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The World Changes Faster Than You Think

pastortravislv

One of the mistakes that we can make, a mistake that can keep us from realistic thinking, is the belief that the world will continue to be as things are right now. We live in an age of change. In truth, the world has always been able to change in a moment. There are events, big and significant happenings, that lead to reshaping nations. And when we do not remember that, in the hands of the Lord, nations rise and fall, we fail to remember how great and sovereign is our God.

Here is what I mean. We think, as Americans, that we live in a nation that will stand in the future as she has for the past nearly 242 years. We think that we will always be in a nation that is the dominant power, or one of the dominant powers in the world. But we forget that the US has not been a superpower for nearly as long as we think. It is only after World War II that our nation rose to its position of international prominence. It has been less than a century that our nation’s thoughts and actions have been supposedly important on the global scene. And we would be foolish to think that such power and influence and success is our national birthright, a privilege that cannot be lost.

Think how often in history that the entire course of the world has changed in a moment. The assassination of Archduke Ferdinand started a war that covered the globe and rewrote the maps. World War I led quickly to World War II. Had these wars not happened, consider the strength we might see in nations like Japan and Germany. With one political move in the second decade of the 20th century, the world moved to bring nations like the United States and the Soviet Union to power as they turned to massively change the fortunes of the Empire of Japan, Germany, and Italy. The world changes, and it does so quickly.

In case you are curious, this is all on my mind from a daily Bible reading in 2 Kings 9-11. There we see an event that changes the structure of two nations for years to come.

2 Kings 9:21 – Joram said, “Make ready.” And they made ready his chariot. Then Joram king of Israel and Ahaziah king of Judah set out, each in his chariot, and went to meet Jehu, and met him at the property of Naboth the Jezreelite.

That encounter did not go well for the two kings. Jehu shot Joram with an arrow and his men took down Ahaziah. In one day, two kings fell and their nations were changed. This led to Jehu destroying the temple of Baal and the prophets of Baal in the northern kingdom. Later, the same would happen in the south. And the world was different, vastly different. And The Bible tells us that this was according to the plan and power of God.

God changes the world, and sometimes he does so faster than we might expect. God brings down kingdoms we thought would stand forever. God brings down religions that believed they could stand against him forever. God changes the map. God brings forth nations we thought were long gone (Israel in 1948 as an example). God pulls down nations that we thought would always be superpowers (the Soviet Union in 1991 as an example).

Now, here is the thinking point for us. Why would we think that we stand on any soil more firm than did people of the past? The same God who establishes and who destroys nations is still God over all. In a day he can change the world. IN a moment he can topple a superpower. IN a moment he can bring a godless nation to repentance (Nineveh after Jonah). In a day, he can redraw the map.

Friends, we must remember that the true King of kings is in heaven. We do not have the power to force or stay his hand. Our borders mean nothing to him. Our military might is nothing when compared to the Almighty. Our young nation, less than two-and-a-half centuries old, is not impressive to the Lord. We are as subject to his power as were the Kings of Israel and Judah.

So may we be humble. May we seek the Lord. May we realize that we must have the grace of God if our nation is to stand. May we repent. May we plead with the Lord for mercy. We have sinned against God as a people in countless ways. We need to bow to him and pray for pardon. And we need to know that God can change our nation. He can change us to honor him in obedience. He can change us by judging and destroying us, which is also to his honor. Let us remember that the Lord, he is God, and he is above all kings and all nations forever.

I Believe But I Do Not Believe

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During the time of Elisha, Israel was regularly at odds with Syria. In one instance, the Syrians besieged Samaria of the northern kingdom so that the people in the city were starving. The king of Israel sent to have Elisha put to death, but the prophet told the people that God would end the famine, tomorrow.

What God promised to do seemed unbelievable. How could the people get food enough to feed them all and return life to normal in a single day? It made no sense.

The King’s captain, a man who believed at some level in the Lord, questioned. He asked how such a thing could be.

2 Kings 7:1-2- 1 But Elisha said, “Hear the word of the Lord: thus says the Lord, Tomorrow about this time a seah of fine flour shall be sold for a shekel, and two seahs of barley for a shekel, at the gate of Samaria.” 2 Then the captain on whose hand the king leaned said to the man of God, “If the Lord himself should make windows in heaven, could this thing be?” But he said, “You shall see it with your own eyes, but you shall not eat of it.”

All that Elisha prophesied took place. The Lord frightened off the Syrian army so that they ran leaving behind their supplies, their food. The next day, the people of Samaria came out , gathered up food, and things returned to normal. But the captain who did not believe was trampled in the gate by a crowd desperate for food.

What strikes me as I read this story this time through is how similar I can be to the captain. In general, my life shows that I believe the Lord, I really do. I believe God is and is powerful. I believe that God changes hearts and lives. I believe that God is great and greatly to be praised. I believe that the Lord will build his church and show himself glorious.

But then, like the captain, I may not believe as I should. It is easy, when faced with a difficult circumstance, to believe that the Lord will work things out. I know enough to say that God will work everything out, of course, but my heart gets heavy. I can fear. I can doubt. I can expect that God is not going to do something glorious.

The captain could not imagine how God could provide food for a city full of starving people with an enemy army surrounding it. He had no idea that God would feed the people with the supplies of the enemy. But God did it.

I wonder what we think it would just be impossible for God to do. Is there a person who is just too harsh, too stubborn, too hostile in your mind to ever be saved? Is it impossible that the Lord would bring life to a church that is struggling? Is it unthinkable that a conflict between brothers and sisters in Christ be resolved? Is it impossible for God to put an end to some of the evils that mar our land?

What I need is to believe and not disbelieve. I need to believe that the Lord, he is God. I need to believe that the Lord provides answers from directions I can never see until the answers are provided. I need to remember that God has access to the supplies of those who think they are against the Lord and his people. I need to remember that, at times, the best thing that I can do is lift up a cause or concern to the Lord and leave the problem in his hands. I need to pray and trust and believe.

And this belief must be in line with the word of God. I’m not here talking about believing that God will do things that his word does not say he will do. I’m not here talking about asking God to bless things that have nothing to do with the Lord or his kingdom. I’m surely not talking about asking the Lord to bless a gimmick or stunt that a church does to draw attendance. I’m talking about believing the Lord able to do the impossible according to his power and word. I’m talking about believing that the Lord changes the hearts of people, even rulers, to his glory when he desires. I’m talking about the Lord building his church, and the gates of hell not prevailing against her. I’m talking about believing God to be God as he has revealed himself in his word.

A Miraculous Feeding and a Pointer to Jesus

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In Luke 24, the risen Lord Jesus had a conversation with 2 disciples on a roadway. In that conversation, Jesus explained to the men how the whole of the Old Testament points toward him. Many Christians have said that it would have been so wonderful to have listened to that conversation. And I agree. I would love to have heard Jesus telling us how certain events in the Old Testament, even certain narratives, are actually hints about him and his glory.

I thought of this passage in my daily reading as I came across a short little story in the life of Elisha. In the early chapters of 2 Kings, we get to see how the Spirit of God is on Elisha just as the Spirit was on Elijah. And God repeatedly shows in chapter 4 his presence in the ministry of Elisha through the miraculous.

1 Kings 4:42-44 – 42 A man came from Baal-shalishah, bringing the man of God bread of the firstfruits, twenty loaves of barley and fresh ears of grain in his sack. And Elisha said, “Give to the men, that they may eat.” 43 But his servant said, “How can I set this before a hundred men?” So he repeated, “Give them to the men, that they may eat, for thus says the Lord, ‘They shall eat and have some left.’ ” 44 So he set it before them. And they ate and had some left, according to the word of the Lord.

Here we have a miracle. There is a fairly large crowd, and an amount of food that is too small for them. There are loaves of bread, but not enough to satisfy the men. But Elisha orders the food to be passed out. And when it happens, there is enough for every man to eat and be satisfied. And there is some left over.

That miracle, in 2 Kings, shows that the Lord is with Elisha. It shows that the miraculous power of God is on him. And it is one of those hidden gems in the Old Testament where, once we have seen Jesus, we will realize that he is greater than all who went before him.

Of course we know that Jesus did a miracle like this one, but on a much grander scale. Jesus fed a crowd of 5,000 men, not counting women and children. He did so with only 5 loaves and 2 small fish. And in doing so, Jesus showed himself to be great. That miracle from Jesus showed that he has the Spirit of God, like Elijah and Elisha, but far more. Of course, it also shows that Jesus is the God who provides bread in the wilderness just like God provided the manna during the exodus.

Altogether, the beauty I see here is the reminder that the Bible is telling God’s story. The Bible is all about Jesus. Even the miracles of the prophets, even the ones we tend to forget, point us to the presence and power of God. These miracles remind us of the greater glory of Jesus.

A Brief Introduction to Hebrew Poetry

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The following comes from multiple sources including my Old Testament Survey seminary notes. Since we are working through some Psalms on Sunday nights, perhaps this will be interesting to others.

Scholars estimate that between one-third and one-half of the Bible is written in poetry; yet very few Christians seem to give much consideration to this style.

Recognizing Poetry

Poetic passages are often recognized by scholars because of two main components:

  • Figurative language – Poetic passages use more figures of speech, similes, and metaphors than do prose passages. While prose passages will use figures of speech, the complexity and frequency of figures of speech are greater in poetry.
  • Parallelism – Poetic passages are often written with short lines that play off of each other. These can occur in groups of 2, 3, or even 4 lines of poetic text. The point is that elements of one or more lines are balanced, repeated, or expanded in the following lines.

Types of Parallelism

In the 19th century, Robert Lowth listed three categories of Hebrew parallelism which have been used to help people think through Hebrew poetry. Though Lowth’s categories have been modified and at times rejected by scholars as far too simplistic, they offer a helpful starting point for modern Bible readers. Lowth’s categories include:

  • Synonymous parallelism – The parallel lines say essentially the same thing with different words. Be careful not to assume that the second line is an exact restatement. Often the second line will help to clarify the reader’s understanding of the first.

Example: Proverbs 9:7

Whoever corrects a scoffer gets himself abuse,
and he who reproves a wicked man incurs injury.

  • Antithetical parallelism – The second line of the pair teaches us with opposites from the first line. This is not to say that the first line is being contradicted, but that another angle of the truth is being examined. For example, if the first line of a parallel offers a blessing for right actions, the second line might offer a curse for evil actions.

Example: Proverbs 9:8

Do not reprove a scoffer, or he will hate you;
reprove a wise man, and he will love you.

  • Synthetic (or formal) parallelism – The second line does not repeat the first, but expands

on the thought of the first. This might include a line that completes the thought of another. It might repeat part of the first line while expanding with thoughts not in the first line. This category is a sort-of catch-all category in which lines are obviously intended to go together in a poetic way which are neither synonymous nor antithetical.

Example: Psalm 46:1

God is our refuge and strength,
a very present help in trouble.

Features of Poetry

Hebrew poetry can have a great variety of features that distinguish it. Only 1 follows:

  • Chiasm – Not a type of parallelism but more a technique, a chiasm parallels a previous line in a reverse (a, b, c, c, b, a) order. The name derives from the Greek letter chi, which looks like our letter X. Chiasms can occur with the points of two lines or the balancing of opposite lines in a larger section of Scripture.

Example: Isaiah 11:13b

Ephraim shall not be jealous of Judah,
and Judah shall not harass Ephraim.

Why Notice Poetry?

  • Strong emotion – Writing in poetry indicates a level of emotion from the author that may not be present in prose. We should recognize this in order to take the passage of Scripture with the emotion intended by its author.
  • Figurative language – Because poetry often uses figurative language, we should be sure to recognize poetry in order to better interpret the meaning of the text.
  • Memorization – It is likely that texts were written in poetic couplet in order to aid in their being committed to memory.
  • Prevalence – Scholars estimate that between ½ and 1/3 of Scripture is written in poetry. Since so much of God’s word is in this style, we must take it seriously.
  • Beauty – Poetry enhances the beauty and emotional connection of the text.

See George L. Klein, “Poetry” in Walter A. Elwell, Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1996).;

Some Notes on the Psalms

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Since we are working through some Psalms on Sunday nights over the summer, I thought it would be nice to share some basic notes on this sweet book of the Bible.

· The Book of Psalms served as text for worship in the Hebrew culture.

· While in our culture, worship songs tend to focus only on the positive elements of the Christian life, the Psalms focus on every possible level of emotion. From joy to rage, celebration to utter distress, the Psalms cover everything we may feel or go through.

From Dr. Daniel I. Block’s Old Testament notes on Psalms: But unlike much of contemporary worship (which is concerned primarily to get people to praise God), the Psalter is much more realistic and contains songs and poems reflecting every conceivable human emotion: grief and delight, anxiety and hope, doubt and trust, anger and joy. For this reason most believers find it the most precious book of the Old Testament, if not the entire Bible. We can identify with the psalmist when he is on the top of the mountain, but we also relate when he walks through the darkest valley.

· Psalms are independent poetic compositions, and should therefore not be referred to as chapters. You read Psalm 1 or Psalm 145, but you do not read Psalms, chapter 1 or Psalms, chapter 145.

· The Psalter, collection of Psalms, were divided by the Hebrews up into five major books:

o Book 1: Psalms 1-41

o Book 2: Psalms 42-72

o Book 3: Psalms 73-89

o Book 4: Psalms 90-106

o Book 5: Psalms 107-150

· While some psalms can be grouped together based on their subject matter, for the most part, the order and organization of the psalms is mysterious. We do not know why they are in the order they are.

· Many psalms have a title or other notation made in the original language. Sometimes that title gives information about the author, the purpose, the type, or the music to be used for a particular psalm. But we must be careful. Simply because a Psalm’s title tells us that it is “A Psalm of David” does not necessarily mean that David wrote it. “Of David” could mean that the psalm was written by David, for David, in memory of David, about David, or simply like the kind of thing David would have written. Thus, the titles may be helpful, but we ought not spend too much focus on them.

No dispensation for Disobedience

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“I know this is wrong, but…” “I know the Bible says, but in my case…” “I know that Scripture says not to, but I’ve been praying about it, and…”

WE love to look for ways to get around clear commands of God. In general, we are pro-Scripture. But what do we do when those verses call us to sacrifice? What do we do when those verses show us that the thing we want to do, the thing we desire, is wrong? How often do we look for a loophole? How often do we try to find a way to excuse what we want, in our circumstances?

I can think of a woman, a believer, who was in a marriage that had become frustrating. She was not abused. Her husband had not committed adultery. She just was not getting all she wanted out of the marriage. The wife let others around her know that, she had prayed about the situation, and God had given her a peace about divorcing her husband to marry another man she thought would satisfy her more. She claimed that the Lord had told her, in prayer, that his commands about marriage, divorce, and remarriage simply did not apply, and he was giving her special permission to do something else.

In many cases, we want such a dispensation for disobedience. We want to be able to go our own way and have God tell us, “Oh, it’s OK for you.”

This all came to mind in my reading through 1 Kings 13. There is a really odd little passage here about an unnamed prophet who went from the southern to the northern kingdom to prophesy against Jeroboam. God gave that prophet a clear command not to eat or drink within the borders of the northern kingdom. But then along came another man who said he had heard something different.

1 Kings 13:15-18 –

15 Then he said to him, “Come home with me and eat bread.” 16 And he said, “I may not return with you, or go in with you, neither will I eat bread nor drink water with you in this place, 17 for it was said to me by the word of the Lord, ‘You shall neither eat bread nor drink water there, nor return by the way that you came.’ ” 18 And he said to him, “I also am a prophet as you are, and an angel spoke to me by the word of the Lord, saying, ‘Bring him back with you into your house that he may eat bread and drink water.’ ” But he lied to him.

The unnamed man of God knew he was not allowed to eat while on this mission. The other prophet flat lied. The unnamed man of God knew what his marching orders were. But he decided that he would rather have his restrictions lifted. So he chose to believe a lie.

What happened next? The unnamed man of God was killed by a lion as a result of his disobedience. And we all feel it was not fair. But we have to learn that God is showing us all that his actual commands are binding. His word is our command. And we do not get a special dispensation from him to disobey him when we find it convenient.

Thankfully, we live in the era of a closed canon of Scripture. That means that God is never, no not ever, going to speak to a Christian a command that contradicts anything that he has already commanded in his word. During the days of the unnamed man of God, new revelations were still forthcoming. It would have been tremendously hard to know if someone might have a new word from God. But, thanks be to God, we are not getting new words from God today. His perfect, completed, inspired words have already been written. Our job is to know, love, and obey those written words of Scripture, and not let anybody throw us off by claiming that God has given them permission to disobey the word.

Do You Want What You Think You Want?

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Humans are amazing creatures. Consider the things that we say we want. Consider what we show that we really want. Consider how they are not the same thing.

People want happiness, fulfillment, or prosperity. I think that is true for nearly every human being. I have never met anyone who told me that the last thing they want is to be satisfied with life. (Of course, I have known some sour people who seem to find satisfaction in a frown, but I digress.)

Here is what I found interesting in the Psalms recently. In Psalm 81, God speaks to his people and makes the most prosperity-theology-looking sorts of promises [disclaimer: I fully reject prosperity theology]. He promises the people success, victory, physical comforts. It is a no-brainer that the people should jump at. But, what the Lord shows us in his word is that the people specifically do not do what God says.

Psalm 81:8-16

8 Hear, O my people, while I admonish you!

O Israel, if you would but listen to me!

9 There shall be no strange god among you;

you shall not bow down to a foreign god.

10 I am the Lord your God,

who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.

Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it.

11 “But my people did not listen to my voice;

Israel would not submit to me.

12 So I gave them over to their stubborn hearts,

to follow their own counsels.

13 Oh, that my people would listen to me,

that Israel would walk in my ways!

14 I would soon subdue their enemies

and turn my hand against their foes.

15 Those who hate the Lord would cringe toward him,

and their fate would last forever.

16 But he would feed you with the finest of the wheat,

and with honey from the rock I would satisfy you.”

There is a lot in that section, but just think with me about the prosperity the people say they want. I think all of Israel would say that they wanted the success God mentioned here. They want the favor and the blessing. But there is something that keeps them from it. What is that? And do we have the same problem?

I would argue that the text above shows us something of great significance about the human heart. We want success, comfort, and satisfaction. But, our lives show us that we somehow get so disordered that we value something else above actual joy and satisfaction. That something shows us the very heart of our sin nature, and we need to get it.

In the Psalm, the people show that they want their autonomy even more than they want joy. They, by their actions, show that they will reject the joy that satisfies a soul and makes a life easy if they do not get to have that joy in their own way, under their own control, by their own standards.

This is human nature at its clearest. It was the problem in the garden. Adam and Eve had everything they could ever need. All comforts and joys were present. They had food, beauty, marriage, intimacy, comforts, long-life, fellowship with God. But the rebellion that they gave into said that all those things were worth rejecting if they could not be the masters of it all. If they could not have things their way, being at the top of the organizational chart, they would turn from all comforts and embrace death.

And this is our nature today. Humans naturally reject the rewards of God in order to magnify our own freedoms and autonomy. It is true in little things and in big things. It is true in my life and in yours. And a major part of living as a Christian is learning that soul-satisfaction is found in submission to the Lord, not in my own autonomy.

Look at your own life. Are you willing to walk away from God rather than submit to him? Do you want to be the one in charge of yourself, even if being in charge takes from you the joy you desire? Many are. Often, I am—that is what happens when I sin. When I sin, I say to God that I will give up the joy he can give because I refuse to bow to him. I say to God that I would rather hurt in life than yield to his authority. And the only way for me to find joy and peace in life is to learn—like a horse in a bridle—that there is a greater joy for me, the joy and even the freedom I desire, to be found only when I submit to Jesus as God created me to do.

You Do Not Know Your Heart

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Don’t you hate to think you know something, just be sure of it, and then turn to find yourself mistaken? Isn’t it frustrating to find out that you were dead wrong on what you assumed with conviction? Everybody hates this, at least I would assume we all do.

What is worse is when we think we know something about ourselves only to realize that we are not what we thought we were. Reality TV shows like American Idol have made a mint by laughing at people who think they can sing and who are utterly shocked and horrified when they are told that they cannot. The casino industry here in Vegas makes a fortune on people who think they are smart enough to beat the house, but they are not.

Even worse than all that, however, is the state of the person who believes that he or she has a solid understanding of his or her own heart. The truth is, we very often assume false things about ourselves. We assume that our intensions are good. WE assume that our motives are pure. We assume that our ways of doing things must please the Lord, because, after all, he must see things the way that we see them.

But consider a few words to us from the Lord.

1 Kings 8:39 – then hear in heaven your dwelling place and forgive and act and render to each whose heart you know, according to all his ways (for you, you only, know the hearts of all the children of mankind),

God is the only one who has a true grasp of what is in your heart. You do not know your own heart, only God knows the hearts of men.

Jeremiah 17:9-10

9 The heart is deceitful above all things,

and desperately sick;

who can understand it?

10 “I the Lord search the heart

and test the mind,

to give every man according to his ways,

according to the fruit of his deeds.”

Our heart is more deceitful than anything else we encounter. We are particularly blind to our own failing, our own shortcomings. We assume we know, and we just flat do not grasp the truth of our own motives and internal messiness.

It is possible, by the way, if you are given to self-pity, that you think you know your heart because you so often feel bad about who you are. But, even then, the one who pities himself or herself is quite often feeling sorrow based on false beliefs and unmet desires that have nothing to do with the Lord. The truth is, whether you are overconfident or self-pitying, you do not see your heart and motives as the Lord sees them. You lack the wisdom and holiness of God to assess yourself with the accuracy of the Lord who is perfect, who sees all, and who knows all.

What then do we do? We must come to the Lord in humility and ask him to help us to know the hearts we cannot know on our own. We must open the word of God and let it, like a mirror, show us who we are and how deeply we need the grace of the Lord. We must allow others in the local church to speak truth into our lives so that we begin to grasp the little chinks in our armor that we cannot see. We must have the help of the Lord, his word, and his people to work on shaping hearts that would trick us if we view them on our own.

Respect Your Pastor Enough to Talk with Him

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The word of God is clear that the role and duties of elders in a local church is a tough role. Elders are charged by God with faithfully handling his word, with shepherding the flock, and with caring for souls. Pastors (elders are the same as pastors) are called to pray for the church, to correct the doctrine of those who stray, to call people back from sin, to comfort the hurting, and so very much more. And all of that is while regularly preaching and studying—and perhaps even writing on a regular basis in the modern world.

I would not give away my job for anything. I love the role to which God has called me, even though it can surely be hard. I love to teach the word of God and care for the people of God. And I pray that, by the grace of God, I might do this work well.

With the pastor’s job in mind, let me share with you an issue that pastors face that I think could be something all church members need to hear about. I have come across something that is necessary in the church, but which I think many Christians shrug off. If you need a prooftext verse for what I’m going to suggest, try this one from Hebrews:

Hebrews 13:17 – Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you.

This verse of Scripture calls for church members to do their best to make shepherding them easy for pastors. This is by no means a verse that allows pastors to lord authority over people in the body. It is not the Bible saying that, if the pastor wants you to fund a new building, you whip out the checkbook without hesitation. It is simply a reminder that, because your pastors keep watch over your soul, you should help them do their jobs well, with as little pain as possible.

So, what do you do when your pastor holds to a doctrine with which you are struggling or with which you disagree? I would like to suggest, as a pastor and as a student of the Bible, that you have the respect for and love for your pastor to actually talk with him about your struggle. It is wise for church members who are trying to work out their beliefs, or who are even struggling with what the pastor teaches, to actually sit down with the pastor, hear his rationale for his argument, and see what can be done. It is possible that this discussion will sharpen or even change one or both of the people in the discussion.

I have seen a church member call up his pastor, ask for time, and then sit down to talk through a challenging and often-debated doctrinal issue. The young man came with his argument ready, but he also came with grace and humility. The conversation did not end with anyone’s mind totally changed, but the conversation certainly ended in fellowship, in love, and with both sides understanding each other better. This was good.

On the other hand, there are those in churches who disagree with their pastor doctrinally who simply make the decision that they will figure out the issue on their own without ever sitting down with their pastor to talk it through. As a pastor, let me simply say that this is a discouraging decision at the least. Pastors are surely not better than anyone else in the church. But pastors have, by the grace of God, often been given the privilege of years of study in which to wrestle through tough doctrines. To simply refuse to talk with your pastor about a doctrine may communicate to your pastor that his years of study mean nothing to you, and that you, in a few months on your own, will do a better job of figuring out a thorny theological problem. It can come across as a person saying that they will trust an author or a speaker from the Internet more than they will trust the wisdom of one who is in their own church.

The sad thing is, we will sometimes see that church members who do not talk doctrine through with a pastor may bring about division in the body because of their conclusions. They may leave the church. Or they may bring about a major conflict in the church. And often, these conflicts bring great sorrow to the body. All the while, had the person chosen to sit down with their leadership, the pastors the members said they would submit to, they could have avoided a great deal of the pain of the process.

Of course, I do not believe that every church member will agree with his or her pastor on every issue. In truth, I need to be challenged and corrected, and so do all other pastors. Which is why, for a church member to decide that nothing would change from a conversation is counterproductive in the body. Perhaps the pastor will learn something. Perhaps the church member who has his or her mind made up might actually find out that the pastor can lovingly present a truth to them that they had not yet understood. But to not give your pastor the opportunity for this, that is certainly not helping him to keep watch over your soul.

As always, thinking an issue like this through requires wisdom. I am not asking that one brings every petty preference issue to the pastor’s study for a four-hour discussion. There are surely doctrines that are of lesser importance, doctrines that will not demand division or policy changes in the church. Such doctrines do not always have to be addressed. But, then again, why not at least have a single conversation with your leaders about such issues if you are noticing them. No, do not become a thorn in your pastor’s side. But neither disrespect your leadership by assuming that they are wrong and they can say nothing that might influence you.

Also, we understand that not every person leaves a church over doctrine. People may desire to worship in a different setting or to serve a body they find fits them better. There are surely good and godly reasons to leave a church that do not require a doctrinal division.

Hebrews 13:17 commands us to help our shepherds shepherd our souls. Think along those lines as you think about tough doctrines you struggle with or doctrinal disagreements you have with your church. Perhaps thinking this way will help you to love your shepherds enough to talk with them about your struggles. Such conversations, if handled with love and grace, would glorify God and be good for all the souls involved.

What do you do, then, if you have a pastor who is not interested in doctrinal conversation? I have been in such a church in the past, and it was a really hard place to be. When you find out that your pastor is not interested in theology, or that he will not have a conversation about theology, then you may well need to consider another place to serve the Lord. But give the pastor the chance first. Respect him enough to speak with him. Make sure he knows what you are thinking and why you think it is important. Then, if you need to move on, if you have heard his thoughts on your doctrinal issue, you can go with a clear conscience, knowing that you have tried to be led by the shepherd the Lord placed over you.

A Perfect Example of Context Really Mattering

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If you know me, you will know that I often preach to people how important context is in interpreting a biblical text. If we remove context from our study of a passage, we will miss, often badly, the meaning of the text. And if you think that this is not the case, I want you to read the following words with no context. They are Scripture. What would happen if all you heard was that these are the words of God?

“attack ‘the lame and the blind,’ who are hated by David’s soul.”

Now, if those words are left to themselves, if they were seen as Scriptural commands, what would you become? It would be a real problem. And I did not do anything to those words. They appear above as they appear in Scripture. But, look at the context, and see how the meaning becomes clear.

2 Samuel 5:6-8 – 6 And the king and his men went to Jerusalem against the Jebusites, the inhabitants of the land, who said to David, “You will not come in here, but the blind and the lame will ward you off”—thinking, “David cannot come in here.” 7 Nevertheless, David took the stronghold of Zion, that is, the city of David. 8 And David said on that day, “Whoever would strike the Jebusites, let him get up the water shaft to attack ‘the lame and the blind,’ who are hated by David’s soul.” Therefore it is said, “The blind and the lame shall not come into the house.”

When David was planning to take the city of Jerusalem, the Jebusites said that David was so weak that the blind and the lame could ward him off. So, when David sent men to take the city, he sarcastically used the words of the arrogant Jebusites as part of his command. David does not hate blind and lame people. God does not command us to attack the disabled. Instead, we see here that David threw the boasts of the arrogant back into their teeth.

Friends, when you read the Bible, please, for the love of God (literally), handle the text in its context. Do not take a verse alone as a unit of thought. Ask what the verse is saying in the light of the paragraph, the unit of thought around it. Ask what book the verse is in and what that book is trying to communicate. Ask what timely and social constructs influence how that verse would have been understood by those who read it. Remember, context really matters.