reformation, and so one can’t help but wonder if there isn’t some amount of reactionism that has influenced their positions on these matters. Nevertheless, it seems clear from these statements that Trent’s understanding of justification goes well beyond the New Testament understanding of the term.
Secondly, and the statements above demonstrates this, but the debate made it clear that the Roman Catholic Church confuses the doctrine of justification with the doctrines of regeneration and sanctification. Regeneration (aka new birth or “being born again”) refers to that work of the Spirit in which a person is given spiritual life. In other words, the Spirit transforms an individual from a state of spiritual death to a state of new creation in Christ, thus, enabling them to repent, believe, and live in accordance with God’s will. By the same token, sanctification is simply the lifelong process by which a person is gradually transformed more and more into the image of Christ, becomes more holy, and learns to walk in obedience to the law of Christ. As we read in Hebrews 10.14, “For by one offering he has perfected forever those who are being sanctified.” (ESV/LSB) Note especially in this verse that we are perfected forever, and yet we are being sanctified. The point is that these are logically distinct aspects of the salvation process (ordo salutis), even if in actual experience they are sometimes indistinguishable.
But in the teaching of the RCC, all of this inheres within the doctrine of justification. As we saw above, the Catholic church defines justification as that “which is not remission of sins merely, but also the sanctification and renewal of the inward man.” Whatever the reason for this lack of theological precision may be, this indiscriminate intermingling of categories leads inevitably to the conclusion that a person’s justification is dependent upon their sanctification. Or to put it another way, the Roman Catholic view seems that imply that while justification is begun by faith, it is continued, maintained, and eventually confirmed by good works. This is perhaps why Trent envisages the possibility that a person’s initial justification can be lost. In Chapter 14, Trent reads, “As regards those who, by sin, have fallen from the received grace of Justification, they may be again justified, when, God exciting them, through the sacrament of Penance they shall have attained to the recovery, by the merit of Christ, of the grace lost.” If a person’s justification can be lost by their disobedience, then it necessarily follows that it must be maintained (or should I say earned) by their obedience. Whatever the case, it is clear that in the Catholic understanding, the determining factor in a person’s justification is their obedience, i.e. their good “works”, and not their faith.
Now, I would be remiss if I did not also submit the opposing position to equal scrutiny, and so, before I conclude this article, I would like to offer two areas of weakness in our position that I believe were exposed in the aforementioned debate. And let me hasten to add that these points should not be received as any kind of criticism of Pastor Nelson; based on the limited interaction I have had with him, I find him to be a biblically faithful, theologically astute individual. But, as it regards the way that our views are typically represented in these discussions, I think there are two important takeaways for us to consider.
The first takeaway for those holding our perspective might be stated thus, namely that Protestants have a tendency to underemphasize the importance, nay even the necessity, of good works. In our zeal to proclaim and defend that time honored Reformation principle sola fide, or justification by faith alone, we inadvertently imply that living a life of obedience that issues forth in good works is some kind of optional add-on. We suggest, though perhaps unintentionally, that the Gospel’s call to live a life of ongoing discipleship to Jesus is something that is reserved for the religious elite, those who are really serious about their faith, those who are truly devout, so-called ‘super Christians’. But the Apostle James is clear on this point when he writes, “You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone.” (James 2.24) Of course, this is not a contradiction of the Apostle Paul, nor is it inconsistent with the Reformation’s emphasis on faith alone rightly understood (contra Luther). Rather, it is a reminder that the kind of faith that justifies is a faith that works. In other words, the principle of sola fide does not mean that a person can believe in Jesus and then live in whatever manner they so choose. This kind of “easy-believism’ is in truth no faith at all. In fact, it is demonic (James 2.19), and it does not and cannot save. A faith that saves, a faith that justifies, is a faith that works, and on this point, James and Paul are in complete agreement.
There is a sense in which our works will play a role at the final judgment. Jesus himself says in Matthew 16.27, “For the Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will reward each according to what he has done. ” And in Second Corinthians 5.10, we read, “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each may be repaid for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.” Or again, in Romans 2.6-8, Paul writes (quoting Proverbs 24.12 et al.), “He will repay each one according to his works: eternal life to those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor, and immortality; but wrath and anger to those who are self-seeking and disobey the truth while obeying unrighteousness.” And finally, in Hebrews 12.14, we are told to “Pursue … holiness [because] without it no one will see the Lord.” This does not mean that we are “saved” by or because of our works, but it does mean that living a life of obedience to God validates or proves that our faith is indeed a saving faith. The message of the Gospel is built on both the indicatives of what Jesus has done for us and imperatives that we are called to obey for Him. We receive the indicatives by faith, and we obey the imperatives because of what we have received by faith. The order matters here. If we put the imperatives of the Gospel before the indicatives of the Gospel, then we distort the Gospel into a salvation by works. In the logic of the Gospel, the indicatives precede and enable the imperatives. But the point is that they are both necessary parts of the gospel.
And this brings me to the second weakness of the Protestant position that I believe was exposed in the debate, namely that Protestants have a tendency to reduce the Gospel to its lowest common denominator. There can be no doubt that justification by faith is an important, even essential, foundation for our salvation, but the Gospel is so much more than justification by faith. The Gospel is the good news that in the person and work of Jesus Christ God has entered into his creation to redeem his people by dying for their sin as an atonement and by defeating death through His resurrection and to renew his creation by establishing his rule on earth, so that through the Spirit they can walk in perfect conformity to His ways and experience the blessings of His ongoing presence in and among them. It is this vision of a renewed humanity living in a renewed world in which God is eternally present to bless that is the goal of the biblical narrative (Revelation 21-22). This is why we must constantly remind ourselves that even though we have already been saved (justification), we are still being saved (sanctification), and yet one day we will be saved (glorification). And all of this is received and experienced by and through faith, but this faith must be a faith by which we walk in conformity to the way and will of Christ.
So, is the Roman Catholic Church a Gospel-denying church? I don’t know, but it does seem to me that their official teachings, whether explicitly or implicitly, confuse important concepts and components of the Gospel, and in doing so, it has the potential to lead even the most sincere and devout parishioner to believe that they are saved by living a morally upright and generally good and charitable life. Can a person be genuinely saved in the Roman Catholic Church? I think yes, but I would suspect that this is in spite of its official dogmas and teachings. And beyond their doctrine of salvation, there are many other tenets and teachings of the Roman Catholic tradition that I consider to be in clear contradiction to the teaching of Scripture. However, that is a question for another time. I will simply close this post with the words of the Apostle Paul, because I think they sum up the issues discussed in this article particularly well. “For you are saved by grace through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God’s gift— not from works, so that no one can boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared ahead of time for us to do.” (Ephesians 2.8-10)
Thirty-some years ago, the Christian band D.C. Talk released a song entitled “Luv is a verb”; it was a song that resonated with the biblical truth that love is more than simply a feeling. Genuine love, true biblical love is demonstrated through acts of giving and service, putting the needs of others before our own, and seeking their good as a matter of first priority. As we read in Romans 5.8, “But God proves his own love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Or again, in 1 John 4.10, “Love consists in this: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins.” Or even in the most memorable of verses, in John 3.16, “For God loved the world in this way: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.” The love of God toward sinners is the exemplar par excellence of true love. He loves, and so he gave. He acted for the good of those he loved, even when they didn’t love him. It is a love that is unconditional and undeserved, and it is a love that acts. Love, true biblical love, is indeed a actoin. It is a verb.
Of course, this understanding of love stands in stark contradiction to the sentiments of popular culture. For many, love is a feeling. It is something that is primarily felt in the warm fuzzies of attraction and desire. It is sensual, passionate, and oftentimes fleeting. People fall out of love just as easily and as quickly as the fall into love. The feelings of love ebb and flow like the tides of the ocean, and the more the feelings of love wane in a relationship, the more desperately we chase them. “Follow you’re heart”, we are told, but the scriptures remind us that our hearts are deceitful and wicked (Jeremiah 17.9). Christians rightly react to the idea that love is no more than an emotion. Love is commitment, love is service, love is a choice. Love is something we are called to give even if it is not returned in kind. We are called to love each other, even to love our enemies.
However, I think that this contrast sets up a false dichotomy. It is true that love is more than a mere emotion, but it is certainly not less than that. Emotions are good; they are God-given capacities, part of what it means to be made in the image of God. Even God has emotions, though His are perfect and completely without sin or selfishness. He is compassionate, merciful, gracious, and loving. “God is love” (1 John 4.8). Our emotions are a good and essential part of what makes us human, but as with our other capacities, they are fallen, corrupted by the sin. But they should not be rejected as if they are sinful in and of themselves, or somehow illegitimate partners in our sanctification. Just like our other human capacities, they need to be redeemed, reordered, transformed by the Spirit. This is why one of the fruit of the Spirit is, among others, love.
Therefore, I would submit that true biblical love is both action and affection; it is both something that we do and something that we feel. Of course, the question must be raised regarding what to do when we just aren’t feeling. Are we still required to love when the affections aren’t there. I would suggest yes, because, contrary to cultural sentiments, our emotions are not to be our guiding principle. We submit our emotions to the Word of God, to the work of the Spirit, such that they begin to follow our volition. So, yes, we are called to love others through acts of self-giving service and sacrifice, but we are also called to like others, as well. This, too, is part of the biblical command to love.
But how would this relate to a command like we find in Matthew 5.44, where we read, “But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” In this case, I think we have to be reminded that “our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this darkness, against evil, spiritual forces in the heavens.” (Ephesians 6.12). Our “enemies” are human beings made in the image of God who are enslaved and corrupted by sin, and but by the grace of God, there go we. So, we can have compassion and empathy for those who oppose us. We don’t have to agree with them or condone their actions; we don’t have to lower our defenses and pretend like no separation exists between us. But we cannot hate them outright; we cannot wish for their pain and destruction all the while trying to love them through acts of service and sacrifice. We must have some level of compassion and empathy, even for those who we consider “enemies”, because they too are made in the image of God. They have dignity, value, and worth, and we must loving actions toward them must be grounded in compassion rather than anger and animosity.
The point here is that feelings follow actions. If we set ourselves to love others through acts of service, I think we will be amazed at the affections that will well up for them in our hearts. No, biblical love is not some dry, emotionless, unfeeling command that we are called to obey. We are called to obey, but to do so holistically, with our whole selves. As Jesus reminds us, the greatest commandments are these, to “love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind” and to “love your neighbor as yourself.” (Matthew 22.37-40) When we do this, we will find ourselves become more and more like the one who is love in himself. So, “Dear friends, let us love one another, because love is from God, and everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. The one who does not love does not know God, because God is love.” (1 John 4.7-8)
97 How I love your instruction! It is my meditation all day long. 98 Your command makes me wiser than my enemies, for it is always with me. 99 I have more insight than all my teachers because your decrees are my meditation. 100 I understand more than the elders because I obey your precepts. 101 I have kept my feet from every evil path to follow your word. 102 I have not turned from your judgments, for you yourself have instructed me. 103 How sweet your word is to my taste— sweeter than honey in my mouth. 104 I gain understanding from your precepts; therefore I hate every false way.
The question of the Law and its relevance for New Testament believers is a question that has boggled the minds of Christians ever since the first disciples. As New Covenent believers, we understand that Christ has fulfilled the Law, and this in every way. No part of the Law has been left unfulfilled by Christ. Paul even says that the Law has been “abolished” in the work of Christ (Eph 2.15). And yet, we also understand that the Law, as part of the Old Testament Scriptures, is profitable and valuable for “training in righteousness.” (2 Tim 3.16) Genuine believers love the Word of God, and they yearn to be transformed by its truths. The Law, however, appears to be so difficult, so out of touch, so unrelated to life in Christ, we naturally wonder what transformative relevance it might still have.
More than that, we are well aware of what the New Testament says about the Law, particularly in the Pauline Epistles. For example, we understand that “the letter [of the Law] kills, but the Spirit gives life” (2 Cor 3.6), and that “[we] are not under the law but under grace.” (Rom 6.14) We all stand condemned by the law, for “it is clear that no one is justified before God by the law.” (Gal 3.11) We have been taught that the purpose of the Law is to expose our failures to live up the righteous standards of God, to convicts us of our sin, and to reveal our need for a savior. In other words, if the Law has a role in the faith of New Testament believers, then it is largely negative, convicting, and condemning.
But this does not seem to be the attitude of our psalmist here in Psalm 119; he views the law positively and with deep adoration and affection. In this stanza, he writes “How I love your instruction” (verse 97), and “How sweet your word is to my taste—sweeter than honey in my mouth.” (verse 103) Of course, we could simply conclude that this psalmist is writing before the advent of Christ, and so perhaps his words are no longer relevant for how we should relate to the Old Testament Law. For Old Testament believers, the Law was the basis for their covenant relationship with God. It was the gift of God’s grace to make them His people and enter into a covenant with them. Clearly, we have something greater. We are under the Law of Christ. (1 Cor 9:21)
But I believe this perspective would fail to do justice to the words of our psalmist. Believers in both the Old and the New Testament are united by the principle of faith; they are a part of us. So, the attitude of our psalmist throughout Psalm 119, but especially here in the mem (מ, pronounced maym) stanza, is particularly instructive for us. We too should learn to love God’s Law, to meditate upon it all day long. We should find in it words of wisdom and life and understanding about the ways of right and wrong as they are determined by the one who gave it. We should read Old Testament books like Leviticus and Deuteronomy, and let them be like sweet honey in the mouths of our soul, because they reveal the one whom our soul loves.
The bottom line is this, that the Old Testament, especially the Law, is good and valuable and profitable and transformative for God’s people of all times. It does not merely convict us and condemn us and reveal to us that we deserve hell and need salvation; it also reveals the character, the virtues, and perfections of the one who is true and pure and holy. We must learn to appreciate these positive aspects of the Law’s role in our lives as Christians, because if we do not, we cut ourselves off from the sustaining and nourishing benefits that come through its pages. No, we are not bound under the covenant mediating authority of the Law; it is not the basis of our relationship with God in Christ by the Spirit. But it is part of God’s revelation of himself, and as such, it continues to have value and relevance for those of who are in Christ, much as the writer of Psalm 119 affirms.
1. Those who are united to Christ and effectually called and regenerated have a new heart and a new spirit created in them through the power of Christ’s death and resurrection. They are also further sanctified, really and personally, through the same power, by his Word and Spirit dwelling in them. The dominion of the whole body of sin is destroyed, and the various evil desires that arise from it are more and more weakened and put to death. At the same time, those called and regenerated are more and more enlivened and strengthened in all saving graces so that they practice true holiness, without which no one will see the Lord.
2. This sanctification extends throughout the whole person, though it is never completed in this life. Some corruption remains in every part. From this arises a continual and irreconcilable war, with the desires of the flesh against the Spirit and the Spirit against the flesh.
3. In this war, the remaining corruption may greatly prevail for a time. Yet through the continual supply of strength from the sanctifying Spirit of Christ, the regenerate part overcomes. So the saints grow in grace, perfecting holiness in the fear of God. They pursue a heavenly life, in gospel obedience to all the commands that Christ as Head and King has given them in his Word.
Series: The 1689 Baptist Confession of Faith Church: Redeemer Baptist Church, Jonesboro, AR Date: February 28, 2024
4 Therefore I, the prisoner in the Lord, urge you to walk worthy of the calling you have received, 2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, 3 making every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to one hope at your calling— 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all.
7 Now grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift. 8 For it says:
When he ascendedon high, he took the captives captive; he gave gifts to people.
9 But what does “he ascended” mean except that he also descended to the lower parts of the earth? 10 The one who descended is also the one who ascended far above all the heavens, to fill all things. 11 And he himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, to build up the body of Christ, 13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of God’s Son, growing into maturity with a stature measured by Christ’s fullness. 14 Then we will no longer be little children, tossed by the waves and blown around by every wind of teaching, by human cunning with cleverness in the techniques of deceit. 15 But speaking the truth in love, let us grow in every way into him who is the head—Christ. 16 From him the whole body, fitted and knit together by every supporting ligament, promotes the growth of the body for building itself up in love by the proper working of each individual part.
~Ephesians 4.1-16
Title: On How Christians are Different Text: Ephesians 4.1-16 Series: The Letter to the Ephesians Church: South Caraway Baptist Church, Jonesboro, AR Date: July 23, 2023
Navigating the eschatological frenzy can sometimes be quite daunting and intimidating. There are many questions, and to the dismay of many earnest students of the Bible, not many answers. Because of this, eschatological discussions among Christians often end up resulting in more confusion than clarity. This is especially true when those who affirm a particular position begin to misrepresent and/or caricature those who hold different conclusions than their own. We have seen this dynamic play out most recently in some social media forums, where some who hold the post-millennial position have begun to criticize the pre-millennial position as having a fundamentally pessimistic and defeatist outlook on the future, or even an essentially negative assessment of the power of the Gospel to save people and transform lives.
For those who are not aware, the post-millennial position holds that the millennial reign of Christ is the gradual result of the church’s mission. Through making disciples of all nations, the mission of the church will eventually result in a time when millennial conditions will characterize the whole earth. Christ is reigning at the right hand of the Father, and He reigns on earth through the ministry of His church. After an extended period of time of such conditions, Christ will return to judge the world, and the final state will begin. This, they suggest, is an essentially optimistic and hopeful assessment of the success of the Gospel, because it expects the gospel to be so effective in transforming lives, that it will organically result in a kind of utopian experience of the Kingdom of God on earth before Jesus comes again.
Consequently, they charge that the pre-millennial position expects conditions across the world to continue to deteriorate until Jesus comes again to establish His Kingdom on earth. Over time, sin will abound more and more, persecution of the righteous will become ever more intense, and things will progressively get worse until they reach their climax in the events of the Great Tribulation. Scripturally, this point of view might be based on verses like Second Timothy 3.1-5, which reads in part, “But know this: Hard times will come in the last days.” (See also Matthew 24.4-14) However, the question must be asked whether this is an accurate representation of the pre-millennial view. As someone who holds to the position in question, I would suggest that this portrayal of the pre-millennial view is partial at best and a dishonest caricature at worst. So, in the space that follows, I would like to offer two considerations that might help to bring clarity to this discussion.
First, every eschatological position must affirm that sin will remain present and active in the world until Jesus comes again to defeat it once and for all. The devil continues to prowl around like a lion seeking whom he might devour (1 Peter 5.8); spiritual warfare continues to be an ever present reality in the lives of followers of Jesus (Ephesians 6.10-18). The created order continues to groan under the burden of the curse even as it waits for the day of redemption (Romans 8.18-25). This is not some kind of pessimistic defeatism; no, this is simply theological realism. This is the tension that is the already and not yet. Yes, the death of Jesus on the cross made full and complete atonement for sin, and He cried out from the cross, “It is finished.” Those who trust in Him can be forgiven; in Christ, we have been saved from the punishment of sin. But we are not yet saved from the presence of sin, and we won’t be until Jesus comes again in glory and victory. But, a day is coming, a glorious day, when sin and death, pain and sorrow, brokenness and loss will be done away with once and for all (1 Corinthians 15.51-57, Revelation 21.3-4); a day is coming when the enemy will be finally and completely defeated and thrown into the lake of fire for eternity to torment the people of God no longer. (Revelation 20.7-10). And what a day that will be!
Secondly, we must affirm that Christians should be neither overly pessimistic nor naively optimistic; these emotions have zero connection to the idea of Christian hope. Christians should be a people of unshakable hope, but our hope is not some vague well wish that things might eventually get better. No, Christian hope is the firm conviction that what God has promised He will most certainly do. He has promised that He will come again to receive us to himself, that where He is we may be also; He has promised that He will come again to right every wrong, to heal every pain, to put a final and eternal end to sin and death. And it is because of this promise that we can face the difficulties and the ugliness of the world with honesty and compassion and perseverance. As the Apostle Paul puts it in 2 Corinthians, chapter 4, verses 8-10, “We are afflicted in every way but not crushed; we are perplexed but not in despair; we are persecuted but not abandoned; we are struck down but not destroyed.” He goes on to explain in verse 14 of that text, “For we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you.” This is Christian hope; it is neither a defeated pessimism nor a naïve optimism. Rather, it is a resolute conviction of future glory in the face of difficulty and hardship. It understand the reality of sin; it does not turn away from the ugliness and brokenness of this world. Instead, it holds onto the promise and power of the Gospel that Christ is our only hope, our only rescue, from the penalty, the power, and one day even the presence of sin.
Eschatology is the doctrine of hope; it is the biblical vision of the victory that we have in Christ. It should not be a source of conflict or consternation among Bible believing Christians. Of course, there are interpretive details over which we may continue to disagree, and “iron sharpens iron, and one person sharpens another.” (Proverbs 27.17) And there are other interpretations out there that must be recognized and dismissed as the rank heresy that they are. This is why we must redouble and retriple our commitment to the tutelage of the Word of God. It is the Bible that defines the contours of our eschatological expectation, not our emotional perception of its outlook on the future, whether we consider that be optimistic or pessimistic. Christians should be people of firm and committed hope, because we know that Christ has promised to return bodily. As He said, “Look, I am coming soon, and my reward is with me to repay each person according to his work.” (Revelation 22.12) He is our hope, and this is something all Christians can agree on.
89 Lord, your word is forever; it is firmly fixed in heaven. 90 Your faithfulness is for all generations; you established the earth, and it stands firm. 91 Your judgments stand firm today, for all things are your servants. 92 If your instruction had not been my delight, I would have died in my affliction. 93 I will never forget your precepts, for you have given me life through them. 94 I am yours; save me, for I have studied your precepts. 95 The wicked hope to destroy me, but I contemplate your decrees. 96 I have seen a limit to all perfection, but your command is without limit.
The twelfth stanza of Psalm 119 (ל/Lamed) begins with a beautiful affirmation of the permanence and timelessness of God’s Word. “Lord, your Word is forever; it is firmly fixed in heaven.” (verse 89) It is not just another curiosity that has been passed down to us from antiquity; no, it is the living and abiding Word of the one true and living God. In theology, this is called the doctrine of inspiration, namely that God speaks through the human authors of the Biblical documents, such that their words are His very words. This is why the Bible has lasting relevance and authority even beyond the audiences to whom it was originally written. As our psalmist puts it, “Your judgments stand firm today. for all things are your servants.” (verse 91) Contrary to the opinions of modern culture, the Word of God is still the right and true prescription for human flourishing; the virtues it sanctions and the vices it prohibits are not outdated holdovers from people and places now long past. No, the Bible is special revelation from God in which He reveals the problem of humanity’s sin and the way of salvation that comes by grace through faith in the person and work of Jesus Christ.
Now, in verse 90, we read “Your faithfulness is for all generations; you established the earth, and it stands firm.” As we have noted in previous posts, most of the verses in Psalm 119 contain some synonym for God’s Word, e.g. laws, commands, instructions, precepts, etc., and so here we have “your faithfulness” (אֱמֽוּנָתֶךָ). It seems clear that this word is meant to stand in parallel relationship with “your word” (verse 89) and “your judgments” (verse 91); interestingly, the Septuagint (LXX) translates this word as “your truth” (ἡ ἀλήθειά σου). The point of all of this is to say that the abiding authority of God’s Word is grounded in who He is, i.e. in His unchanging character. He is faithful; He keeps His promises. Whatever He says, He will most certainly do. His Word is a reflection of who He is: His holiness, His grace, His power, His love, and even His incomprehensibility. This is why our psalmist writes in verse 96, “I have seen a limit to all perfection, but your command is without limit,” or as it reads in the NET Bible, “your commands are beyond full comprehension.” The God of the Bible is infinite; He is a mystery whose depths can never fully be exhausted. So also is His Word.
However, this does not mean that we should not read or study the Word of God. Yes, the depths of the Bible’s riches are inexhaustible, but they are also perspicuous and clear. I have previously written on this topic, here. But suffice it to say that in the act of inspiration, the infinite God condescended to our finite capacities for understanding. He is infinite in power, wisdom, and goodness, and we are His creatures, finite in our ability to comprehend His perfections. But He chose to reveal Himself in and through the Word so that we might know Him and be reconciled to Him. So yes, the Bible is so clear that any human being, regardless of their intellectual aptitude or educational achievement, can read it and understand their sin and their need for a savior; it is also, at the same time, a limitless source of mystery and wonder, such that even the finest minds throughout human history have been unable to fully explain all of its secrets.
For our psalmist, this means that the Word of God must be continuously read, studied, and contemplated. As he says in verse 93, “I will never forget your precepts, for you have given me life through them.” Here again, not only do we see that abiding authority of God’s Word, but we also see its all encompassing sufficiency. Our psalmist understands that every need of the human soul is provided for in the inspired Word of God. In verse 92, we read, “If your instruction had not been my delight, I would have died in my affliction.” The word “delight” conveys the idea of contentment, satisfaction, or pleasure. In other words, our psalmist understands that even in the midst of turmoil, adversity, and heartache, there is a joy, a “peace that passes all understanding” that is available when we rest in the promises of God’s Word. The spiritual disciplines of the Word (study, meditation, memorization) are the God prescribed antidote for our anxiety, our fear, our depression, our despair. Again, our psalmist writes in verse 95, “The wicked hope to destroy me, but I contemplate your decrees.”
This devotion, this diligence in the discipline of the Word, this affection for the perfections of God’s Law, is a distinguishing characteristic of those who belong to Him. As our psalmist writes in verse 94. “I am yours; save me, for I have studied your precepts.” We are a people of the Book. Our faith is not based on a human philosophy or mere reflections on the divine; no, it is based on the inspired, inerrant, authoritative, sufficient revelation of God Himself. In His Word, He has clearly and finally revealed the one and only path unto salvation, and He has called His people to walk upon it until we reach glory. So, when our psalmist prays “save me”, he is not simply expressing his desire to be saved from the penalty of sin. Rather, he is praying for the ongoing work of salvation to be applied in his life through sanctification, that God would save him from the power of sin through His sufficient Word. In the same breath, he is also expressing that most fundamental of Christian hopes, namely that one day he would be saved from the very presence of sin entirely, a hope that is grounded in the promises of God’s Word. In other words, our psalmist understands that the full experience of our salvation comes to us through the Word by the Spirit. Therefore, we should never cease to be amazed at the riches of His word, and we should constantly devote ourselves to its discipline.
43 But it is not so among you. On the contrary, whoever wants to become great among you will be your servant, 44 and whoever wants to be first among you will be a slave to all. 45 For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
~Mark 10.43-45
Topic: Submission and Service Series: Spiritual Disciplines of the Christian Life Church: South Caraway Baptist Church, Jonesboro, AR Date: March 08, 2023
Faith seeking Understanding 