Blog

How would you encourage a timid Christian? What kind of words of counsel would you offer to a believer who was struggling with staying strong in the face of potential persecution? I think you might be surprised to see what Paul says to Timothy in such a case.

 

2 Timothy 1:8 – Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God…

 

In 2 Timothy 1, Paul, writing from his final prison cell, has just reminded Timothy that God did not give Timothy a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and self-control. Clearly Paul is trying to encourage Timothy away from timidity and toward boldness.

 

So, what is Paul’s first bit of advice? Paul does not try to encourage Timothy to pray that he not go through hardships. Nor does he offer Timothy empty words of a false hope. Paul does not tell Timothy, “God loves you so much he would never let you suffer.”

 

Instead, Paul tells Timothy to join him and to share in suffering for the gospel. Rather than telling Timothy to hope not to go through hardships, Paul actually tells Timothy to get to them. Timothy is to expect suffering. And somehow, expecting suffering is to help Timothy to have courage.

 

How can expecting suffering bring about courage for the Christian? It is actually a simple thing. When we think that suffering is only a possibility, our cowardice is in danger of flaring up. If we think that we, by compromise or through deceit, can avoid suffering, we well might do so. But if we know that we cannot avoid the suffering, that it is coming no matter what we do, Christians with God’s Holy Spirit living in us will tighten up and face the hardship.

 

Paul is not telling Timothy to seek out suffering. God is not telling us to go look for trouble. But the word of God is clear that, if you are a true follower of Jesus, you are likely to face hardships because of that faith. And God’s counsel for us is that we should expect it. When we know that this is the road that God has for us, we will rely on his word and his Spirit to walk us through the hardships for his glory.

The Song of Solomon is one of those books that we read when it comes up in our Bible-in-a-year plans, but we seldom talk about it. There are a few reasons for this. First, there is the debate among some teachers as to whether or not the book should be interpreted figuratively, as a metaphor for Christ and the church. Others get caught up in unveiling the racy language of the book, the intimacy and passion between a husband and wife, and they make the book nearly impossible to read without blushing.

 

Sadly, both of those interpretations rob us of some of the great beauty in the Song of songs. First, to interpret this book primarily as an allegorical representation of Jesus and the church is to force upon it a meaning that simply could not have been understood by its original audience. There is no biblical warrant for spiritualizing this text any more than what is done in the rest of Scripture. In Ephesians 5, Paul shows us that marriage as a whole depicts the faithful and self-giving love of Christ and the church. And so we can rightly say that this marriage is a depiction of marriage, and then we can go a third step to draw the metaphorical connection in Ephesians. But that is a far cry from making every detail of the book somehow uncomfortably refer to something religious.

 

At the same time, there is no goodness in striving to uncover every poetic metaphor for sexuality. The author wrote some racy things in this book, things to be shared between a husband and his bride. But the author wrote them in poetic form. He used symbols and metaphors instead of medical terminology on purpose. He did not want to be crass. He did not want to be pornographic. He simply wanted to express the truth of the relationship in a way that could be understood by the husband and wife in their day. But there was no form in the writing of being crude or of exposing to a watching world things that were supposed to be shared by the couple.

 

The sad thing is, if we allow either a fully metaphorical view or a crass view of this book to rule our understanding, we miss the beauty of the book. Yes, it is a book about marital love. Yes, it is a book that shows tenderness, commitment, reconciliation, passion, beauty, and so much more. And no, we do not have to put an R rating on it. Instead, we should read it for what it actually shows us about the beauty of a truly committed marriage.

 

Look at the end of the book.

 

Song of Solomon 8:5-8

 

5 Who is that coming up from the wilderness,

leaning on her beloved?

Under the apple tree I awakened you.

There your mother was in labor with you;

there she who bore you was in labor.

6 Set me as a seal upon your heart,

as a seal upon your arm,

for love is strong as death,

jealousy is fierce as the grave.

Its flashes are flashes of fire,

the very flame of the Lord.

7 Many waters cannot quench love,

neither can floods drown it.

If a man offered for love

all the wealth of his house,

he would be utterly despised.

 

Don’t let the poetry mess you up. This is a scene of the couple from the book walking together. Perhaps they are visiting the husband’s old home, his birthplace. This seems to be a place of memories for them, maybe even of a first date or meeting. She is leaning on his arm. She is sealed to him, never to be removed. She trusts in him. She knows he will stand with her as long as they live.

 

But how can she say that love is so unquenchable? So many in our world know that the feelings of passion fade. So many know that their affections wax and wane. We have seen people “fall out of love.” So how can she talk like that? Is she a fool?

 

No, the woman is no fool. Nor is her marriage perfect. WE saw some conflict between them because she was selfish in chapter 5. But the point is that their love will not fail. This is not about emotion. It is about commitment. The woman and the man in this book are committed to one another. They are clinging to each other, even as they age. They have decided to be given to each other’s good regardless of the circumstances. And because of that commitment, they walk together into the twilight with a full assurance that neither of them would give up their relationship, no matter what another person on earth could offer.

 

In the book, we see the sparks of love and passion. We see desire that is kept in check before marriage. WE see the wedding and the joys of the marriage bed. WE see conflict and reconciliation. WE see growth in the relationship. And we see, at the end, an older couple walking together, leaning on each other, and declaring that they will do each other good until death parts them. And this is a beautiful and biblical picture of a love that is better with age. 

One neat thing about Scripture is that we get to see the prayers of many. We see the Lord Jesus praying in the garden before his crucifixion and outside of the tomb of Lazarus before Lazarus’ resurrection. We see how Daniel prayed for the mercy of God on Judah during their Babylonian captivity. And we get to see how Paul called the early church to pray.

 

What has been striking to me is some of the things that Paul tells the church to pray. If you look at what Paul writes, his calls to prayer simply do not match the way that many of us expect that Paul would command the church to pray. If you read much from modern church growth experts or denominational missions organizations, you would expect that all the prayers of the local church would be for God to give us boldness, a platform, and the spiritual power to turn the world upside-down. But then you read the Scripture, and you see Paul tell us the following:

 

1 Timothy 2:1-2 – 1 First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, 2 for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way.

 

Pray what? Pray for leaders. Ah, pray that our leaders will be radically saved and turn the nation to faith? No, pray for leaders so that you can live, as a Christian, a peaceful and quiet life in all dignity. Does that feel funny to you?

 

Now, let’s be clear so that no odd Internet accusations arise. I am pro-evangelism. I share my faith. I call people to repentance and to come to Christ for salvation. And I believe that the Christian life that has no evangelistic focus has problems.

 

But with that said, does it not seem interesting that the prayer that Paul urges for the early church is that we could live simple, quiet, dignified lives? This does not seem to fit the big splash mentality of the modern church growth movement. This does not sound like the kind of prayer you pray when you want to start a megachurch.

 

So, Is Paul’s prayer here non-evangelistic? Not at all. Actually, the next lines say that our prayers for leaders that we might live quiet and dignified lives are pleasing to the God who wants to save all sorts of folks.

 

1 Timothy 2:1-4 – 1 First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, 2 for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. 3 This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, 4 who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.

 

Obviously, praying that we are freed by God to live a peaceful and quiet life in all dignity is not counter-evangelistic. IN fact, if we take the Scripture seriously, it seems that such a prayer for a peaceful, quiet, and dignified life is an evangelistic prayer. Could it be that, somehow, God will use us to be tools in his hands to bring about salvations even without a big-splash strategy?

 

Again, I am not anti-evangelism. But I find it fascinating that the prayer here is not a prayer to be noticed, to have a footprint in the community, to be a player in town politics. Of course, the world worked very differently back then. However, I am not so sure that the kind of prayer that Paul here commands would fit with some of the strategies and pressures now put on congregations by pastors and staffs, even well-meaning, who would say that community evangelism is the highest or even the sole purpose of the church.

 

May we indeed be a people who share the gospel of the Lord Jesus. May we develop friendships, genuine friendships, with people who will desire to ask us for the reason for the hope we have (1 Peter 3:15). May we willingly and openly bring the message of Jesus and his grace to those who need it. May we be a light in our communities, a city on a hill, as we gather for worship, hold forth the word, and live incredibly differently. May we see what Jesus said to his disciples as a powerful tool in proving who we are to the world: “By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:35). Yes, share. Yes avoid laziness, fear and compromise. Yes, pray to have the opportunity to share your faith.

 

At the same time, take the word seriously. We are to pray for our government and for those over us that we would be allowed to live a peaceful, quiet life in all dignity. That does not mean that we pray that the government give us a platform for mass evangelism. It means just what Paul said. It means that we pray that God will let us live out love for him, love for family, love for the church, love for his word, love for the kindness of Christ in such a way that we will see people saved.

 

I’m not sure how this all works out. I’m certainly not wanting to tell anyone to slow down their evangelism. But I think there is something here that many modern Christians need to take seriously. And for those who have an evangelism-only mentality as it relates to the church, her purposes, strategy, and resources, I think this passage and the rest of the New Testament point us toward some other things that also need to be central to the lives of believers.

It is funny how, when faced with the sovereignty of God, we human beings so often want to know why. Why, knowing God is in control, did he allow a certain event to take place? Why does he not save a particularly rich and powerful person who could make life easier on the church? Or, perhaps, why would he save me?

 

1 Timothy 1:15-17 – 15 The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost. 16 But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life. 17 To the King of ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.

 

Why would God save someone like me? After all, I have been a great sinner. I have thought and acted so foolishly for so much of my life. Why would he choose me?

 

When Paul was faced with that question, he felt much like many of us would feel if we were honest. When comparing ourselves to how the rest of the world seems, we see ourselves as chief among sinners. If there was a sinner team, we think we would be elected team captain. If there was a sinner army, we’d be generals. Why would God save people like us? We are not special. WE are not strong. We have not been good. Even saved, we do not bring good to the table.

 

But look at why Paul said that God saved him. God saved Paul so that “Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life.” Paul’s salvation is a testimony to the patience of God. Pauls’ salvation is a testimony to the fact that God can and will save anybody. Paul’s salvation is a reminder to the world that, if you are still breathing, you still have a chance.

 

And friends, how true is this of my salvation? How true is it of yours? I know that my life is a reminder that God is gracious to fools. My life is a proof that the Lord can take the rawest of raw materials and put it to his own use. Even now, I fully proclaim that if anything good ever comes out of me, it is all of God. I cannot steer my life. I cannot make good choices that build the kingdom. I have nothing to offer that he does not work through me. And thus, my salvation and my sanctification is to his glory from start to finish.

 

What is Paul’s response to that great salvation? Paul, after considering the patience of God and his salvation, writes, “To the King of ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.” Paul, when he sees what a great sinner he was and that God saved him for God’s own purposes, breaks forth in praise. Paul glorifies the Lord because of the amazing way that the Lord would save a sinner like him. And this too should be our response. The more you realize that your salvation is not about you, not about what you can do for God, not about what you bring to the table, the more you will want to break forth in praise to the Lord who saves sinners like us. God is the one who saves. We are the ones who bring the sin into the equation. But, when God saves those who are chief among sinners, God is glorified, his patience and mercy and kindness are displayed, and we get the benefit of it all.

I love my seminary. I love the time that I spent there. I believe that the classes I took and the experiences I had there with students and professors was incredibly valuable to me as I tried to learn what I needed to know to faithfully handle the word of God.

 

In seminary, ,many of the professors also served as pastors or had done so in the past. And many of those men offered more than book knowledge. Many of those men talked to us plainly about the practical side of ministry. They talked to us about pastoral care, about administration, about hospital visits, and about much more.

 

But as a student, it is, I am coming to believe, impossible to understand with your heart and not just your head the things that are required to be a truly faithful pastor of a church. Seminary can give us tools. But seminary cannot help us to see the significance of the truths that we are learning. Like reading a book on marriage or parenting, you might learn some things that you acknowledge are true and necessary, but none of that sticks and clicks with you until you actually live it.

 

With all that in mind, I can say that I now see a particular passage of Scripture today in a way that I simply could not have seen it twenty years ago. This is not to say that I see the meaning differently, as I do not. But I have a grasp of the heart and significance today in a way that my heart simply could not have grasped while I was a student.

 

Look at how Paul describes his heart for the people of the church at Thessalonica.

 

1 Thessalonians 2:7-8, 11-12 – 7 But we were gentle among you, like a nursing mother taking care of her own children. 8 So, being affectionately desirous of you, we were ready to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you had become very dear to us.

11 For you know how, like a father with his children, 12 we exhorted each one of you and encouraged you and charged you to walk in a manner worthy of God, who calls you into his own kingdom and glory.

 

How did Paul emotionally feel toward this church? He says with clarity that they had become dear to him. He describes his care for them in parental terms.

 

That love, that tender affection, that parental-styled emotional attachment is something that no classroom can teach. The professors tells us that we are supposed to care for our people in that way, but they cannot show us what it is like. But let me say, without qualification, that love for the local body is a biblical mandate for a godly pastor. WE have to learn to not only do the word work of the ministry, but we must also learn to do the heart work of loving the people like a caring parent.

 

I would also suggest that this kind of emotional attachment to the people comes only over time. We never finish learning this lesson. It is only after growth in Christian maturity, after walking with people through the joys and pains of real life, after performing weddings and funerals, after sitting in hospital rooms and living rooms and all the rest, only after all these things do we learn to love the body with the affection that Paul here describes. A classroom cannot simulate this. A lecture cannot bring it about. A Facebook post cannot make you see it if you are not there in your spiritual maturity.

 

But, dear Christian friends, may we learn to love as family just as Paul showed us. May we learn to have a tenderness and compassion for each other that is beyond what the world has to offer. May we not be so devoted to systems and organizational things that we do not care. May we not be so devoted to academia that we have no love. May we be what Scripture shows us that a good pastor does. May we love like family, good, healthy, non-dysfunctional family.

As a Christian, are you still learning? I surely hope that you are. But I also know that, in the church, there can be an almost anti-learning tendency among some of us.

 

What do I mean? There are those in the church who would say that we do not need more learning, but we need more action and practical application. I would happily agree that we need to be putting our faith into practice. But I would wholeheartedly disagree that there is ever a point where the believer in the Lord Jesus stops studying, stops thinking, and stops learning.

 

Proverbs 19:27- Cease to hear instruction, my son, and you will stray from the words of knowledge.

 

The moment we stop hearing instruction, we start being tempted away from knowledge. It is as if our growth is a ball being rolled up a hill. We have to put forth effort to keep learning and keep growing. The moment we think we no longer need to push, the ball begins to roll down. We stop growing. WE slide toward error. We start to miss the beauties of the truths found in the word of God.

 

I know that not all people are into the “scholarly” side of the faith. And I understand that, if things are presented in a dry and purely academic manner, they can end up distasteful. But the truth is, study is supposed to be a part of our lives. Learning doctrine truly matters, and it is not something that you finish in a couple of years as a believer never to open again. When a good study of the word of God and of biblical doctrine takes place, people see who the Lord is and they see how the Lord has chosen to reveal himself. As we study, we see in greater depth and detail the marvelous way that the Lord has chosen to structure the universe and the church in the world to most greatly magnify his name.

 

Maybe you are not wired to read a hundred books per year. I get that. But the question is: Do you study? Are you reading books or listening to solid teachers who stretch your brain? If not, you are missing out. Yes, go for the practical. Get hands-on. Share the gospel, help the needy, live in fellowship. But there is not one of those things that you can do well without also feeding your soul with deep and accurate biblical doctrine. So study, because to cease to do so is to cease following the way of wisdom.

There is an interesting discussion that is out there among Christians as to whether or not it is OK to be angry with God. This is actually not a difficult question. The confusion arises because the people on opposite sides of the issue are talking about different things while using the same terminology. There is a failure to communicate.

 

It is not OK, meaning non-sinful, to hold anger against God. We have no right to accuse the Lord of doing wrong. That, of course is what anger is all about. We get mad at someone for wronging us. So, anger at God is not OK.

 

The other side, however, talks about anger against God being OK because God is big enough to handle it. The point of this group is that God is gracious, all-knowing, and trustworthy. So, they argue that, if we are upset by the way the Lord has done things or allowed things to happen, we should be honest enough with God to tell him about it and express our feelings.

 

I consider the second position dangerous and bordering on the sinful, but it has an element of truth in it. If you are upset with the Lord, confession and communication should be high on your list. Tell the Lord. Do not rage against him as if you can do that with impunity. But do speak the truth of your lack of understanding. Confess to him that you do not know all things as he does. Share with him the depth of your hurt, and the Lord will be gracious to you if you are in Christ.

 

There is, also one kind of anger against the Lord that is extremely common, and which is never, not ever, OK. WE find it in the wise counsel of the book of Proverbs.

 

Proverbs 19:3 – When a man’s folly brings his way to ruin, his heart rages against the Lord.

 

Some people rage against God when their own conduct has brought pain into their lives. Again, such people should communicate to God their hurt and their desperation. But it is unwise and always sinful to be angry with God for allowing us the natural consequences of the choices we make. God is good. God does not owe us mercy.

 

I have to admit that the Lord has been incredibly gracious to me. I can think of event after event in my young life where my choices could have led to dramatically destructive consequences. God graciously did not allow me to face what my folly deserved. But if he had, he would not have wronged me. And if I had faced consequences for my foolish choices, I would not have had any right to act as though God had wronged me.

 

Anger with God is always dangerous. Remember, God is holy. His perfection is limitless. Thus, he has never wronged anybody at any time. If you feel anger toward God, do not hide it from him or pretend it is not there. Talk to God. But try to do so humbly, confessing your sin to the Lord and seeking his mercy in Christ.

There is an interesting flaw in the way that many of us look at the book of Job. First, we tend to look at the first 2 chapters, skip the poetic section, and read the end. It is as if we think that God inspired 42 chapters, but only 3 of them matter. Of course, I understand that it is hard to mentally work through the repetition of chapters 3-ff, but we really need to be engaged.

 

One of the things that we miss is the fact that Job was not perfectly righteous in all his response. Yes, in chapters 1-2, we see that Job did not sin with his lips. But that was before his friends came to “comfort” him. After his friends came, they told Job that his suffering was because of personal sin. In response, Job defended himself and began to accuse the Lord of doing wrong. That is sin.

 

In case you are not sure whether Job knew he sinned in the book, note that Job declares that he repents: “therefore I despise myself, and repent in dust and ashes” (42:6). In his debate with his friends, Job went too far and was not honoring to the Lord. It is one thing to ask questions; it is another to make accusations. Job put himself in a very dangerous position.

 

Another passage that helps us here is the beginning of the speech of Elihu.

 

Job 32:1-3 – 1 So these three men ceased to answer Job, because he was righteous in his own eyes. 2 Then Elihu the son of Barachel the Buzite, of the family of Ram, burned with anger. He burned with anger at Job because he justified himself rather than God. 3 He burned with anger also at Job’s three friends because they had found no answer, although they had declared Job to be in the wrong.

 

Elihu is the only voice in the conversation with Job who does not sin. In fact, Elihu shows us the right response to all of what has happened. What we expect to be true is true: Elihu is angry with Job’s 3 friends for accusing Job of wrong and not having an answer to job’s questions. But we also see something we do not expect. We see Elihu burning with anger against Job because Job attempted to justify himself rather than God.

 

Elihu shows us so much about the book, and his speech is so often skipped by readers who do not want to slog through the poetry of Job. But to miss Elihu is to miss the failing of Job. To miss Elihu is to miss the fact that Job did too much to try to make himself look right and God look wrong. To miss Elihu is to miss an important spiritual check we should perform when we hurt.

 

In so many ways, the book of Job is intended to show us right and wrong responses to personal suffering. Job’s 3 friends show us that we dare not assume that we know why God allows certain people to go through certain hardships. So, when we see a city ravaged by a hurricane or a nation’s economy collapse, we must not assume we understand the motivation of the Lord in allowing such a thing. We dare not tell somebody that they are suffering a particular hardship because God is judging them. We just do not know enough of the ways of God to make that declaration.

 

At the same time, we must learn from Job, Job’s repentance, and Elihu’s rebuke of Job that, if we suffer, we must not accuse the Lord of wronging us. God is holy. His ways are beyond us. His judgments are sound. God does not do wrong. Nor does God have to explain to us his rationale. We are the creation. He is the Creator. We are the servants. He is the Master. We must not think that he owes us an explanation for how he uses us. God is holy and right, and that is what we must know and believe from beginning to end, even in pain.

It is funny how one’s view of the human body changes over time. As we get older, we learn the truth of mortality. We begin to understand what it feels like for our bodies to slow down, to weaken, or to break. When you are younger, the idea of death and disease is usually pretty far from your mindset. When you get older, even if you are in good health personally, you will have seen enough to know that life is short and uncertain.

 

How do we react to the body? How are we to understand what we face in the here and now? How can we have hope in a world under the curse of sin and living in bodies that are so easily damaged?

 

Philippians 3:20-21 – 20 But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21 who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.

 

The promise of this passage is gold for one who understands the fact that life is short and our bodies are subject to the curse of the fall. Jesus promises us many things. He promises us heaven. He promises us forgiveness. he promises us joy in him if we have turned from our sin and entrusted ourselves to his care. And, as we see in the passage above, he has promised us transformed bodies.

 

Of course, this is not the only passage that speaks of a transformation to come. Paul writes about this with clarity at the end of 1 Corinthians 15 and hints at it in 1 Thessalonians 4. What a joy it is to consider that our bodies, whatever state they are in right now, are destined for an upgrade. Our bodies will be transformed. Our flesh will no longer break down. Our vision will be clear. Our arms will be strong. Our joints will not ache. Our noses will not run. Our organs will not get cancer. Our bones will not get brittle. Jesus promises us a body like his, a body destined to last for eternity.

 

Christians, we are to have hope in eternity. We long for heaven. We long for the glory of God. But do not stop longing for a new body that will be fit for the eternity to come. What a joy it will be to never have to worry about your health or safety. What a burden lifted it is to know that nothing will harm us ever again. And what a massive weight off our shoulders to know that our friends and loved ones who are in the Lord will never again face sickness, injury, or death. Praise God for the promise of a transformed body!