Category: devotional

Be a Titus

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What kind of man was Titus? Here are some things that came up in my study as I was preparing for sermons in this book.

Acts 15:1–2 – 1 But some men came down from Judea and were teaching the brothers, “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.” 2 And after Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and debate with them, Paul and Barnabas and some of the others were appointed to go up to Jerusalem to the apostles and the elders about this question.

Paul, writing about this time, says to us…

Galatians 2:1–3 – 1 Then after fourteen years I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, taking Titus along with me. 2 I went up because of a revelation and set before them (though privately before those who seemed influential) the gospel that I proclaim among the Gentiles, in order to make sure I was not running or had not run in vain. 3 But even Titus, who was with me, was not forced to be circumcised, though he was a Greek.

Titus was a gentile. He was a convert to the faith. And Titus was man enough to go with Paul and stand with him in the Jerusalem council. Titus was willing to be the converted and uncircumcised gentile standing in front of the apostles and the circumcision party to declare that gentiles can indeed be saved without reverting to following Jewish laws.

Later, Titus is the man Paul sent to Corinth to deal with that crazy church and all its issues. Titus was the man left on Crete to appoint elders in every church to guard them against bullying and deceptive false teachers.

May God give us a few more Tituses in our churches today.

Turning Down Ungodly partnership

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Ezra 4:1-3 – 1 Now when the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin heard that the returned exiles were building a temple to the Lord, the God of Israel, 2 they approached Zerubbabel and the heads of fathers’ houses and said to them, “Let us build with you, for we worship your God as you do, and we have been sacrificing to him ever since the days of Esarhaddon king of Assyria who brought us here.” 3 But Zerubbabel, Jeshua, and the rest of the heads of fathers’ houses in Israel said to them, “You have nothing to do with us in building a house to our God; but we alone will build to the Lord, the God of Israel, as King Cyrus the king of Persia has commanded us.”

During the earlier days of the Jewish return from Babylon in the 6th century BC, the Jews worked to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem. This work was started, stopped, and started again. We read of the drama here in Ezra 4-6.

Fairly early in the project, the people of God were approached by others who are here called adversaries. These are the Samaritans, people who were settled into the land of the northern kingdom after the Assyrian conquest in 722 BC. They declare their desire to join with the Jews in the building of the temple, claiming to have worshipped the same God over the past two centuries.

But the Jews would have none of it. They knew that the Samaritans did not worship the Lord. Nor did the Samaritans follow the word of the Lord. Perhaps the Samaritans used some of the same words as did the Jews, perhaps even using God’s name and some of his commands, but their religion was different.

The leaders of the people of God responded to the Samaritan demand to join in the temple building with a flat refusal, saying, “You have nothing to do with us in building a house to our God; but we alone will build to the Lord, the God of Israel, as King Cyrus the king of Persia has commanded us” (v3). The Jews were not willing to include the Samaritans in the project. Nor were the Jews willing to pretend that the Samaritans and they shared any sort of common faith.

With the story in mind, I think we can find an important application for all believers today. There are always those who are quick to say, “for we worship your God as you do” (v2). And when this happens, we need to have a ready biblical response.

First, understand that not all people, even well-intentioned, are correct when they claim to share with us a common faith. Many a person around us will say that they worship our God. Many will say to us that they believe in “God” too. And we need to be very careful. Before we embrace every person who claims belief in a higher power or even who names the name of Jesus, we need to examine their claim to see if they actually share with us a true and common faith. Do those who claim to worship God actually know Jesus? Do they understand that Jesus is God the Son, God in flesh, who lived out perfection, died as an atoning sacrifice, and rose from the grave for our justification? Do they understand that salvation is by God’s grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone? Do they grasp that following Jesus includes a surrender to his lordship under the commands of the Scriptures? If not, how can they claim a common faith?

Second, we need to guard against accepting supposed help from those who are not of our faith. I think here more of government aid than I do of temple rebuilding. In our culture, many community doors are flung wide to religious groups who will work together in an interfaith capacity. If Christians are willing to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with other religious groupings, there are all sorts of social benefits. The problem is, eventually those benefits run out. This is especially true when the Christians are actually faithful to proclaim the gospel. AS we truly point to Jesus, the support that we receive from others—support upon which we will rely too heavily if we are not careful—will dry up.

The truth is, the gospel is offensive. The gospel says that we are hopeless sinners on our own. The gospel says that people of other religions, people of sincere faith, are destined for the wrath of God in hell. The gospel proclaims that only those who will reject their former religions, who will reject all forms of human achievement for spiritual credit, only those who turn their eyes to Christ alone in faith will be saved. That exclusivity which cites the Bible as our sole authority and Jesus as our only Lord, a Lord above all governments and social opinions, will quickly turn a supposedly helpful and partnering world against us.

Christians, let us learn from the men rebuilding the temple. Let us be guarded against allowing those who do not know the Lord to claim that they are just like us. Let us not accept help today that will either mislead the lost or lead to our temptation toward compromise. Let us instead stand strong on the word of God trusting that the Lord will provide for all our needs by his mighty power and for his glory.

Responding to Wrath

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Revelation 16:4-7 – 4 The third angel poured out his bowl into the rivers and the springs of water, and they became blood. 5 And I heard the angel in charge of the waters say,
“Just are you, O Holy One, who is and who was,
for you brought these judgments.
6 For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets,
and you have given them blood to drink.
It is what they deserve!”
7 And I heard the altar saying,
“Yes, Lord God the Almighty,
true and just are your judgments!”

How do you respond to the concept of the judgment of God? What is a godly way to respond to the Lord’s judgments? This is a bit complicated for us, as we are human, guilty of sin, and full of emotion. But we must always begin and end with our understanding that the Lord defines perfection and always does what is right.

In Revelation 16, we see the bowls of the wrath of God rapidly poured out on a rebellious earth. As we watch, we see the third bowl judgment poured out over the waters from which people would drink. This judgment is horrifying. And we see a pair of responses.

In verses 5-6, we see that an angel who is over the waters declares this judgment of God’s to be just. The people of the world have killed God’s saints. They have shed the blood of the innocent. And thus the Lord giving them blood to drink is, in the angelic opinion, right. In verse 7, we hear another voice, that of the altar. Back in chapter 6, we saw that the altar has under it the souls of martyrs. They too declare that God’s judgments are true and just.

At the same time, we know that the Lord does not delight in these just judgments. In Ezekiel 18:23, the Lord declares, “’Have I any pleasure in the death of the wicked,’ declares the Lord GOD, ‘and not rather that he should turn from his way and live?’” god is not cruel. He does not dance a jig at the destruction of the wicked.

What then do we do with the judgment of God and our emotion? WE see two things. On the one hand, there is sorrow. There is always sorrow when evil men refuse to repent. There is sorrow when men who were created in the image of God fall under the judgment of God.

But, and this is vital for our minds to grasp, the judgment of god is both just and good. The Lord has never once punished anyone wrongly. When the Lord pours out his wrath, his wrath is holy, good, right, pure, and perfect in every way.

OK, actually, let me amend my thoughts here. There is one time. Once in human history, the Lord poured out his wrath on one who did not deserve it. This, of course, is the time the Lord poured out his wrath on Jesus, God the Son, who died to bear away our guilt so that God might welcome the saved into his family.

Christians, weep over and affirm the wrath of God. Weep, because the death of any human being is sad. Affirm, because the wrath of God is always, absolutely always, perfect and right. The wrath of God is never wrong. It is never too far. It is not a thing to be ashamed of. But, as we see in the voice of the angel and the altar, God’s ways are just and right.

Jesus is a Great High Priest

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Hebrews 7:23-28 – 23 The former priests were many in number, because they were prevented by death from continuing in office, 24 but he holds his priesthood permanently, because he continues forever. 25 Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.

26 For it was indeed fitting that we should have such a high priest, holy, innocent, unstained, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens. 27 He has no need, like those high priests, to offer sacrifices daily, first for his own sins and then for those of the people, since he did this once for all when he offered up himself. 28 For the law appoints men in their weakness as high priests, but the word of the oath, which came later than the law, appoints a Son who has been made perfect forever.

Hebrews and the discussion of Melchizedek can get a little obscure for some believers. But a look at this section of Scripture can give us some beautiful reasons to thank God that we know Jesus and are under the New Covenant.

Thinking of Jesus as our great high priest, we see two things that help us understand just how great a Savior he truly is. Jesus is sinless and permanent.

Unlike every priest who ever lived before or after the time of Jesus, our Savior is sinless. Jesus never needed to approach his Father with the blood of any sacrifice. Jesus is always welcome in the presence of the Father, because Jesus, the Son, has never been guilty of sin. In the Old Testament, every priest had to be ceremonially clean. Every priest also had to be atoned for by a sacrifice before ever approaching the holiest of places. But Jesus is always perfectly righteous, perfectly clean.

A major point in the letter to the Hebrews is that Jesus is qualitatively superior to all Old Testament priests. Yes, the priests accomplished something in their ministry. They carried out sacrifices that pointed to the one actual sacrifice that could take away sins. The good ones directed the people of God toward his holiness, toward repenting of sin, toward humble submission to the law. But none of those priests was holy enough to approach God on their own. Neither was any of them able to permanently remove the punishment men deserve for sinning against God.

Jesus is also permanent. Every high priest in the Old Testament eventually died. These men were sinners; and the wages of sin is death. No priest, not even a good one, could forever speak to the Father on behalf of a sinner. That is, none could do so until Jesus.

The author of Hebrews says to us that Jesus is able to save “to the uttermost” all who have come to him in faith and repentance. Jesus is not limited, as were the priests, to only being able to go to God for people for a limited time. Jesus, who died and rose from the grave, lives eternally to perfectly plead our case before God. Jesus is able to point to his perfect, infinitely valuable, truly finished work in the cross and empty tomb as an argument for our eternal salvation. Jesus has never been compromised. Jesus is not weakened. Jesus did not do a symbolic work that might lead to salvation for people. Jesus saved a people for himself to the glory of God.

Let us love that we live under the New Covenant. The Old was not a bad covenant. It pointed to the salvation to come. It showed us the character of God. It showed us our need for a sacrifice and a Savior. But praise God that we are not living on a treadmill of sin, sacrifice, repeat. No, in Christ, our sin is defeated once and for all. Yes, we still fail. But now we approach the one who has already sacrificed himself for our sin and who pleads that perfect sacrifice over us forever.

Praise Jesus, our sinless high priest. Praise Jesus, our permanent intercessor.

Reminder: God is in Control

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Ezra 1:1-4 – 1 In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom and also put it in writing:
2 “Thus says Cyrus king of Persia: The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and he has charged me to build him a house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. 3 Whoever is among you of all his people, may his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and rebuild the house of the Lord, the God of Israel—he is the God who is in Jerusalem. 4 And let each survivor, in whatever place he sojourns, be assisted by the men of his place with silver and gold, with goods and with beasts, besides freewill offerings for the house of God that is in Jerusalem.”

God is in control. How can we tell? God has shown us in his word, time after time after time, that he is in control. Take simply the return from exile in Ezra 1.

Years before the Jews were carried off to Babylon, God promised through Jeremiah that God’s people would return. Not only did God promise the return, but he promised exactly how many years the nation would be in exile before the return. Moreover, Isaiah told us the name of the future king who would order the return.

In Ezra 1, we see that the return happened in exactly the way God promised, at exactly the time God promised, under the command of exactly the king that God promised. What looked like an inescapable world empire was turned by the Lord to send the Jews back to their land. That same empire ordered that people help the Jews to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem.

If we know anything about the age in which we live, we must know this: God is in control. Yes, I know that our country seems out of control. I know that it looks like society is beyond the point of no return. But the truth of the matter is, God never changes. God never fails. God will save his children. God is in control.

I read the following that summarizes my thoughts here well in a commentary soon to be published by Crossway:

In our unstable world of superpowers and wars and rumors of wars, it is not Joe Biden or Vladimir Putin or anyone else who is in control—it is God. His purposes to save, bless, and keep a people for his glory cannot and will not be thwarted. Our God reigns, and he works throughout history and even uses unbelievers to achieve his purposes. If he can use Cyrus, he can use anybody. He rules and overrules the course of human history for his ends.1

1 Wallace P. Benn, Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther: Restoring the Church in the Preaching the Word Commentary Series edited by R. Kent Hughes (Wheaton: Crossway, 2021), Ezra 1.

Right but Wrong

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Revelation 2:1–7 – 1 “To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: ‘The words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand, who walks among the seven golden lampstands.

2 “ ‘I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance, and how you cannot bear with those who are evil, but have tested those who call themselves apostles and are not, and found them to be false. 3 I know you are enduring patiently and bearing up for my name’s sake, and you have not grown weary. 4 But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. 5 Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent. 6 Yet this you have: you hate the works of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. 7 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.’

The people of Ephesus were right. The people of Ephesus were wrong. These two things were true at the same time, but not in exactly the same way. And, if we pay attention, we will grasp that this danger is ours as well.

How were the Ephesians right in the days that Christ sent them a little note in the book of Revelation? We see a couple of significant positives. The Ephesians were hard workers (v2). They endured hardship and pressed on (v3). They knew enough of Scripture that they could test false teachers, find them wanting, and turn them away (v2). (.

In verse 6, we even see a particular commendation from the Savior. The Ephesians hated the works of the Nicolaitans. While we do not know much about the Nicolaitans, for sure, we see that they are false teachers and perhaps have some tie to the gnostic false teaching that says a Christian can do whatever he wants with his body, because only the spiritual matters. The Ephesians knew better than to give into whatever was the false teaching of the Nicolaitans, and Christ commends this.

Let’s be honest, there are Christians today who need the Ephesians’ Commitment to doctrine and Christian morality. And, thankfully, there are Christians who have the same sort of doctrinal passion. There are Christians who can spot false teachers, expose bad doctrine, and call out sinful practices. And make no mistake, such commitment and discernment is good.

But the Ephesians were also wrong. How? Christ says that they had forsaken their first love (v4). What is our first love to be? We are to love the Lord our God with everything we have (Mat. 22:37-38). In case you’re curious, our second love is to love our neighbor as ourselves (Mat. 22:39). It is a fair deduction to suggest that the Ephesians, though they had solid doctrine and high moral standards, somehow failed to love the Lord their God along the way. And this failure, if not corrected, would result in Christ removing that church from existence (v5).

Here is the question you must not miss. Could this happen to us? Is it possible for us to get our doctrine right and hold our morality high while we fail to love the Lord our God? If so, then we must guard against being right but being terribly wrong. We must guard against having only right doctrine and right practice without having a right heart.

Be careful here. I am not, and the Lord is certainly not, suggesting that we ought to ignore right doctrine or proper morality. Christ commended the Ephesians for championing godly morality based on solid, biblical doctrine. To let that go is deadly, sinful, and dishonoring to God. Never once think for one moment that you should stop studying, stop correcting false teaching, or stop calling people to God’s standard for Christian living.

But, and this is our danger, watch your heart in the process. There are some whose hearts grow colder and colder as they do the things that Christ commended in the Ephesians. Ask yourself, as you study, as you correct, as you endure, is your heart growing cold? Does your study make you love the Lord more? Does your protecting the doctrine in the church help you see Jesus as beautiful—not just intellectually appealing but actually heart-capturingly glorious? Do you have more anger in your heart for the way that some falsely handle Scripture than you have love for Jesus? Are you more often mad at the world around you than joyful over the gospel?

Never let go of biblical doctrine. Never let false teachers have their way. Never let yourself or other brothers and sisters in Christ embrace sinful practices. And, along with this, never let your heart get so full of anger over wrong that you forget to deeply love the Lord whose word you claim to defend. Never let your heart be fuller of anger at wrong than of amazement at God’s grace. Love the Lord first. Do not let your love fade. Right doctrine, if it is truly right doctrine, produces love of the Lord your God. Remember that and let it cause you to check your own heart so that you will not be right but wrong.

Comfort in Tribulation

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Revelation 7:13-17 – 13 Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, “Who are these, clothed in white robes, and from where have they come?” 14 I said to him, “Sir, you know.” And he said to me, “These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

15 “Therefore they are before the throne of God,
and serve him day and night in his temple;
and he who sits on the throne will shelter them with his presence.
16 They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore;
the sun shall not strike them,
nor any scorching heat.
17 For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd,
and he will guide them to springs of living water,
and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”

Let’s not argue about timelines and tribulations. But let’s not lose the glorious hope that is to be found for the believer in the book of Revelation. In this glorious book, God wants his church to know a few things that are spelled out beautifully, regardless of your best guess as to the future timeline.

Chapter 7 begins with God sending angels to hold back the four winds until God’s servants are sealed for his protection. A look at Revelation will show us that this seal does not protect God’s servants from the persecuting hatred of the evil on earth. But that seal is certainly a mark that shows that God’s children are not appointed to receive God’s wrath.

Another thing we see pretty easily in Revelation is that, though we are kept and cared for by God, believers may suffer hardship, torture, even death at the hands of evil men who hate God and oppose his church. This is no surprise. Jesus promised his disciples the very same thing. As followers of Jesus, we will see the glory of God and watch the church grow. As followers of Jesus, we will face the hatred of a world that rejected the perfect God-Man and will certainly reject us the more we point to Jesus.

But, and this is what grabs my attention this morning, Even if the world hates us, kills us, turns against us in every way, God never ever loses his own. Instead, if we are willing to follow Jesus and testify to his glory, even in the face of persecution, we see the reward. Jesus clothes us in white robes, comforts us for all the pains we have ever faced, and keeps us with him eternally.

Friends, we may face hardship in this life. If we love Jesus in the face of this world, we definitely will face hardship. But it is so worth it. The glory of Jesus is worth it. The reward of Christ’s comfort, shelter, and presence is worth it. Jesus will dry all our tears. He will give us a place to serve him forever. And this will delight our souls forever.

[end]

Pay Attention or Drift

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Hebrews 2:1 – Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it.

What do you do to stay strong in the faith? Several spiritual disciplines should come to mind. We read the Bible, pray, take part in gathered worship, memorize Scripture, study, read good books, fellowship, participate in Lord’s Supper, share the gospel, etc.

Think over the spiritual disciplines and consider just how many of them are summarized in the verse above. Pay attention, much closer attention, to what you have been taught in the word of God. As the author of the letter to the Hebrews warns his readers of a danger they face, we should be on notice. If we do not pay attention, close attention, even closer attention than we have done so far, we may be at risk of drifting away. In Hebrews, the danger was the drift away from true Christianity and back to forms of temple Judaism. For us, the danger is a drift into worldliness, sinfulness, compromise, and other such folly.

I’ll not try to make this clever, just honest. Failing to focus on the word of God leads to drifting away. Failing to gather with other Christians to sit under the word of God preached leads to drifting away. Failing to let the word you study go to your heart leads to drifting away. Reasoning first from your own logic instead of from the word of God and sound doctrine leads to drifting away.

Drifting is easy. Paying much closer attention is hard. But there is great joy and true reward in clinging to God’s word and doing what God says.

Thank God for the call in the verse above to pay much closer attention to what we have heard in his word. That call reminds me that, when I have drifted, or when I have begun to start the process of drifting, the Lord calls me back. The Lord welcomes his children’s repentance. The Lord is eager to renew our focus on and love for him and his word.

They Will be Shocked

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1 Peter 4:3-5 – 3 For the time that is past suffices for doing what the Gentiles want to do, living in sensuality, passions, drunkenness, orgies, drinking parties, and lawless idolatry. 4 With respect to this they are surprised when you do not join them in the same flood of debauchery, and they malign you; 5 but they will give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead.

What should the church expect from the world? If you listen to some who promote many a modern church growth strategy, you will hear an expectation that the modern church can win the culture through our kindness. There appears to be a belief that the church, if she will only contribute to her community, will be beloved and treasured by civic leadership. The church that cleans up the city park, takes gift baskets to local teachers, and serves meals to families when tragedy strikes will be seen by the city as an indispensable part of the community. And, in fact, the church may be able to gain a better standing in the community and a greater hearing for the gospel for a time. Besides, doing good to all people is a right act of those who follow Jesus.

However, it is not true that the church will be able to stand strong and be beloved by the community perpetually. The word of God is clear that, as we stand on the word of God, as we follow the commands of our Lord, as we speak what the Savior commands and refuse to follow the ways of the world, we will face hardship. See what Peter wrote above. As Believers, we cannot join the lost world in certain acts that are immoral according to the word of God. But what will the world think of us when we refuse to join them? Will the world shrug it off and adopt a live and let live strategy? Nope. That has never been the way of the world.

When we refuse to join the world in affirming or participating in immorality, the world will have two reactions according to Peter. First, they will be surprised. When the world sees someone opposing what the world assumes that everybody knows or everybody does, there is a shock. How could we not go where they go? How could we not do what they do? How can we not join them in affirming and even celebrating their actions? Even worse, how can we call it immoral? You see, as the world embraces sin, the world embraces a mindset that declares that everybody knows that what the world is doing is right. There is a cultural mindset that is adopted that says that every right-thinking person embraces this lifestyle or that agenda.

Second, surprise will move to censure. Peter says that they will malign you. When the world sees the church refuse to embrace something the world loves, eventually the world will move against the church. The world will move from a false tolerance to surprise to ridicule to persecution. The world hated Jesus. Jesus says that the world will hate those who follow him too.

The church needs to gain an understanding that no amount of social improvement strategies will ever win the church the approval of the world. The church may engage in ten positive, community-impacting strategies that are all for the good. But the moment that the church stands against one of the world’s sacred cows, the world will respond first with shock and then with maligning. Again, this is not to say that the church should not do good in the community. Doing good honors Jesus. But we should not expect that our doing of good will persuade society to embrace a church that will not go with society into sin.

Is our mission hopeless? No, not at all. God will grow his church. Christ will see his glory spread all over the globe. All God intends to save will be saved. The church’s mission includes making disciples of all nations. Christ will not fail in his mission. He has never failed once in a single thing that he ever set out to do in the past, and this will not change in the future.

Peter also reminds us in verse 5 that the Lord will judge sin and reign supreme. Peter writes, “but they will give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead.” God will judge. God will do justice. We need not fear. Yes, we may suffer in this life. We may be ridiculed, maligned, and persecuted. And we will also see the church grow and the gospel spread all over the globe. We need not lose heart. The Lord will win his people. The Lord will judge those who oppose him and reject the gospel. Let us be faithful to obey the commands of God without giving in to the temptation to compromise for the world’s approval.

Doctrine Plus Mission: Proclaim a True Gospel

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Galatians 1:6-9 – 6 I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— 7 not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. 8 But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. 9 As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed.

We know this passage. It is sobering. It causes us to pay attention. We know that there is one gospel. We know that anyone preaching something other than the one gospel is in serious trouble.

When you think about the urgency and seriousness of this passage, I believe it should cause you to cling to two significant pillars: doctrine and mission. I also believe that, in many a discussion that I have read over the past couple of years, one or both of these is missing. May we be more careful.

In recent days, I have read many people telling other Christians to stop fussing about issues related to doctrine, secondary issues, side issues, tertiary issues. The assumption is that, among the basic group under the banner evangelical or perhaps under the banner of a denomination, everybody already agrees on the gospel and so there should be only focus on mission. So long as we all like the same teacher, sign the same doctrinal statement, or have the same name in our churches, there is no reason to roll up our sleeves and get down to the work of hashing out what is biblical in most issues. Just take the gospel to the world.

On the other hand, there are many other discussions I have read that are all issues. We draw lines in the sand. Are you on my side? If so, you are OK—for now. If not, you are a heretic, even if you agree with me on 99.9% of systematic theology. Perhaps we agree on every doctrine, but we disagree on implementation. It’s time to put you out of the camp.

What should we see from Galatians 1:6-9? First, doctrine matters, a lot. Get the gospel wrong, and it is a damnable offense. If any person suggests that there should be a unity of mission when there is a genuine disunity in significant doctrine, there is a problem. Yes, the gospel is simple. But the gospel is also doctrinally loaded. And we can easily distort the gospel when we also embrace false doctrines that surround it. We would be fools to think that only a basic agreement on the rudiments of the gospel is enough to say that we are doing what we should. Tell people to ignore theological differences on issues, even what you think are secondary issues, and you risk opening the door to them also misunderstanding the gospel or proclaiming a false one.

Second, there is a mission. The genuine gospel needs to be proclaimed. Thus, we cannot spend all our time and energy in polemics. Yes, that group over there may very well be wrong in how they try to accomplish this mission or how they explain that doctrine. Yes, it matters. But if your focus is primarily a focus that makes you angry at other Christians and their folly instead of being a focus that makes you love Jesus more and take his grace to the globe, something is wrong.

So, hear me, proclaim a true gospel. Make sure you know the gospel. Help others know it too. Know it matters. But do not focus so much on fixing others that you stop loving and proclaiming the gospel.