We live in a world full of sales pitches. Article headlines are designed as click-bait, promising radical stories that they seldom deliver. Fishing email scams seek out our personal information. Phone calls from companies pretend to know who we are and offer us prizes if we will just press 1 to be connected to an operator.
I get very tired of the scams. I get tired of the tricks. I get tired of the false promises of salesmen who promise the moon but who have nothing special to give.
But what I tire of most is the use of sales pitches and gimmicks when it comes to the Christian faith. There are certainly some out there who use the tricks of the sales and marketing industry on the one hand or even the tricks of the email scammers on the other to try to bait and switch people into the kingdom of God. But these are not ways to honor the Lord.
Don’t get me wrong. I certainly want to see people saved. But I am unwilling to use underhanded methods to trick people into the kingdom. I want to see people come to Christ, but there is no call for becoming anything less than honest with people.
Paul saw this too.
2 Corinthians 4:1-3 – 1 Therefore, having this ministry by the mercy of God, we do not lose heart. 2 But we have renounced disgraceful, underhanded ways. We refuse to practice cunning or to tamper with God’s word, but by the open statement of the truth we would commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God.
Paul used no cunning, no tampering with the word of God. He did not design his ministry around the latest marketing research. Nor did he try to disguise the church as something else. Instead, his ministry was devoted to a straight forward declaration of the truth of the word of God. Paul ministered by honest proclamation.
I pray that my ministry will be the same as Paul’s, even if that means we never serve in a mega-church. I desire to be faithful and honest. I deeply desire that, at the end of my life on earth, people who knew me would say that I handled the word of God honestly and faithfully. I want to see people saved. I want to see Christians grow. But I do not have any desire to use tricks, gimmicks, or sales pitches to make that happen. The Lord is honored most, I believe, when his word and his Holy Spirit do the work.
Later in the same chapter, Paul will say that we hold the treasure of the gospel ministry in jars of clay. None of us who are faithful to the word are any more than clay pots with the word of God inside. That is the ministry that honors the Lord. That is the ministry I desire to see grow. I’m OK with being ordinary. But I want to be ordinary and faithful to the word.
Do You Lead Like Rehoboam?
After the death of King Solomon, his son Rehoboam became king of the nation of Israel, all 12 tribes. But the kingdom would divide not long after the young king took the throne. In the failure of Rehoboam, there is something for us to learn about leading people.
Now, let me say from the outset that this passage is not primarily intended to be a lesson on leadership. I get that. This passage is here to show us how God fulfilled his words to divide the nation of Israel into two kingdoms because of the rebellion of Solomon. King Solomon disobeyed God’s commands not to marry women from other nations whose religions would lead him away from the Lord. Solomon, because of his attachment to these women, brought their idolatry into the land of Israel. This is why the kingdom was divided. (It would also make a great passage about why we do not intentionally marry someone who is not committed to Christ if we are believers.)
When Rehoboam took charge of the kingdom, his subjects were weary. They had worked under Solomon to build the temple of God and Solomon’s palace. He had arranged them into labor groups to help build and secure the kingdom. But the people had worked hard with little relief from the burden.
So, when Rehoboam took over, the people approached him with a request. They wanted him to lighten their load. They let him know that, would he give them a little more rest, they would be able to serve him better.
What should the young king do? What would a good leader do? Rehoboam asked counsel, a good idea. He asked two groups for their advice. The older counselors told Rehoboam that, if he lightened the workload, the people would love him and be faithful to him. The younger counselors told Rehoboam to crack the whip and make their workload even harder to show them who is boss.
1 Kings 12:14 – he spoke to them according to the counsel of the young men, saying, “My father made your yoke heavy, but I will add to your yoke. My father disciplined you with whips, but I will discipline you with scorpions.”
And we see how Rehoboam responded. He let the people know that there will be no breaks. They will serve him or else. And, if you follow the story, you will see that the next thing that happens is that 10 of the 12 tribes of Israel leave Rehoboam and form the northern kingdom.
AS I said, this is about God’s plan for Israel. But we can learn something about leading others in the process. Bad leaders try to squeeze every last ounce of work out of people until they are wrung dry. Then they berate their followers for their fatigue, cast them aside, and look for new people to use. This is what Rehoboam was doing, and it was disastrous for him. And this is what many people who are in positions of leadership in the church do to their own detriment.
Have you served in such a church? Have you ever served under a pastor who only piles on the work? Have you ever found yourself just plain tired and wishing that the church, for a season, could give you a little time of rest and refreshing? That is a hard place to be.
Are you a leader in the church? How do you treat those you are trying to motivate? Do you concern yourself with their fatigue? Do you invest in your followers and insure that they take down-time? Or are you only worried about getting every last little bit of work out of them before they finally give up on you and the ministry?
Friends, may we lead with greater love and greater wisdom than Rehoboam. May we invest in our best so that they can continue to be solid and helpful leaders. May we not tire them to the point of burn out. May we not drain people dry and cast them aside. May we instead find, as the older counselors told Rehoboam, that there is growth and life in giving people relief. May we see that the work matters, for sure, but that the work will not get done at the hands of people who are scraping the bottom of their physical and emotional and spiritual barrel just to show up. May we love others by refreshing their souls long before we dry them out.
The Smell of the Gospel
When Roman soldiers won a dramatic victory, they were sometimes permitted a special celebration called a triumph. This was a sort of military parade in which the soldiers would march into Rome, rejoicing in their victory while leading their captives in humiliation.
One thing that some have pointed out is that a triumph had a particular smell. There was a scent to the parade. Perfumes and flowers would be lavishly put to use in order to make the triumph an experience of sight, sound, and smell.
That fact needs to be in our minds as we see the passage below where Paul talks about God leading his followers in triumph.
2 Corinthians 2:14-16 – 14 But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere. 15 For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing, 16 to one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life. Who is sufficient for these things?
God leads us in triumph. He marches us through the world. We are his captives and his honored children. We are his slaves and his family. We are both rejoicing in victory and the ones who have surrendered our lives to his cause.
And there is a smell. The scent of a triumph goes with us as we march. But the question is, how will it be received? To some, the scent of salvation by grace through faith in Christ is glorious. To some that scent is like the finest perfumes or most lavish flowers. It is a good smell of life. It is the smell of freedom and forgiveness.
To others, however, the smell of the gospel is distasteful. To those whose hearts have not been made alive in Christ, the concept of the gospel is ugly. The idea of surrender to God is pure humiliation. To some it is loathsome to be called to bow, to worship, and to yield our lives to the will of the Lord.
So, consider how the gospel smells to you. Do you smell life? Do you smell death? Do you love the idea of being welcomed into the family of God and becoming part of his holy nation? Or, does the whole concept turn your stomach? In truth, you will eventually be on one side or another. You will eventually move to love or hate the gospel of Jesus Christ.
I would tell you, as one in the ranks of those being marched through this world in Christ, that it is far better to be forgiven by Christ than to be opposed to him. There is life in Christ. There is mercy from God in Christ. But against him, there is a terrifying future. Bow to Jesus and follow him in life. Surrender to the Savior, as he will have mercy on all who believe in him and who come under his lordship.
A Sometimes Forgotten Part of Church Discipline
I’m a big fan of 9 Marks of a Healthy Church and 9 Marks Ministries. In that book that has become a movement, we see a set of biblical principles for how churches are supposed to function so as to honor Christ by following Scripture.
One of the things that this movement brings back to the life of the church is a faithful commitment to biblical church discipline. I’d guess that, if you have paid much attention, you have seen that certain churches have, over the past few years, become strongly committed to church discipline, and in general this has been good. A local church body must not be willing to turn a blind eye to members in active and unrepentant sin.
But, I fear that, in some cases, all we ever hear about is the accusation or the excommunication part of discipline. Thankfully, these are not all that the Lord gave us. The whole point of church discipline is to honor God as we call our fellow believers to turn from sin and be restored.
Consider as an example one of the people caught in unrepentant sin in Corinth. In 1 Corinthians, Paul clearly calls on the church to remove a man from the fellowship because he is boldly and blatantly violating the word of God. Paul was right. But we cannot limit ourselves to 1 Corinthians discipline without also looking at 2 Corinthians.
2 Corinthians 2:6-8 – 6 For such a one, this punishment by the majority is enough, 7 so you should rather turn to forgive and comfort him, or he may be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. 8 So I beg you to reaffirm your love for him.
We do not know if this is the same person who was put out of the church in 1 Corinthians, or if this is another situation from the letter between 1 and 2 Corinthians which we do not have. But that fact really is not relevant. What is relevant is the fact that Paul is clearly speaking of a person who has been disciplined by the local body and who has repented. Somebody has been put out of the fellowship, is genuinely remorseful, and is still on the outside. And Paul makes it super clear that, the moment this person repented, he should have been welcomed back into the fellowship.
A part of discipline that is often overlooked is restoration. When a person turns from their sin, they should be welcomed back into fellowship. That welcome should be as formal as was the discipline. Were they only conversing with a few people before they turned from their sin? Then those few people should restore the repentant brother. Did they go through the formal and public process? Then they should be formally and publicly restored.
I fear that sometimes Only Matthew 18 is in our minds when we talk about church discipline. But we must have a grasp of this kind of restoration present here in 2 Corinthians. We must be quick to desire restoration as Paul writes in Galatians 6. Church discipline, honestly, is simple discipleship. We work together to call each other back from dangerous life choices and actions. The only time discipline really needs to go formal or go public is when a person flat refuses to hear the word of God and acknowledge God’s authority over their lives. Then the discipline, in so many ways, is simply the church sorrowfully and prayerfully declaring that they can no longer vouch for the idea that this person is genuinely a believer. But, once the person genuinely repents, the local church can also say that they can, once more, acknowledge that this person is one of us, a sinner saved by the grace of Christ.
Two Unique Examples of Discernment
How do we know the will of God? Upon what should we base decisions about where to go or what ministry to undertake? How do we figure out when to start a ministry or when to end it?
As Paul wraps up the letter we call 1 Corinthians, he offers some final instructions and greetings. In that section that so many of us skim over, there are a couple of fascinating descriptions of what was presently going on with Paul and his associates as they made decisions about where to go and when. And, if we watch them, we will see that the way things were done in Paul’s day, 1st century Christianity long before the canon of Scripture was closed, is not exactly what we might expect.
Why do I call this different? Consider what you would expect. Most of us grew up expecting that, if a decision had to be made, the people would simply pray about it, hear from God, and follow that leading. Surely this model of decision-making would be what Paul would follow. If we go by the model of decision-making popularized by Henry Blackaby and his book Experiencing God, the decisions would be made based on prayer, circumstances, and the counsel of other believers. (Blackaby also includes the Bible in his list of ways that God speaks to us, but the Scriptures were not yet finished at this point in the life of the early church.) But, in fact, it does not seem that we see evidence of discernment following that model.
1 Corinthians 16:8-9 – 8 But I will stay in Ephesus until Pentecost, 9 for a wide door for effective work has opened to me, and there are many adversaries.
First, note how Paul decided to stay in Ephesus. He says that a wide door for effective ministry had opened for him. That certainly sounds like circumstances and ministry opportunity—going where God is at work—is behind his decision. But, on the other hand, we also see that many adversaries have arisen against Paul there. The mobilization of adversaries would be what many people see as circumstances telling them to close up shop. But in this case, Paul wanted to stay, he wanted to finish the work, and he was willing to endure the hardships. But Paul does not tell us that God told him to stay there or that the effective ministry would be in any way easy or supernaturally successful.
In fact, a study of the church in Ephesus throughout the coming years shows us that this congregation was repeatedly led by some of the biggest names in early Christianity including Paul, Timothy, and John. But, by Revelation 2:1-7 (which at its latest was written in A.D. 95), Jesus is sending a note to the church warning them to return to their first love which they have forsaken. And Jesus warns that if they do not repent, he will remove their church from existence.
1 Corinthians 16:12 – Now concerning our brother Apollos, I strongly urged him to visit you with the other brothers, but it was not at all his will to come now. He will come when he has opportunity.
Interestingly, Paul wanted to send Apollos to Corinth. He believed that this strong and passionate preacher would have a positive impact on the easily excited and dangerously corruptible church there. But Apollos did not go. Why? It was not a divine revelation that kept Apollos at home. And, it is fascinating that Apollos’ choice not to go right now flies in the face of a request made by Paul, who clearly asked this favor, but did not order it with apostolic authority. No, it seems that Apollos simply was unwilling to go at present, but he said he would go later.
How did these men who loved God make these choices? From the words we have, it seems that they did not rely on any sort of mystical means or extra-biblical revelation. Instead, these men, who were certainly devoted to the Lord and to prayer, made their choices as to what to do based on something that appears more simple.
For sure, the decisions of these men would have been bound by Scripture. God’s word is how God speaks to us—we all agree on that. Any decision that would violate Scripture would be out-of-bounds. Any decision that refused to obey a clearly given command in Scripture would also be unacceptable. But, though God commanded the spread of the gospel, he did not tell individual followers of Jesus, at least in this case, whether to stay in Ephesus or go to Corinth.
Circumstances do not appear to have played a particularly determining role here. Paul had both opportunity and adversaries. But the Corinthians had clear need. God was at work in Ephesus and in Corinth. The Spiritual gifting of the Corinthians shows that the Spirit of God was moving in their midst while the corruption in the body showed how greatly they needed a stable teacher to straighten them out. But neither Paul nor Apollos was headed their direction right away. Only Timothy, a young man with a reputation for timidity was planning to pass through.
Neither can we assume that the decision was made based on the counsel of other believers. Paul, in Acts, was known to go places against the advice of others. Apollos was counseled by Paul to go now to Corinth and did not want to do so.
What then? Are these guys missing the will of God? No, I do not think so. But they did not use mystical means to determine what to do. Instead, they obeyed Scripture, they prayed, they weighed circumstances, they trusted the Lord, and then they did what their hearts desired. No voice from heaven came to any of them. They just loved God, participated in proper spiritual practices as believers, and went where seemed best to them. They discerned the will of God based on obedience to Scripture and the desires of their hearts.
Without question, the Holy Spirit of God was at work in the lives of Paul and Apollos to direct them where the Lord wanted them. We cannot doubt that God moves quietly in the lives of his servants to place them where he wants them. What we do not see, however, is any claim on the part of either man that God specifically told either of them which town to go to. Paul saw an opportunity he did not want to give up. Apollos simply did not want to go right now. But neither verse of this passage says to us that God ‘said” to either man not to go. They exercised a personal, Christian freedom not to go to Corinth right now.
How should this impact us? I actually think it is comforting and freeing. The Lord moves his people without requiring them to claim a word from him. So long as we are loving the Lord in our lives, praying and obeying his word, we will be free to make choices. And, if we trust the sovereignty of God, we can know that we need not fear that our choices made in good faith and in line with Scripture will ever do any harm to the ultimate plan of God. So, we love God. We pray. We study Scripture. We pay attention to godly counsel. But, at the end of the day, as we delight in the Lord, we expect that he will give our hearts desires that will honor his name and fulfill his secret plans. (c.f. Psa. 37:4; deu. 29:29).
Finding Comfort in God’s Faithfulness
Look at the words of the psalmist who is in genuine pain.
Psalm 77:1-3
1 I cry aloud to God,
aloud to God, and he will hear me.
2 In the day of my trouble I seek the Lord;
in the night my hand is stretched out without wearying;
my soul refuses to be comforted.
3 When I remember God, I moan;
when I meditate, my spirit faints.
Selah
Moaning, tears, fainting spirit, all these are symptoms of a deep and real sorrow. The Psalmist weeps and is not comforted. He cries to God, and does not find in his prayer the comfort he desires.
What will the psalmist do? His prayers do not feel answered. He wants God to take away the pain and the Lord does not do so. Where will he find hope?
Psalm 77:5-6
5 I consider the days of old,
the years long ago.
6 I said, “Let me remember my song in the night;
let me meditate in my heart.”
Then my spirit made a diligent search:
The psalmist wanted to remember the joy he had before. Though his pain was not going away with a simple time of present prayer, he sent his memory in search of past joy. He looked back to a time when he had the confidence in God he wants now. He looked bac even to see where God had been faithful in the past.
Psalm 77:10-15
10 Then I said, “I will appeal to this,
to the years of the right hand of the Most High.”
11 I will remember the deeds of the Lord;
yes, I will remember your wonders of old.
12 I will ponder all your work,
and meditate on your mighty deeds.
13 Your way, O God, is holy.
What god is great like our God?
14 You are the God who works wonders;
you have made known your might among the peoples.
15 You with your arm redeemed your people,
the children of Jacob and Joseph. Selah
So the hurting psalmist remembered the deeds of the Lord in the past. He looked back over Scripture to find what God had done to prove his faithfulness, his mercy, and his justice. He remembered from Old Testament stories how the Lord had delivered Israel from dangers. He remembered the power, holiness, and faithfulness of God. And in that memory, the psalmist found renewed confidence for his own situation.
The Psalm ends with the psalmist specifically remembering the Exodus. The Lord showed his great power over the powers of the world when he led his people out of Egypt. Even the waters moved aside at the command of the Lord. God shoed himself greater than any trouble Israel ever faced.
And so the Psalmist found comfort. He was comforted in the knowledge that the God who parted the Red Sea is the same God he was counting on for help. Even though his circumstances had not changed, the psalmist found hope in the power and perfection of the Lord. God has been faithful in the past. He has proved himself worthy of praise. He will not fail in the present.
For you and me, this Psalm should be instructive. WE will hurt. From time to time, we may despair of ever finding joy again. People go through very hard times. But the answer is not to give up. Yes, we pray. Sometimes praying is too hard. Sometimes the night is too long. So then what? Remember. Remember the faithfulness of God. Remember the mighty works of the Lord. Remember the ways in which God has already proved his goodness. The Lord does not have to give us what we want in the here and now to remind us that he is always faithful, always holy, always right, always present, always powerful, and always going to do what is perfect.
The Proof of the Gospel
In our Sunday School class at PRC, we have begun a study on defending the faith, apologetics. What we are studying is a little different than the average apologetics study. This one is not about giving the class a particular set of arguments to help them respond to particular objections to the faith. Instead, this one is aimed at helping them to navigate the difficult conversations they might have with wisdom.
Because we are in this course, I immediately find it interesting when I read something in Scripture with powerful apologetic interest. So, when my daily reading took me through 1 Corinthians 15, it got my attention.
In 1 Corinthians 15, Paul needed to respond to an odd heresy that had arisen in the church in Corinth. It seems that among the people in the church were some who denied the possibility of physical resurrection. They simply could not wrap their minds around the idea that people who had died would eventually, physically come to life. This is probably due to the influence of certain philosophies that held that matter was in itself low, dirty, and evil while spirit was good. So the people could not fathom the idea of a physical existence after death.
But Paul made a simple argument from the basic facts of the gospel to show the Corinthians that belief in Jesus requires belief in physical resurrection. Why? Because the gospel absolutely hinges on one singular fact: Jesus rose from the dead. In that argument, Paul shows us that there is one simple truth that rises to the highest level when we defend the faith. There is one question that has to be answered. And the answer to that question will ultimately have everything to do with a person’s beliefs. Did Jesus rise from the dead or not?
1 Corinthians 15: 14, 17-19 – 14 And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain.… 17 And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. 18 Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. 19 If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.
Take note here, as Paul presents the one thing that would render the entire religion of Christianity meaningless, futile, and useless. If Jesus did not rise from the dead, Christianity means nothing.
But, if Jesus did rise from the dead, what does that mean? The alternative must be true. If Jesus went to the cross, died, and then came back to life three days later, he has proved by an amazing miracle that all that he has ever claimed about himself is true. Jesus did all that he did in accord with the Scriptures. He came to earth as Scripture promised. He lived a perfect life and died as a sacrifice as Scripture promised. And he rose from the grave as Scripture promised. And all our faith hinges on that final truth. All of our faith stands or falls on the fact that Jesus is now alive.
So, every person must consider the question, “Do I believe that Jesus is alive?” If you do, then entrust your soul to Jesus and follow him. If you do not, then Christianity ultimately has nothing to offer to you. But, before rejecting the notion that Jesus is alive, also understand that there is a great deal of historical evidence to point us to the fact that Jesus really is alive, that he really did rise from the grave on the third day, and that through his resurrection, he changed the world and the lives of many forever.
I am fully convinced that Jesus is alive. I am fully convinced that, because Jesus is alive, I too will live even after I die. Jesus promises forgiveness of sin and resurrection to new life for all who come to him in faith. And I would urge any person to come to trust in Jesus and find that life.
Christians, I would also urge us to see that the New Testament always makes the resurrection of Jesus the final argument related to defending the faith. The New Testament writers did not tend to make their arguments about other things. Yes, they told the story of Jesus. But it was always on the resurrection that a person’s faith either stood or fell. So let’s remember that the resurrection, the fact that Jesus is alive, is the big point of contention. Is Jesus alive? Then worship him and follow him. Is he dead? Then ignore Christianity and any other religion that claims life after death. It’s really that simple.
Living with the Shepherd
Psalm 23:6
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
all the days of my life,
and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD
forever.
My Old Testament professor at seminary liked to tell us that the picture painted in Psalm 23 is almost like a sweet cartoon. God is our shepherd and we are sheep, little lambs. The cartoon closes in verse 6 with the most ridiculously beautiful scene. The sheep goes to live with the shepherd in his house forever. Sheep do not live in houses, trust me. But this one is so beloved by his shepherd that he dwells with him forever.
David is saying that he, and all those who truly know God, will live with God forever—even beyond their days here on earth. Forever we will live in God’s house. Forever we will give honor and glory to his name. Forever he will satisfy our souls. Forever we will do what we were created by him to do. Forever, that will give us joy.
Today, if you are a follower of Jesus, be comforted by the hope of eternal life with him. Hope, in a Biblical sense, is not the way that we use the word hope today. We say, “I hope it doesn’t rain tomorrow,” but we do not know whether or not it will. When God talks about our hope in Christ, it is an assured hope that simply has not been fulfilled yet. It’s like saying that you have hope that the sun will rise tomorrow. Of course it will. There is no doubt. You know it will, and you plan your life in that confident assumption of truth. In the same way, Christians who know and follow God have hope that their eternity is full of blessing. That is what we live for, not the comforts and ease that this world can offer. Our hope is in eternity, and we long for the day when it will be fulfilled. So, Christians, look forward to the hope you have for eternity.
Also consider that sheep, in the Scriptures, were often used as sacrifices. They were often killed, fairly brutally, as a payment for sin. You and I actually should be those sheep. We are sinners before a holy God. We deserve to be hounded, not by goodness and loving kindness, but by God’s wrath and justice. We deserve to suffer the fury of God for every little sin that we have ever committed before him. Since his holiness is perfect and his perfection is infinite, we deserve to have to pay an infinite price for our sins. Put plainly, we all deserve hell for eternity because we have sinned before an infinitely holy God.
The only way that we are able not to be hounded by wrath and judgment is because God chose to take out that wrath and judgment on someone else. You and I deserve God’s wrath. God chose, however, to pour that wrath out on his Son, Jesus Christ. Jesus died in our place. He suffered in our place. He was led as a lamb to the slaughter for our sakes. He suffered the wrath that I deserve for my sins and that you deserve for yours. Since Jesus is God the Son and our good shepherd, he was able to pay all the price for all the sins of all who come to him. Go and reread Isaiah 53 sometime, and watch the scene as it is predicted 700 years before it happened. Watch as the Son of God, the good shepherd, gives up his life as a sacrifice for the sins of many.
Today, if you want God to be your shepherd, if you want to be able to trust him in times of need, if you want to be able to rest in him during times of peace, if you want to be able to follow him toward righteousness, if you want to be comforted in the troublesome times, if you want to be able to receive his blessings with joy, if you want to look forward to eternity in his house, then you must first become his child by receiving his gift of salvation. Believe that God is and that he is perfect. Believe that you are a sinner in need of his grace. Believe that Jesus died to pay the penalty for your sin. Bring your life to Jesus, and ask him to change your heart from that of a dead sinner to a living follower of his. Place your trust in the work of Jesus and the work of Jesus alone for your salvation. Turn away from sin and sinful self-sufficiency and turn instead to Christ to be forgiven. If you do this, God will forgive you of your sin, and he will become your good shepherd.
Something Definitively True about Spiritual Gifts
Whenever we talk about spiritual gifts, there is often a lot of heat generated in the conversation. What should we say about those who differ from our views on what gifts are active today? How do we explain what some people claim is happening around the world while others are sure those things are not true? How do we deal with the seeming abuse of gifts in certain circles?
I want to say something very definitive on spiritual gifts with this post. It is extremely important we get this truth, even if we do not know exactly how to handle everything said about spiritual gifts, strange fire, and all the rest. This is not to say that I do not have a strong belief about the other topics, but to say that I believe that there is something that is perhaps even more urgent for us as the church.
1 Corinthians 12:7 – To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.
As Paul wrote to the Corinthian church about gifts, he began with the principle in the verse above. The gifts of God are given to individual believers for the sake of the good of the body of Christ. If you are gifted in any way, the gifting is for the sake of the good of the local church. And be sure of this, every individual believer is gifted by the Spirit of God.
So, Christian, hear this truth. You have been given a gift by God. Perhaps you are gifted to handle the word in a powerful way. Perhaps you are gifted to care for others in need. Perhaps you are gifted to speak into the lives of others with a spiritually empowered ability that others find truly helpful. Perhaps you have some other gift. The gift that you have been given is not at all for your own personal benefit. The gift you have been given is intended by God for you to use in the local congregation for the overall good of the church.
So, when you think about your spiritual gifts, do not worry about a spiritual gift inventory. Neither should you focus on hoping for a gift that looks more supernatural than the gifts that others have. Nor should you expect your gift to be there to give you a really deep personal thrill. The point of your gift is that you put it to use so as to help others in the body love Jesus more. That is it: help others in your local church love Jesus more.
By the way, this also means that you cannot experience your spiritual gifting without being a committed part of a local church body. If you are not connected to a local body, serving under the leadership of biblical elders, giving of yourself to help others in that particular congregation love Jesus more, you are not doing what your gift is intended for. (Yes, I realize that there may be someone with a traveling ministry or missional calling, and I’m not dealing with that here.) If you will not use your gifts to help the local body, you are not really using your gifts.
On the simplest level, then, spiritual gifts should make you be regularly present with your local church body. Spiritual gifts should make you love others in the body. And you cannot love others in the body faithfully if you do not make attendance a priority. You will be where the people of God are gathered if you want to use and experience your spiritual gifts. And you will be where the body is gathered if you want to experience and benefit from the gifts of others. To absent yourself from the body is to do the body harm as you withhold your gifts. To absent yourself from the body is to do yourself harm as you prevent yourself from benefitting from the gifts of others.
I know, many would love it if we could have a nice argument on continuationism or cessationism. I have those arguments to make, and I think they are very important. But I think it is more important that we be committed, out of love, to be together with the local body of Christ, that we be committed to one another, that we do not give up meeting together (Heb. 10:24-25), that we care for each other, that we grow together in Christ, and that this is how we experience our gifts. Your gifts are for the body and for the glory of God. Your gifts will give you joy as you glorify God by investing your life in the lives of those others to whom you are committed in the local church. This is the definitive word on spiritual gifts to which all other arguments should be subject.
Freedom or Foolishness
I sometimes think of wise Christianity as similar to driving down a road with a ditch on either side. On the one side of the safe path is the ditch of legalism or moralism. If we veer too strongly toward strict rules and regulations, we will glide into that self-destructive and God dishonoring ditch. Paul wrote about such things in Colossians 2:16-23 and Romans 14 as he charged the church not to attempt to hold Christians to man-made rules that did not come from God.
At the same time, some people get so excited about our freedoms that they move toward a lawlessness. That, I would argue is the ditch on the other side of the road. Sometimes people decide that they are free from man-made restrictions and then they veer into the foolishness of sinning against the Lord by going too far and violating God’s clear commands.
Which ditch is worse? Does it really matter? If you crash into a ditch, you have crashed. It’s bad.
1 Corinthians 10:19-22 – 19 What do I imply then? That food offered to idols is anything, or that an idol is anything? 20 No, I imply that what pagans sacrifice they offer to demons and not to God. I do not want you to be participants with demons. 21 You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. You cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons. 22 Shall we provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than he?
In this passage, Paul talks about the ditch of an over realized freedom that leads to sin. People in Corinth, at least some of them, knew that they were not forbidden from eating meat that had been a part of a pagan temple service. They knew that to restrict meat eating just in case a particular steak had been in a pagan temple was just a bit legalistic. And so these people exercised their freedom to eat meat.
But for some, this correction away from legalism led to lawlessness. Before you knew it, these people might have felt the freedom not only to eat the meat if they bought it in the market, but to actually go and sit down with the pagans in the temple of the idols as part of their ceremonies. Thus, what started as a true freedom has led to foolishness.
Paul tells the people that they cannot be so free as to let themselves participate in the celebrations of the idolaters. No, the idol is nothing. Neither is the meat anything. But the idol worship is actually the worship of demons. No Christian is so free that he or she is free to participate in the worship of demons.
For us today, this calls us to measure our freedom against foolishness. Are you free from the Old Testament law? You bet. Christ has fulfilled that law. But are you free from the principles of that law? Are you free to do things that God has forbidden? Are you free to participate in acts that the lost would participate in which dishonor the Lord? No, of course you are not free to sin.
Consider what area in your life you consider to be part of your Christian freedom or your Christian liberty. Where could it, if you are not attentive, lead you into sin? Measure it well. Think logically. Ask another Christian, especially one who does not think exactly as you do, what it would look like for your freedom to lead you into the ditch of lawlessness. Ask sincerely, and listen to the counsel you receive. You may find that your freedom is real, but that the danger is also real. Love freedom, but not to the point of foolishness.
Pastor Travis Peterson 