What Marks Us as Christians?What things should a church do in order to prove to the world that we are truly the people of God? How should we structure and shape the ministry of the church so that those who do not know God will recognize us as true disciples of the Savior? I would think these questions are important. If Jesus told us how to be marked as his, following that directive would be essential to our function as the body of Christ here in a lost world.
John 13:35 – By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
Jesus says to us that there is a way that the world will recognize and understand that we belong to Jesus. Note, however, that it is not what we see many churches making primary. In fact, if we are not careful, we will see that what Jesus gives us in this verse is actually something that many churches think of as a side ministry or simply take for granted.
Jesus says that we will show the world that we are his if we love one another. In the verse prior, he told us to love each other as he has loved us. That indicates a powerful, self-sacrificial commitment to the good of another. Jesus demonstrated his love for us by laying down his life for us. And we are to be that committed to each other in order to show the world that we belong to Christ.
So, Christians, stop and think. How are you communicating to the world around you that you belong to Jesus? If your answer to that question does not include a deep personal love for other believers and commitment to the local church, you are missing what Jesus shows us here is his way to prove that we belong to him. Yes, you will share your faith. Yes, you will worship the Lord. Yes, you will care for those in need. But the words of the Savior here in the upper room tell us that the real way that the world will know you are his, know in a way that Jesus promises, is if you are a Christian who loves the believers with whom you are connected. Love the people in the body of Christ, and you demonstrate that you are truly a follower of Jesus.
Loving one another cannot be a side function of the church. Loving one another cannot be something we do if we have time after all the other stuff, the important stuff. If we are truly people of Scripture, if we are under Jesus’ lordship, it would make sense that we would see to it that our lives are structured in such a way, even organized in the church, to be sure that we are loving one another as Christ has loved us. This will take time. This will take church resources. This may mean that we do not wear out the body so much in other events that there is no longer time and energy for events that focus us on knowing and caring for each other. How will the world know we belong to Jesus? They will know by how we love each other. Are we really ready to believe the Savior enough that we change the way we do things to make this as central as the Savior seems to make it right here?
When a Believer Suffers
The book of Lamentations is a poetic cry as the prophet Jeremiah watches the destruction of the city of Jerusalem at the hands of the Babylonians. It was a time of horror, of death, and of destruction. Jeremiah hurt, and he hurt deeply, personally.
Lamentations 3:1-3
1 I am the man who has seen affliction
under the rod of his wrath;
2 he has driven and brought me
into darkness without any light;
3 surely against me he turns his hand
again and again the whole day long.
Jeremiah knows that he is suffering. And he knows that he is suffering because the Lord is judging Jerusalem. The prophet knows that the Lord is doing rightly, but that does not stop the pain.
Does the pain cause Jeremiah to turn away from the Lord? Will his suffering and the sufferings of his people lead him to hate the God who would judge them?
Lamentations 3:21-24
21 But this I call to mind,
and therefore I have hope:
22 The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;
his mercies never come to an end;
23 they are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
24 “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul,
“therefore I will hope in him.”
Great is your faithfulness! Have you ever stopped to think that the hymn, “Great is Thy Faithfulness,” is based on a biblical cry from a desperately suffering prophet? Jeremiah does not declare that God is faithful only when things are good and easy. Jeremiah sees pain, sees no way out, sees struggles, and still knows that the Lord is his only hope. Only God is faithful. Only God’s love is enough to sustain Jeremiah, a love that never ceases.
Do you hurt? Of course you will in this life. Maybe this is an easy season. Maybe things are going well. But we live in a fallen world. We see evils perpetrated all around us. We are disappointed by friends and opposed by enemies. WE long for revival, restoration, rejuvenation. We want to see Jesus return and set right what is wrong in this world. And we still know that our job is to live in the here and now no matter how easy or how hard things get.
So what do we do? We need to speak truth just like Jeremiah did. WE need to tell God what is on our hearts; he already knows anyway. We need to then speak words of truth about the character of God. His love never fails. His mercies are new every day. Great is his faithfulness. And the Lord, in his perfect character, is our hope. Speaking those truths and believing them is how we make it in a fallen world.
Social Media Thoughts from Proverbs 26
While reading through the Proverbs, I found myself thinking about modern methods of communication and even argument. Just for fun, then, here are a few thoughts that cross my mind, simply in verse order, from Proverbs 26 which I think could help me, and perhaps you, in our interactions.
Proverbs 26:2 – Like a sparrow in its flitting, like a swallow in its flying, a curse that is causeless does not alight.
First we see this gem. In life, we will have people, from time to time, speak out against us, Perhaps we will have someone hurl an insult our way. The question we should ask ourselves before taking the insult to heart is this: Is it true? Is what the person has said about you accurate? If a person hurls an insult or curse your way, but in truth, the insult has no basis in reality, you should happily be able to let it go. It is like a bird that flies over your head and never lands. An undeserved curse does not come to rest.
Proverbs 26:4-5 – 4 Answer not a fool according to his folly, lest you be like him yourself. 5 Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own eyes.
These two verses must be taken in tandem. If you look at them together, you see a problem. Verse 4 tells you not to answer a fool according to his folly. Verse 5 tells you that you must answer a fool according to his folly. Some try to read a difference in the two kinds of answers given. But I think that there is something simpler going on here. The Lord is telling us that there is often not a correct way to answer when a person is a fool. Fools put you in impossible situations. If you do not answer, they think they are wise. If you do answer, you end up being dragged into the mud.
In your social interactions, try not to be this fool. Try not to spout off and put people in the awkward position of having to weigh the pros and cons of correcting the careless things you say or post. The Lord does not want us to be foolish, and that is quite often the point of verses in Proverbs.
Proverbs 26:17 – Whoever meddles in a quarrel not his own is like one who takes a passing dog by the ears.
It is almost never helpful to jump into a social media argument. The proverb here tells us that it is almost never safe to jump into anyone else’s argument. If a person seizes a dog by the ears, he is likely to find himself in pain. Similarly, when we jump into the arguments of others, we are likely to find ourselves attacked.
So, when living life, especially on social media, recognize that diving into a thread of conversation has a good likelihood of going wrong. In my own experience, I have seldom seen a comment thread that leads to people agreeing on a topic where they started off at odds. But I certainly have seen those threads get nasty and personal. So, the point is to beware. Don’t jump in without knowing the risk. And thus be sure that you know that you only jump in when it matters. Otherwise, see verses 2 and 4 above.
Proverbs 26:18-19 – 18 Like a madman who throws firebrands, arrows, and death 19 is the man who deceives his neighbor and says, “I am only joking!”
Have you ever noticed how people today like to say insulting or harsh things and then think they can make it all OK by indicating that they are joking? Consider how many ugly text messages that you have received that end with “LOL” or some sort of emoji. This proverb says to us that a person who does such a thing is a person who does major damage. Do not shoot from cover, hurt people, and then think you are OK because you ended a nasty comment with a smilie. Be honest, and do not try to cover up your actions by pretending humor that is really not there. And be careful with humor, as it is extremely difficult to communicate your heart or your tone in writing.
We could come up with many more points for interaction from the Proverbs. IN fact, I could have written several more from this chapter alone. But Let us simply allow these cautions to lead us to consider well how we interact. Let’s be wise. Let’s confront when it is necessary. But Let’s also be gracious and take seriously how we speak to one another, even from a keyboard. Sometimes, ignoring a thread is better than jumping in. Sometimes a phone call would be better than a text that cannot communicate your heart.
Hiding from the Word of God Does not Hide You
“La la la la , I can’t hear you!” I think we all have seen a child, or an adult being silly, pretending not to hear something he or she does not want to think about. But, I also think we all know that this does not work in real issues of real life.
In the days of the prophet Jeremiah, a king of Judah tried to play this game, not with an annoying advisor, but with the word of God. And the Lord let him know this would not work.
Jeremiah 36:22-30
22 It was the ninth month, and the king was sitting in the winter house, and there was a fire burning in the fire pot before him. 23 As Jehudi read three or four columns, the king would cut them off with a knife and throw them into the fire in the fire pot, until the entire scroll was consumed in the fire that was in the fire pot. 24 Yet neither the king nor any of his servants who heard all these words was afraid, nor did they tear their garments. 25 Even when Elnathan and Delaiah and Gemariah urged the king not to burn the scroll, he would not listen to them. 26 And the king commanded Jerahmeel the king’s son and Seraiah the son of Azriel and Shelemiah the son of Abdeel to seize Baruch the secretary and Jeremiah the prophet, but the LORD hid them.
27 Now after the king had burned the scroll with the words that Baruch wrote at Jeremiah’s dictation, the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah: 28 “Take another scroll and write on it all the former words that were in the first scroll, which Jehoiakim the king of Judah has burned. 29 And concerning Jehoiakim king of Judah you shall say, ‘Thus says the LORD, You have burned this scroll, saying, “Why have you written in it that the king of Babylon will certainly come and destroy this land, and will cut off from it man and beast?” 30 Therefore thus says the LORD concerning Jehoiakim king of Judah: He shall have none to sit on the throne of David, and his dead body shall be cast out to the heat by day and the frost by night.
Jehoiakim did not like the word of God. Jeremiah had been inspired to speak the truth of the Lord to warn the people and to call them to repentance. Part of that truth was the fact that the nation would be taken by the Babylonian Empire for several decades. But since the king hated that word, he burned the scroll on which it was written in the fire.
But the Lord makes it abundantly clear that Jehoiakim cannot avoid the plan of God simply by ignoring his word. And, if we are wise, we will realize that we also cannot avoid the truth of the word of God simply by ignoring what was written. God is over all. God’s word tells us of the Lord and his ways. You can ignore that word if you wish, but you cannot change the truth of who the Lord is or what the Lord requires or what the Lord will do.
May we be wise enough not to pretend that we cannot hear the Lord. Instead, may we be honest enough to consider the word, submit to the truth of God, and surrender to the Lord and his ways.
Luther and Calvin on Scripture and Song in Worship
When the reformers endeavored to reform worship, they strove to turn the church back from the failings so common throughout history. They made the preaching of the word central to the role of the pastor. As Calvin wrote:
They would sing or mutter in the church, exhibit themselves in theatrical vestments, and go through numerous ceremonies, but they would seldom, if ever, teach. According to the precept of Christ, however, no man can claim for himself the office of bishop or pastor who does not feed his flock with the Word of the Lord.1
For worship to be returned to something God-honoring, the word had to be central. And, once the word, rightly taught and understood was returned, the participation of the congregation in worship could also be reinstated. Thus, in the reformation, after centuries of silence, congregations again sang the truths of the word of God. Christians again began to obey the command of God in Colossians 3:16, “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.”
Martin Luther saw the tremendous value of music both for the joy of the soul and for the training of the Christian mind. He designed worship services that returned singing to the congregation and he understood that singing was a glorious and godly way for people to learn true theology.
Eric Metaxas puts it this way:
Music was not to be banished from our lives as Karlstadt and Müntzer felt it must be, nor was it to be separated into “church music” that could only be sung by priests and monks and “secular music” that was sung by the people outside the churches. All that was good was of God, and to create walls where God has built none was far worse than a mere tragic mistake. So Luther, in creating the worship services for the new Reformation church, sought to bring every kind of good music into God’s service and sought to bring the “priesthood of all believers” into God’s choir in church. Because it is so ubiquitous today, including even in Catholic churches, it is hard to believe that before Luther introduced it, there was no congregational singing in churches. He knew the power of music and wanted to use it for God’s purposes.2
Luther said:
Music is a fair and lovely gift of God which has often wakened and moved me to the joy of preaching. St. Augustine was troubled in conscience whenever he caught himself delighting in music, which he took to be sinful. He was a choice spirit, and were he living today would agree with us. I have no use for cranks who despise music, because it is a gift of God. Music drives away the Devil and makes people gay; they forget thereby all wrath, unchastity, arrogance, and the like. Next after theology I give to music the highest place and the greatest honor. I would not exchange what little I know of music for something great. Experience proves that next to the Word of God only music deserves to be extolled as the mistress and governess of the feelings of the human heart. We know that to the devils music is distasteful and insufferable. My heart bubbles up and overflows in response to music, which has so often refreshed me and delivered me from dire plagues.3
1 John Calvin, On the Necessity of Reforming the Church (1543-44) [book on-line]; accessed 14 October 2017; available from https://www.monergism.com/thethreshold/sdg/calvin_necessityreform.html; Internet.
2[1] Eric Metaxas, Martin Luther: The Man Who Rediscovered God and Changed the World (New York: Viking, 2017), Chapter 18.
3 Ibid.
Eric Metaxas on the Decline of Worship Before the Reformation
How bad was it really? Eric Metaxas, in his brand new biography on Luther that just appeared at the beginning of October, 2017, described one of Martin Luther’s experiences during his first journey to Rome as follows:
Another disturbing aspect of his time in Rome was the astonishing incompetence and cynicism of many of the priests there. Luther had never seen anything that began to approach it. It was one thing to have questions about God and the religious life, but what to make of these priests who seemed to go through the motions with a contemptuous indifference, or in some cases even a mocking blasphemy? It was positively diabolical. On the first score, Luther noted that Mass was said with such breathless speed that even he, who was exceedingly familiar with every word, found it utterly unintelligible. It was mystifying, as though the priests had secretly been replaced with fast-talking auctioneers. For Luther, who had revered the Mass to the point of awe and even terror, this cavalier attitude toward this holiest of privileges must have been a horror to behold. If ever one needed a picture of “dead religion” and “dead works,” here it was in all of its most legalistic ghastliness. Luther saw that these priests hadn’t the slightest reverence for the holy act in which they were participating but wished only to tick off the appropriate box and gallop off to something less demanding. The shortest time officially allowed in which a priest could hurry through the Mass was twelve minutes, but Luther recalled that at the basilica of St. Sebastian seven masses were said in an hour—in other words, in something less than nine minutes each. And when Luther himself said Mass, the next priest—fidgety with impatience—almost literally breathed down his neck. “Quick, quick!” he said to Luther, sarcastically adding, “And send our Lady back her Son!”—obviously a joke about the transubstantiated host. At St. Sebastian, Luther also recalled the freakish oddity of two masses being said simultaneously at the same altar, the priests merely separated by a painting.*
What Luther saw, and what many other reformers grasped, is that, by the time of the reformation, so much of what the church was doing was exactly in line with the failures in worship which have always been a part of human sinfulness. Worship was not about the word of god, but was rather filled with the vain imaginings of men who made up ceremonies and rules for themselves. Worship was not about the glory of God any longer, but was a tool for the religious elite to use to enrich themselves as they horded political power. Worship was not simple and congregational, but it was complicated, confusing, and only for the priests to perform on behalf of the people.
*[1]Eric Metaxas, Martin Luther: The Man Who Rediscovered God and Changed the World (New York: Viking, 2017), Chapter 3.
Sinclair Ferguson on the Deformation of Worship Before the Reformation
For many of us today, what passed for worship by the time of the late 15th and early 16th centuries would be completely unintelligible. We would not understand the language. We would not understand most of the actions. We would not grasp many of the symbols. And we would not be far removed from the common people of the day who, like us, would not have a clue what was going on.
In his excellent presentation called “The Priority of Worship” from the 2017 Ligonier National Conference, Sinclair Ferguson examined what had happened to worship by the time of the reformers.* Ferguson specifically highlighted three major deformations of worship by the time of Luther that were part of the landscape begging for reform.
First, Ferguson pointed out that worship had become visual and sensory, even sensual, rather than biblical and spiritual. Consider what New Testament authors often said about the spiritual component of worship in the New Covenant era as opposed to the physical ritual of the Old. Always, the New testament highlighted the superiority of the fact that we are not now performing physical rituals such as sacrifices, but we are instead looking in faith to the completed work of Christ that renders such physical performances obsolete. But by the end of the medieval period, worship was primarily physical and visual. The word of God was not at all central, Instead, symbols, vestments, and performances all took center stage. Sacramental bread had ceased to be a reminder of Christ’s work and had instead become a sacred talisman to cling to as a superstition.
Ferguson points out that the word of God was simply not at all a part of the common worship goer’s experience. He said, “You would not have asked someone leaving a service in the late middle ages, what did you hear? A) Because that person probably did not understand the Latin that he or she heard, and B) because all of the focus was on what we saw.” Instead of being fed by the word of God, worshippers would watch as a sort of performance was done in front of them.
Second, Ferguson points out that worship became vicarious rather than congregational. That is a natural outgrowth of the prior problem. If you, as a common man, could not understand the language being spoken, how could you participate? You also could not sing in worship, as all the singing was done by the formally trained choir. In fact, you could allow someone to say a mass on your behalf without your having to participate at all.
Thirdly, Ferguson points out that worship had become complex and lost its simplicity. The actions of the priests in the ceremonies were quite intricate. Move your hands this way. Speak the Latin at this point. Wear these particular vestments. Gesture just so. As Ferguson points out, “If there had been theological seminaries in the English speaking world, in those days most of the courses would have been on hand actions and vestments, and not on the action of God and the preaching of His Word and the understanding of that Word by God’s people in the sheer simplicity of biblical worship in the New Testament.”
* Sinclair Ferguson, “The Priority of Worship” The Next 500 Years: 2017 National Conference (Sanford, FL: Ligonier Ministries, 2017) [transcript and media on-line]; accessed 14 Oct 2017; available from http://www.ligonier.org/learn/conferences/next-500-years-2017-national-conference/priority-worship/?format=audio; Internet.
A Major, Sometimes Overlooked, Purpose of the Reformation
What was the reformation about? If you were asked that question by a church member, you would likely point to the five solas. You would say that the reformation was about recovering the right understanding of salvation by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. You would say that this is to the glory of God alone. And, of course, you and I would tell anyone who would listen to us that the authority of Scripture alone is at the center of the reformation cause.
But is there more? How would the reformers have spoken of the purpose behind the reformation? What would they have said was at the center of their work, a work that we now celebrate as vital to the preservation of the church and the true gospel?
In 1543, John Calvin wrote a work entitled, “On the Necessity of Reforming the Church.” In that beautiful defense of the need for reformation addressed to Emperor Charles V, Calvin points to more than the doctrines of Scripture and of salvation as key to the heart behind the reformation. Yes, he highlights a recovery of the doctrine of God’s grace. But he sets right beside that glorious doctrine the recovery of biblical, God-honoring worship. Calvin writes:
If it be inquired, then, by what things chiefly the Christian religion has a standing existence amongst us and maintains its truth, it will be found that the following two not only occupy the principal place, but comprehend under them all the other parts, and consequently the whole substance of Christianity, viz., a knowledge, first, of the mode in which God is duly worshipped; and, secondly of the source from which salvation is to be obtained.
If any one is desirous of a clearer and more familiar illustration, I would say, that rule in the Church, the pastoral office, and all other matters of order, resemble the body, whereas the doctrine which regulates the due worship of God, and points out the ground on which the consciences of men must rest their hope of salvation, is the soul which animates the body, renders it lively and active, and, in short, makes it not to be a dead and useless carcass.*
* John Calvin, On the Necessity of Reforming the Church (1543-44) [book on-line]; accessed 14 October 2017; available from https://www.monergism.com/thethreshold/sdg/calvin_necessityreform.html; Internet.
A Good Reason to Care about the Bible
Sometimes we need to be reminded of the simple stuff. We need someone to show us how we ought to think about things we have not considered in a while.
With that, I pose the question, “Why care about Scripture?” There are hundreds of reasons, of course, but let’s see one. This reason should help us to think well as Christians. It should also cause those who are unsure about the faith to think twice.
Psalm 119:73 – Your hands have made and fashioned me; give me understanding that I may learn your commandments.
David, in a song devoted to the praise of God and his word, writes for us a reason that we may not always consider as to why the Bible matters. God made us. Because God made us, he can speak best about who we are, why we exist, and how we can have life and fulfillment.
Stop and consider. If you were playing the latest game on your gaming system of choice—Switch, X-Box, whatever—and you found yourself in a place where you were stuck, what would help you solve the problem? What if you had, sitting on your couch next to you, the person who programmed the game. The guy who wrote the code is right there. If he told you the sequence of moves to solve the puzzle or defeat the boss, might it not be a good idea to listen to him?
We have better than the video game programmer sitting next to us. We have the One who created us within reach. God has spoken to us. The very God who knit our bodies together and designed our souls has chosen to reveal himself to us. He has shown us how to live. He has shown us how to know him. He has shown us what will bring us ultimate joy. And he has put all of that information in his holy word, a book which he has declared perfect and sufficient and living.
So, we, like David, should recognize that, if God put us together, we should care about his word. And if you find yourself saying that you do not think God made you, I simply pose the question of where you came from. Is there anything that gives you meaning, hope, and help in life to actually guide you through this existence? God’s word is solid, revealing to us our true Creator. That is one reason to take it very seriously.
We are not Strong
How do you evaluate humanity? How do you and I evaluate our own goodness? By what standard do we measure ourselves? I fear that our measure of our goodness or badness, our strength or our weakness, is not the same as the measure of the Lord.
Isaiah wrote to the people of Israel, reminding them that they were not as strong as they thought themselves to be. His words are part of a prayer of confession as he asks for the mercy of the Lord.
Isaiah 64:5-6
5 You meet him who joyfully works righteousness,
those who remember you in your ways.
Behold, you were angry, and we sinned;
in our sins we have been a long time, and shall we be saved?
6 We have all become like one who is unclean,
and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment.
We all fade like a leaf,
and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.
The word that is most terrifying in Isaiah’s prayer of confession is “righteous.” In verse 6, one line says, “and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment.” We have to get this to see our great need for the mercy of the Lord. It is not our badness that looks like a filthy garment in the sight of the Lord. It is the best we can do that still amounts to something nasty in God’s sight.
Do not misunderstand me or the word of God here. The Lord is not saying that it is bad for people to do right things. When we donate to relieve those who have suffered an earthquake, a hurricane, or an evil attack, what we do is good. It is so wonderful to see cities come together, help the needy, and give of their time, their money, and even their blood to aid others. This is not a bad thing.
But, and this is vital for our souls to grasp, when compared to the absolute perfection of the Lord, we cannot let ourselves think that we have made ourselves good by our own strength. When held up against the holiness of God, even our best work, our most righteous deeds, still look dirty. The point is to convince us of our helplessness before the Lord. WE have never been good on our own. We can never be good on our own. We are too stained by the sin of the world and the evil in our own hearts. We must have a Savior.
This is where the gospel is good news. Whereas every other world religion tells us to do good in order to earn the favor of the deity, biblical Christianity says to us that there is no good that we can perform to earn God’s favor. But Christianity also tells us that Jesus has done the work, all of the work, necessary to cleanse us from our sin and to make us righteous in the sight of the Lord. Jesus has taken the punishment for sin we all deserve. Jesus has performed perfect acts of righteousness to actually be able to donate to us, to credit to our accounts, acts of righteousness that are not filthy garments in the sight of the Lord. Jesus has covered the negative and freely given the positive that is required for us to be forgiven our sin and welcomed into God’s family.
Friends, we are not good. We are not strong. We do not bring good to the table, even when we do great things in this world. Our only hope is that God-sized good and God-sized grace are given to us. And those God-sized things are done by the Son of god, the only one who really could do them in the first place. And this is wherein our hope lies. WE trust in the finished work of Jesus and ask him to apply it to us. We bow to him in humility, and we receive his mercy as a gift. We are strong, never in ourselves, but only in the almighty strength and perfect righteousness of the Son of God.
Pastor Travis Peterson 